Another untruth is that this change made the mill a clean facility and made Louisiana-Pacific an environmentally conscious corporation. The truth is very different. In 1991 leaked internal documents confirmed that L.P. had been overcutting North Coast timberlands. In 1994 Louisiana-Pacific was again listed as California's No. 1 industrial polluter of air and water according to E.P.A. In 1995 a Louisiana-Pacific plant in Colorado was indicted on conspiracy and fraud charges for tampering with emissions control equipment and falsifying pollution reports. In 1998 Louisiana-Pacific pleaded guilty to fraud and environmental charges in federal court and agreed to pay 37 million in fines including 5.5 million for violations to the Clean Air Act- the largest fine in U.S. history. (Northcoast Journal). Louisiana-Pacific is presently being forced by fear of legal action to conduct a cleanup of the many toxic chemicals in the groundwater at the mill site.
The mill violations under Evergreen Pulp are well known, but will be discussed in future articles.
The fact that the Samoa Mill is a notorious violator of environmental laws does not stop thne past and present owners of the Samoa Pulp Mill from trying to portray this mill as a clean and environmentally friendly facility. People still spread the rumor that because the mill is chlorine free, it is also a clean mill. They either don't know the facts or choose to ignore them.