YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) -- The SOBE Concerned Citizens group is asking the Ohio EPA to rescind a 10-year permit granted to SOBE Thermal Energy to use pyrolysis, a process used to turn tire chips into synthetic gas.

It comes after SOBE was put into receivership by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the steam plant equipment was repossessed by Wabash Power Equipment in September. The PUCO has been overseeing SOBE's operations since then.

A press release sent Thursday from SOBE Concerned Citizens said an organizer on Oct. 6 mailed a letter signed by over 220 Youngstown residents to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency director, demanding that the permit be rescinded.

The letter states an assistant city attorney for Youngstown "confirmed that the 10-year air pollution permit is

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