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Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc.'s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Elkton, Virginia, will comply with requirements to limit ("cap") certain pollutant emissions below recent actual levels, ensuring sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emission reductions needed to protect visibility and reduce acid deposition in nearby Shenandoah National Park and the community. To provide operational flexibility under the cap, Merck will convert its coal-burning powerhouse to natural gas, a much cleaner burning fuel, at a capital cost of approximately $10 million. So long as Merck's emissions remain below the caps, Merck will no longer need to obtain prior approval from EPA or the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) for changes at the facility that cause emission increases. EPA's final site-specific rule to implement the Merck XL project was published in the Federal Register on October 8, 1997 (62 FR 52622).