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

Public Notice Start Date: July 19, 2019	MDEQ Contact: Mr. Jaricus Whitlock

Relativity Space, Inc. (i.e. “Relativity), located at Building 4080 in the Stennis Space Center, MS, has applied to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for the following permitting action:  receive a Permit to Construct Air Emissions Equipment (Air Ref. No. 1000-00058).  The applicant's operations fall within SIC Code 3764 (Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Units and Propulsion Unit Parts).  An air construction permit application was initially received on March 1, 2019.  A Permit Review Summary (PRS) 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.  

Relativity is a new aerospace manufacturer that develops launchers and rocket engines for commercial orbital launch services.  Relativity is proposing to establish rocket engine testing operations at a leased site (Building 4080) on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John C. Stennis Space Center.  Based on the maximum uncontrolled facility-wide emissions of each criteria pollutant, Relativity does not exceed applicable Title V threshold [i.e. 100 tons per year (tpy)].  However, Relativity has opted to impose a carbon monoxide (CO) emission limitation of 95.0 tpy in order to maintain operational flexibility.  CO is the only pollutant that will be limited, as rocket engine testing operations solely involve combustion practices and CO emissions can be generated in substantial quantities as a result of incomplete combustion.

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(s), to ensure that the final staff recommendation on 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 resulting recommendation to the Permit Board.  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 Mr. Jaricus Whitlock at the Permit Board's 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.  A public hearing will be held if the Permit Board finds a significant degree of public interest in the proposed permit.  Persons wishing to request a public hearing may do so by submitting that request in writing to Mr. Jaricus Whitlock or the Chief of the Environmental Permits Division (Ms. Krystal Rudolph) at the 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.

Additional details about the application, including a copy of the draft permit, are available by writing or calling Mr. Lorenzo Boddie at the above Permit Board address and telephone number.  Additionally, as a courtesy for those with Internet access, a copy of the draft permit may be found on the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s website at: http://opc.deq.state.ms.us/publicnotice.aspx.  This information is also available for review at the following locations during normal business hours:

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Pollution Control
515 E. Amite Street
Jackson, MS  39201

LIBRARY ADDRESS
Kiln Public Library
17065 Highway 603
Kiln, MS  39556

Please bring the foregoing to the attention of persons whom you know will be interested.