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Hearing on Limestone Plant in Protected Coastal Zone

Limestone
creative commons
Limestone

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - State environmental officials are holding a hearing to seek public comment on a company's plan to operate a limestone powder manufacturing facility in Delaware's environmentally protected Coastal Zone.

Wednesday's hearing concerns a permit application submitted by Essential Minerals LLC.

The company wants to build and operate a powder manufacturing facility on Lambson Lane in New Castle.

The proposed facility would grind raw limestone, also known as calcium carbonate, into a fine powder, package the material, and distribute it for use in food and pharmaceutical products.

Officials say the environmental impact of the operation would be limited to about two tons a year in air emissions from a natural-gas heater used in the manufacturing process, not including about 900 tons per year of new carbon dioxide emissions.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.