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The owners of an El Dorado chemical plant where a January 2005 fire forced the evacuation of about 2,500 residents shouldn’t have been granted a new permit, according to an appeal filed on behalf of residents.

The residents claim the 320-acre chemical plant has a “history of noncompliance,” resulting in numerous fires, explosions and harmful releases to the environment, the appeal filed with the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission says.

A preliminary hearing on the appeal has been set for June 19.

The permit, granted by the Arkansa...