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SIMPSON PAPER TO RESTORE HABITAT, PAY FINE FOR OCEAN POLLUTION

Release Date: 3/8/1995
Contact Information: Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

 (San Francisco)--  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S. EPA) today announced that Simpson Paper Co. will fund three
projects to restore fisheries habitat and pay a fine of $32,500,
to settle violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at Simpson's
Fairhaven Pulp Mill in Humboldt County.  Most of the violations
occurred just before Simpson closed the mill in early 1993.

     "U.S. EPA is committed to helping companies comply with
environmental laws and taking swift and effective enforcement
action when they do not," said Alexis Strauss, director of Water
Management for U.S. EPA's western region.  "In this case, we are
particularly pleased that Simpson agreed to fund three fisheries
restoration projects, which we believe will be a benefit to the
community and the environment."

     The first two violations in the current case were recorded
in September and October of 1991, just weeks after the
announcement of the $2.9 million fine against the mill for
thousands of CWA violations during the 1980s.  The other
violations occurred in January and February 1993, as Simpson
illegally disposed of leftover raw materials and waste products
from the pulp manufacturing process.  During those months,
Simpson washed 11 tons of quick lime, thousands of gallons of
solidified sodium silicate, and 263 cubic yards of highly
alkaline waste products into drains that carried these materials
directly into the ocean.

     Under a consent agreement, in addition to paying the $32,500
fine, Simpson will pay for three fisheries habitat restoration
projects, at an estimated cost of approximately $60,000.  The
restoration projects will involve improvements along reaches of
Long Prairie Creek, Terwer Creek, and Salmon Creek, all in
western Humboldt County.  The projects are designed to restore
habitat for fish species that migrate between the ocean and
coastal streams, such as the chinook and coho salmon and the
steelhead and cutthroat trout.

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