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BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE
PO Box 88 ~
Glendale Springs, North Carolina 28629 ~ Phone
(336) 982-2691 ~ Fax (336) 982-2954 ~ Email:
BREDL@skybest.com
PRESS
RELEASE
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 12, 2004
CONTACTS:
Louis Zeller (704) 756-7550
Janet Zeller (336) 982-2691
Gean Seay (910) 253-8690
David Mickey (336) 769-0955
GROUPS
HOLD PEOPLE’S HEARING ON INTERNATIONAL PAPER
Today in Lake
Waccamaw the BE SAFE North Carolina Campaign
hosted a public hearing on the air permits and
new proposals for International Paper at
Riegelwood. Speakers took aim at the recently
issued Clean Air Act permit and IP’s
proposal to avoid meeting federal maximum
achievable control technology standards. IP has
proposed to substitute a computer-modeled risk
assessment for federally mandated technological
improvements.
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
opposes the delays, variances and pollution
trading schemes requested by IP. Janet Zeller,
BREDL’s Executive Director, said, “Even
before the federal MACT for pulp and paper mills
has been finalized, IP is trying to get out of
using off-the-shelf technology to reduce air
poisons. The Easley administration must not
reverse state air policy and allow these plants
to make their own rules.”
Hope Taylor-Guevara, who heads Clean Water for
North Carolina, was concerned that the state not
violate requirements for public participation.
She said, “Downwind communities suffer when
the state gives permits to pollute, but IP‘s
plan would set a new standard for permissive
permitting.”
Gean Seay, an IP neighbor and head of the local
Swamp Watch Action Team, reported that Columbus
County is among the top 40% of the nation’s
most polluted counties. Her concerns about health
were echoed by several speakers. Seay said,
“Based on EPA’s most currently
available data, 54,749 people in Columbus County
face a cancer risk more than 100 times the goal
set by the Clean Air Act. International Paper in
Riegelwood is the largest contributor to bad air.
The people who live in its shadow or work in its
stench have a right to know the health effect of
every toxin being discharged into their
air.”
The BE SAFE North Carolina Campaign promotes a
precautionary approach to air pollution.
Commenting on IP’s proposal to substitute
risk assessment for technological upgrades,
BREDL’s David Mickey described the IP plan
as anything but a better-safe-than-sorry
approach. He said, “Assumptions and
mathematics won't protect people; stopping toxic
pollution will."
The BE SAFE Campaign hosted the People’s
Hearing because the NC Division of Air Quality
gave inadequate public notice for IP’s Title
V permit, failed to honor a written public
comment period, and refused to hold a state
hearing even though many local residents and
statewide organizations had sent written
requests. Transcripts and videos of the
People’s Hearing will be provided to state
and EPA officials.
The US EPA has just completed a review of the IP
federal Title V permit. Citizens have 60 days to
file a lawsuit challenging the permit. The NC
Division of Air Quality has released a draft
permit which would substitute a study for new
pollution controls. Both the state and EPA are
considering an “equivalency by permit”
for IP’s so-called innovative technology
plan. The public will have opportunities to
comment on these two new proposals.
-end-
More info:
Jan. 27, 2004: BREDL
comments to EPA regarding International
Paper Riegelwood air pollution permits.
IP Fact Sheet
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