Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management will hold a public hearing tonight, Thursday, April 1, in Columbiana to allow citizens to comment on the draft permit for the closure of the coal combustion residual (CCR, or coal ash) pond at Alabama Power’s Gaston Electric Generating Plant in Wilsonville.

The hearing will be at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Shelby County High School, 101 Washington St., Columbiana.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, special social distancing requirements will be in place for the hearing. All attendees will be required to wear masks and will be subject to temperature screening prior to entering the hearing location. Space inside the hearing room will be restricted, and each speaker will be assigned a time slot.

Speakers who preregistered should arrive at their assigned time slots. You can also register on site. However, those who preregistered will be called to speak first.

Attendance at the public hearing is not necessary in order to have comments included in the public hearing record. Written comments will also be considered. The deadline for receiving written comments is 5 p.m. on April 8. ADEM will provide a response to each issue raised.

In order to affect final decisions, comments must offer technically substantial information that is applicable to the proposed permit.

For more information about the CCR hearing, including how to submit comments, go online to Adem.alabama.gov/moreInfo/ccrinfo.cnt.