Sep. 30--After more than two years of fine-tuning, state health officials are putting final touches on a permit that would grant Kinder Morgan Energy Partners permission to expand its North Charleston coal terminal.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control will go over a draft of the operating permit tonight at a public meeting. The 55-page permit would allow the facility to release a certain amount of dust and other particles into the air during its daily operations.

Liz Basil, a permit director for the agency's Bureau of Air Quality, said that the permit's restrictions have been strengthened throughout the process.

For example, the original permit said that crane operators had to stop scooping coal from ships onto conveyer belts when the sustained wind speed hit 35 miles per hour. The latest permit lowers that threshold to 25 miles per hour.

To prevent the fine coal dust from escaping the site, the company enclosed a portion of its conveyer belt system. It also installed additional water spraying systems throughout the facility.

Under the permit, workers will have to submit semi-annual emission reports, and the facility will be subject to surprise state-led inspections. The site passed two such visits in July, state documents show.

Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based energy company, originally asked in early 2006 for permission to expand its annual coal off-loading capacity to 10 million tons. That's four times its current capacity.

Company executives have said they want to bring in more imported coal from South America.

But nearby residents and boaters who dock at the Cooper River Marina objected to the proposed expansion, citing health concerns, railroad traffic worries and the fact that the coal often covered the boats with a layer of dust after a windstorm.

The objections prompted the formation of a citizen's advisory panel, which meets monthly. The company came up with ways to speed up train traffic crossings, while air quality tests showed that the amount of coal dust emitted by the facility falls within federal health guidelines.

Despite the findings, several panel members have said they're still concerned about the expansion.

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