PORT ANGELES — It will be a challenge for the Nippon paper mill to meet new federal air pollution rules for its planned biomass cogeneration upgrade, said the facility’s environmental manager.
The new boiler that Nippon Paper Industries USA plans to install next year would not meet new requirements for carbon monoxide and particulates, Paul Perlwitz said.
Less stringent
That’s despite the new regulations, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency last week, being less stringent overall than those previously proposed.
Perlwitz said the $71 million boiler has been designed to meet the regulations EPA was proposing last year, which were less restrictive when it came to emissions of carbon monoxide and particulates.
“We’re getting to believe that EPA may have made an error,” he said.
The boiler — which would burn wood waste from mills and logging sites to produce steam and up to 20 megawatts of electricity, which the facility could sell credits for — isn’t yet under construction.
Perlwitz said it’s unknown what would have to be changed in the design.
He added that the mill would have 3.5 years to come into compliance.
“It does present some challenges,” Perlwitz said.
“We have to study the rule more.”
The emission rules are separate from the greenhouse gas regulations EPA enacted last month. Those new rules do not apply to biomass boilers.
Port Townsend paper mill
Port Townsend Paper Corp. is also planning a biomass boiler upgrade. The $55 million project would generate up to 24 megawatts of power, which the facility could sell.
Company officials could not be reached for comment on the new EPA regulations.
A permit for Nippon’s new boiler has been appealed to the state Shoreline Hearings Board by six environmental groups.
Perlwitz said hearings have been scheduled for April 7 and May 2-3.
The groups appealing the Nippon permit are No Biomass Burn, Port Townsend AirWatchers, World Temperate Rainforest Network, Olympic Environmental Council, Olympic Forest Coalition and the state chapter of the Sierra Club.
Five of the same groups — excluding the Sierra Club — also have appealed the Port Townsend mill’s project.
The hearings board is scheduled to hear the issue June 2-3.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
