Permit approved for medical waste incinerator

NORTH SALT LAKE — The State Division of Air Quality approved a renewable five-year permit for a medical waste incinerator in North Salt Lake.

The permit approval for Stericycle was forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Denver, which now has 45 days to review the permit.

"We feel like this permit is appropriate. We feel like they are a good environmental citizen," Division of Air Quality permitting manager Regg Olsen said of the 16-year business. "Are they are emitting things? Yes. Are they harmful? We don't think so."

But the Sierra Club and group Green Action said they're concerned that besides medical waste, the incinerator burns solid waste and animal body parts.

"This is not just a medical waste incinerator," the Sierra Club's Cindy King said.

The groups also said the incinerator creates a danger for residents living nearby.

About 30,000 residents live within a mile of the plant, officials said. It was approved for zoning and construction in 1992 and homes have been built around the plant since then, Olsen said.