Mr. Simpson has stated that the mill is up to date on air permits. What he did not say was that the mill's federal Title V permit is past due for renewal. They had been operating on a temporary permit to operate issued by the local Air Board. Their Title V permit should be renewed every 5 years. Normally, there would have been a set of hearings with public input at the end of their 5 years. This is past due. We will continue to look into the legality of this.
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Freshwater Pulp has informed the Water Board that they want to reopen July 1, 2010. They have requested an interim permit that would let them use the existing outfall line. This has been denied. They have to apply for the full permit. A list of information needed by the Water Board is included in the January 4, 2010 letter from the Water Board. The full text of the letter will appear on Geotracker.
I am sure they did not get the $400 million to ostensibly make the plant “green”. This means that we will be getting the same old pollution. It is telling that they asked for an interim permit using the same outfall pipe from which the mill discharged chemicals way above accepted levels and were fined $400,000. Meanwhile, the Water Board has given them deadlines for testing and cleanup of the site which is polluted with heavy metals and other cancer causing agents. (See Geotracker.) After all the media hype about an environmentally friendly plant, it seems that it is same old/ same old with the mill: pollute, pollute, pollute. You say you care about the community. Just like Mr. Tsang and Evergreen said they cared. |
AuthorWe live here in West Eureka have been victims of Evergreen Pulp's pollution. Now Freshwater Pulp wants to start it up again. We would like to know your thoughts and experiences with this. Now that Freshwater is not going to reopen, we are concerned about the massive quantity of contaminants that have been dumped on the site. These sites usually leak into adjacent areas and people live 750 yards from the point of maximum impact, the most polluted point, a Hot spot. We are also concerned that the Marina center site be properly cleaned up and will continue to discuss other local issues here. However, we will not let the mill issue rest until we actually see the smokestacks go down and the site is cleaned up. Archives
June 2019
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