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Pulp Mill Allowed to Pollute More Local residents at a public hearing about pollution from a pulp and paper mill. Gordon, Alabama, sits directly across the Chattahoochee River from the Georgia-Pacific company's Cedar Springs pulp and paper mill. A predominantly African-American community represented by a black mayor, Gordon bears the brunt of pollution from the Cedar Springs facility, and residents suffer from irritation to the eyes and skin, among other maladies. But instead of cleaning up their act, Georgia-Pacific has applied for a permit that will allow the Cedar Springs plant to produce even more pollution. For Sammy Primm, a resident of Gordon, there's already too much air pollution near his home. He's complained about "burning eyes and skin, congestion, and bleeding from [his] nose."(1) Primm lives just a few miles from the Cedar Springs plant, located across the state line in Early County, Georgia. Now, based on new Bush administration policies, a change at the plant could well increase air pollution, making the area's air even dirtier. Early County has a population of less than 13,500, but it ranks 10th out of Georgia's 159 counties for total toxic pollution to air, water, and land.(2) The majority of this pollution comes from the Cedar Springs pulp and paper mill,(3) and most of it-about 1.9 million pounds annually-is methanol, a colorless, volatile, and poisonous liquid.(4) Studies show that methanol can cause blurred vision, nausea, dizziness, and may lead to blindness.(5) The Bush administration is proposing changes to the New Source Review program,(6) the part of the Clean Air Act requiring old factories to install modern pollution control technology when they increase the amount of pollution they are capable of producing. Much of the attention on this subject revolves around coal-burning power plants, but these are not the only factories affected. More than 17,000 plants across the country, including Cedar Springs, will be able to pollute more because of the proposed changes. In November 2001, Georgia Pacific applied for a permit(7) to make a change at their plant that would increase the potential amount of pollution the plant could produce. Claiming that they were making the change for safety reasons,(8) the company could have avoided the need for a review of their pollution controls if they limited their pollution to no more than what they were currently producing. Instead, Georgia-Pacific asked for a permit that would allow them to increase their pollution.(9) The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has approved the change,(10) without requiring additional pollution control equipment. The approval was given even though pollution control technology that could limit the smog and soot-related pollutants the mill produces is readily available. Press reports indicate that the fact that the company has no plans to increase emissions played a role.(11) The approval was also given despite the fact that Friends of the Chattahoochee (a local conservation group), the Sierra Club, and residents of Gordon attended the public hearing and pleaded for more monitoring and better enforcement of existing laws. Press reports also state that the changes made at the Cedar Springs facility would not be subject to review under the proposed changes in the New Source Review program.(12) If this case is indicative of current trends, the failure to install modern pollution controls-or even to inform the public of proposed changes in facilities producing dangerous pollution-would become the norm. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club