PORT TOWNSEND — A group of environmentalists has filed a proposed consent decree to force the federal Environmental Protection Agency to update its air-quality standards for kraft pulp paper mills such as that in Port Townsend.
The document, filed Aug. 27, would compel the EPA to follow a schedule for its update of the standards, which were last revised in 1986.
The EPA is now required to open a public comment period within 10 days of the filing, allowing anyone to provide input about the standards for a 30-day time frame, according to plaintiff’s attorney Helen Kang.
There will be no public meetings, as comments will be taken online and by mail, she said.
“The court can’t enter a settlement until the public has a chance to comment,” Kang said.
“In these cases, the judge generally approves the decree unless there is a fundamental flaw in the facts presented, which I do not expect in this case.”
Once approved, the EPA would be compelled to either complete a proposed rulemaking revising the standards to reflect the best-available control technology for pollution from these mills, or declare that no further review is necessary by May 13.
If the agency proposes new standards, they must be finalized no later than March 14, 2014, the proposed decree says.
“The requirement isn’t to change the law but to review it,” Kang said.
“This is major,” said Gretchen Brewer of PT AirWatchers, which was a party to a complaint originally filed Dec. 6, 2011, in the U.S. District Court Northern District of California, Oakland Division.
She said the decree would force “the EPA to revise its standards, which should have been done 17 years ago.”
The Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill is one of more than 100 kraft pulp mills across the nation that use chemicals to dissolve wood chips to make products, the plaintiffs said.
“The EPA has not reviewed kraft pulp mill emission-control standards, called ‘New Source Performance Standards,’ for more than 25 years,” they said in a statement.
“The Clean Air Act requires such reviews every eight years to ensure that the industry uses up-to-date pollution-control technology.”
Brewer added: “The EPA is supposed to review these standards every eight years, but they haven’t done anything since 1986.
“Since then, there has been a lot of new technology available to detect and correct air impurities.”
If the judge rules in favor of the decree, Brewer said, it would affect mills throughout the nation.
PT AirWatchers is among several environmental groups that oppose a $55 million expansion of a biomass cogeneration facility in Port Townsend.
In an email, mill spokeswoman Eveleen Muehlethaler said the company has not yet reviewed the proposed consent decree.
“We will keep track of what EPA plans to do going forward,” she wrote.
“We will continue to strive to be in compliance with the ever-changing rules and regulations and thus continue to improve our processes.”
Joining the filing of the document were three other plaintiffs: the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, and Greenpeace.
“It’s a shame that we have to sue,” Kang said.
“But it’s the only way we can get the EPA to follow the law.”
A written statement supplied by EPA spokesman Mark Macintyre said the agency has agreed to the standard revision schedule.
“Under the proposed consent decree, EPA will review the NSPS for kraft pulp mills and issue a proposal by May 15, 2013,” it reads.
“The consent decree is not final — it is subject to a statutory 30-day public notice-and-comment period after it is published in the Federal Register.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
