Public Notice
Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board
P. O. Box 2261 | Jackson, MS 39225
515 East Amite St. | Jackson, MS 39201
Telephone No. (601) 961-5171

Public Notice Start Date: August 26, 2026	MDEQ Contact: Chappell Ford

Cooperative Energy, a Mississippi electric cooperative, Sylvarena Generating Plant, located at 3012 Smith County Road 97,  in Bay Springs, MS, (601) 705-2900, has applied to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for the following permitting action(s): Title V Operating Permit Renewal, Air Ref. No. 2500-00048. The applicant's operations fall within SIC Code 4911.  A Statement of Basis has been prepared that contains a discussion of the decision-making that went into the development of the permit and provides the permitting authority, the public, and other government bodies a record of the technical issues surrounding issuance of the permit. The Statement of Basis also addresses any changes to emissions and/or discharges resulting from any modification of the facility.  
Electricity generation is supplied by three 417.7 MMBtu/hr Natural Gas-Fired Simple Cycle Combustion Turbines (Emission Points AA-001, AA-002, and AA-003). Emission Points AA-001, AA-002, and AA-003 are monitored by a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions are controlled by water injection. Each turbine is operated in conjunction with a respective 2-cell Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower (Emission Point AA-006). SGP employs a 6.6 MMBtu/hr Diesel-fired 4-Stroke Blackstart Emergency Generator (Emission Point AA-004) and a 1.32 MMBtu/hr Diesel- fired 4-Stroke Emergency Fire Pump (Emission Point AA-007) for emergency situations. The combustion turbines, emergency engines, and cooling towers are sources of Particulate Matter (PM), PM less than 10 micrometers (μm) in diameter (PM10), PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and HAP emissions. 
The facility’s potential-to-emit (PTE) exceeds the Title V major source threshold of 100 tons per year (tpy) for each of the following criteria air pollutants: Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) and Carbon Monoxide (CO). The facility’s potential-to-emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) does not exceed the major source thresholds of 25 tpy of total HAPs and 10 tpy for any individual HAP. The facility is considered a moderate stationary source. This permitting action will not change the current PSD status of the facility.
The supplier of the combustors is discontinuing the current combustors and Cooperative Energy is planning to replace the combustors with new, more efficient models to ensure continued equipment availability. The new combustors will maintain the existing NOx limits and reduce the CO emissions from 64 ppm to 40 ppm. The combustors will be replaced over a period of approximately 3 years due to the supply chain of the parts. However, the facility has asked to have all three modifications done at the same time as the permit renewal. Therefore, sunsetting language has been added to Conditions 3.B.2, 3.B.3, 3.B.4, and 5.B.3 to reflect the emission limits both before the combustors are replaced, during the replacement process, and after the final combustor has been replaced. Cooperative Energy has provided an estimate of a timeline in their facility comments dated Aug. 18, 2026. This modification will be processed at the same time as the permit renewal. 
The staff of the Permit Board has developed this draft permit based on information submitted to the Permit Board by the applicant, appropriate State and Federal agencies and other interested parties. The staff of the Permit Board is soliciting all relative information pertaining to the proposed activity, including public comment, to ensure the draft permit complies with all State and Federal regulations. Public review and comment on the draft permit and supporting documentation is an important element in the staff evaluation and its consideration of key aspects of the permit action. The draft permit conditions have been developed to ensure compliance with all State and Federal regulations but are subject to change based on information received as a result of public participation.
Persons wishing to comment upon or object to the proposed determinations are invited to submit comments in writing to Chappell Ford at https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/Ford-Chappell/ or to the Permit Board address shown above, no later than the end of the thirty (30) day public notice. All comments received by this date will be considered in the formulation of final determinations regarding the application(s).  A public hearing will be held if the Permit Board finds a significant degree of public interest in the proposed permit(s). Persons wishing to request a public hearing may do so by submitting that request in writing to Chappell Ford at https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/Ford-Chappell/ or to the Permit Board address shown above.  The Permit Board is limited in the scope of its analysis to environmental impact.  Any comments relative to zoning or economic and social impacts are within the jurisdiction of local zoning and planning authorities and should be addressed to them.
After receipt of public comments and thorough consideration of all comments, the staff will formulate its recommendations for permit issuance and a proposed permit if that is the recommendation. The Title V Permit to Operate is a permit that is required by Title V of the Federal Clean Air Act and the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law. The Title V permit is a Federally-enforceable permit as well as a State permit.  Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will also be allowed an opportunity to review the application, proposed permit, and all comments received during the public comment period prior to Permit Board action on the application. 
The status regarding EPA’s 45-day review of this project and the deadline for citizen’s petitions can be found at the following website address:  https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/mississippi-proposed-title-v-permits 
Additional details about the application, including a copy of the draft permit, are available by writing or calling the Public Records Request Officer at the above Permit Board address and telephone number or by completing the form at the following website:  https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/about-mdeq/public-records-request/public-records-request-form/.  Additionally, a copy of the draft permit and statement of basis may be found on the MDEQ’s website at: https://opc.deq.state.ms.us/publicnotice.aspx. This information is also available for review at the office of the MDEQ at the Permit Board address shown above during normal business hours. Please bring the foregoing to the attention of persons whom you know will be interested.