ADEQ opens comment period on Quartzsite used motor oil refinery permit

Quartzsite could soon host a used-motor-oil refinery on W. Dome Rock Road, and state regulators are asking the public to weigh in before deciding whether OTODIS, LLC can build and operate it. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has opened the comment period on Air Quality Control New Permit No. 109368, a permit that would cover construction and operation of the facility at 3005 W Dome Rock Road in La Paz County.

The proposal matters in Quartzsite because the town is small, with 2,413 residents counted in the 2020 census, and Interstate 10 runs directly through it. A project of this size would add a new industrial use to a community that already lives with heavy corridor traffic, desert heat, water pressure and the day-to-day questions that come with any new plant handling fuel-related material. Supporters may see private investment and jobs; critics are likely to focus on air quality, truck traffic, odors, waste handling and whether the operation fits the surrounding land uses.

If approved, the permit would allow OTODIS to move ahead with a refinery designed to turn used motor oil into Group 2 Base Oil. The draft technical support document says the facility would use a two-stage process that includes forced-circulation and wiped-film evaporation, along with solvent extraction using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The plant is designed to process 3,300 liters an hour, or about 871.8 gallons an hour.

ADEQ says the draft permit classifies the project as a Class II synthetic minor permit and was triggered because potential sulfur dioxide emissions exceed a significant threshold. That means the agency also required Minor New Source Review for sulfur dioxide and PM2.5. The notice lists expected emissions of PM10, PM2.5, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and hazardous air pollutants.

The application, dated May 1, lists Juan Orvananos as the responsible official and general manager. It also identifies a hot oil heater rated at 5.3 mmBTU, a boiler rated at 4.1 mmBTU, three 30,000-gallon used-oil storage tanks, three 13,000-gallon used-oil storage tanks and a 15,000-gallon oily water tank. The filing gives the site’s coordinates as 33°38′52″N, 114°15′58″W and an elevation of 993 feet.

Residents can still shape the outcome. Written comments are due June 12, and ADEQ will hold a virtual public hearing on June 11 at 6 p.m. Arizona time. The draft permit and supporting documents are available online, at the ADEQ Records Center by appointment and at the Town of Quartzsite Clerk’s Office at 465 N. Plymouth Avenue. Anyone who comments will have 30 days after a final decision is issued to appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings.