FW: Upson Beacon: Brightmark criticized at EPD hearing in Thomaston
neillh...@earthlink.net
From: Mark Woodall <woodal...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2026 9:24 AM
Subject: Upson Beacon:
Brightmark criticized at EPD hearing in Thomaston
Good morning:
The Upson Beacon sent their sports reporter to the hearing Monday night. He did the best job I've seen out of that paper as they have totally been on Team Brightmark. As Jennette mentioned, that was one of the most one sided EPD hearings I have ever attended. The only hearing with more opposition that I can recall was when Springs Industries bought Dundee mills in Griffin and wanted to run a pipeline to put their waste water directly in the Flint River. The only person for that was the CEO of the Georgia Textile Manufacturers Association.
I'm glad that someone read the names of the Thomaston-Upson IDA members. They are the ones most responsible for the Brightmark scam. If I had a budget for outside agitators, I'd hire a bus full to picket Chase Fallin's store, the car wash and any other place of business associated with the shadow government as we call them.
Good job to all and thanks! Mark Woodall, Sierra Club Legislative Chair
Featured Top Story
In a gymnasium set up for 260 people, at least 150 showed up to a public hearing by Georgia Environmental Protection Division on a draft air permit for Brightmark for a proposed 2.5 million-square-foot plastics pyrolysis facility in Upson’s Central Georgia Business & Technology Park.
Of more than 30 residents who spoke, only one spoke in favor of the permit.
For nearly two hours, residents raised multiple concerns over the project following an opening presentation by Steve Allison, information manager of the stationary source permitting program. Slides from the presentation are available in the online edition of this story.
In all, the permit would cover a plastics recycling renewal facility able to convert up to 400,000 tons of plastics into liquid hydrocarbon fuel and included 13 storage tanks, a boiler, two flares, two direct-fired oxidizers, two shredders, two dryers, a steam methane reformer to produce hydrogen, two catalytic reduction systems, three reciprocating engines, and a backup generator.
Allison added that the facility was required to calculate emissions monthly and accumulate a 12-month rolling total starting within 180 days of startup.
However, residents raised numerous concerns over Brightmark’s willingness to comply with “self-monitoring.” Tami Boyle was first to speak and stated that Brightmark’s Indiana facility had “been in violation for 11 quarters.”
Upson Emergency Management Agency Director Richard Hickmon stated he was neutral on the idea of Brightmark coming to Thomaston, but he warned that Upson County was not ready to handle a large fire at the facility, should one occur.
“No county in Georgia is,” Hickmon added.
The meeting was filled with a mix of residents and dignitaries, with members of Thomaston-Upson Industrial Development Authority, Thomaston City Council, and Upson Board of Commissioners in attendance.
Other concerns raised by residents included the production of benzine by the facility, emissions, traffic in and out of the facility, health concerns, water concerns with a nearby creek, waste production, lowered property values, and stricter monitoring.
One resident, Jerry Marston, challenged EPD members directly and asked if any of them would want to live within one-half mile of the facility.
Two environmental protection organizations were in attendance as well, with Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia and Marissa Land of Southern Environmental Law Center speaking during public comments.
Gayer said the project was “a really bad example of greenwashing and a complete boondoggle.” She added that the process creates carbon pollution three times during the process, including when it is created, when it is melted, and when it is burned as fuel elsewhere.
She criticized EPD’s lack of carbon dioxide emissions testing and said the application process was filled with redactions hidden under the guise of trade secrets.
“Georgians deserve a better application than what was delivered, riddled with mistakes and redactions,” she said.
She raised further concerns at the lack of a solid waste permit with the quoted 400,000 tons of feed stock.
Land raised more concerns over the application, and she stated that many issues raised by SELC were not addressed in the draft permit, which she said would impact Thomaston and many surrounding communities.
No local government officials spoke during the meeting, and lone favorable comments came from Jeff Tarrant.
Tarrant criticized much of the commentary on Brightmark on social media and added that he was impressed with Brightmark and their top staff, who he said came to visit and inquire about the people in Upson County prior to Brightmark’s arrival announcement. He compared the emissions released by Brightmark to that of a community hospital.
He challenged that Upson County had been stagnant, and that growth is necessary for the county to thrive.
Allison informed The Upson Beacon that there is no timeline for when a decision will be made regarding the draft permit, as all comments from the public hearing must be considered. Each comment must have a response, and those will be added as an addendum to the permit when it is released.
Should the permit fail, it is unclear what next steps would be regarding Brightmark and the proposed circularity center. The company could choose to re-apply for a permit, which would restart the entire process.
A statement from Brightmark is forthcoming.