All News Releases By Date

EPA CRACKS DOWN ON POLLUTING PULP MILLS

Release Date: 4/20/1999
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548

PHILADELPHIA - The United States Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on pulp and paper mills that are polluting the air and the Chesapeake Bay.

The agency announced today it has issued notices of violation to seven mills for violating the Clean Air Act. The mills are: St. Laurent of West Point, Va.; Smurfit-Stone of Hopewell, Va.; Westvaco of Luke, Md; Glatfelter of Spring Grove, Pa; Willamette of Johnsonburg, Pa., and Union Camp of Franklin, Va. EPA previously issued a notice of violation against Richmond Paperboard of Richmond, Va.

The notices allege numerous violations of the Clean Air Act. They include significant violations of emission standards, failure to install required air pollution control equipment, failure to maintain and operate air pollution control equipment, failure to obtain required permits, and failure to test, monitor, report and notify as required by law.

These violations caused the unlawful release of more than one hundred million pounds of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur compounds into the air each year. The violations resulted from the mills’ expanding operations without installing the necessary pollution control equipment or obtaining the required permits. Most of the illegal releases are from boilers used to generate energy at the mills. Correcting these violations would help the environment as much as taking one-half million cars off the road.

"Today’s action takes the profit out of pollution. Holding these mills accountable for their environmental responsibilities means that polluting pulp mills will no longer have an unfair advantage over those facilities that comply with the law," said EPA Regional Administrator W. Michael McCabe.

Potential penalties will be calculated based on the economic benefit the violators enjoyed as a result of their failure to control pollution. These benefits are estimated to be in the millions of dollars per case. The companies will also be required to install the necessary pollution control equipment.

These emissions violations are polluting the Chesapeake Bay with more than 10 million pounds of nitrogen per year. Too much nitrogen spurs the growth of algae that blocks sunlight to underwater grasses. When the algae die, they decompose and deplete the water of oxygen. These effects decrease both the biodiversity of the Bay and its productivity as a natural resource.

Nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide contribute to acid rain which destroys lakes, rivers, streams, and crops. Nitrogen oxide is also a major contributor to ground-level ozone pollution, which aggravates asthma, emphysema and other respiratory problems. Even healthy adults can experience difficulty breathing when ozone levels are high. Over 12 million people in the mid-Atlantic region live in areas that do not meet the federal health-based standard for ozone.

In this initiative, EPA worked cooperatively with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in investigating these facilities. EPA is continuing to work with Virginia and Pennsylvania to resolve these violations. EPA’s mid-Atlantic region recently conducted a national training course in pulp mill technology and enforcement in March.