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Crofton mill's controls tightened |
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By Edward Hill
Ladysmith Chronicle
Mar 01 2006
In an unusual move, B.C. Ministry of Environment has imposed tighter
controls on the Crofton pulp mill's operating permit based on
recommendations by a local environmental lobby.
Bernard Bintner, the ministry officer drafting the permit, said the
Crofton Airshed Citizens Group successfully argued that some updated
pollutant limits were, in fact, not improvements over the old limits.
In the latest draft permit, the allowable daily release of sulphur
compounds, called TRS, has been dropped between 25 and 29 per cent,
depending on which boilers are operating. It also now specifies limits
on dioxins and furans, based on existing Canadian standards, and
specifies limits on the emission of bleach byproducts.
"They inserted some limits and brought the TRS down, but it's what they
said they were doing in the first place," Rob Wiltzen, the CACG
coordinator, said at Catalyst Paper's community advisory forum last
week. "It is significant, but it isn't all the way."
Wiltzen, who is also member of the CAF, called for the permit to
regulate a broad range of chemical compounds, and to be "forward
looking", specifying further improvements on a timetable.
"There are in other B.C. mill permits, clauses that look to future
improvements," Wiltzen said. "The proposed draft includes nothing of
this nature. The permit should be forward-looking with an eye to future
progress."
Bintner said he wouldn't be expanding the list of controlled chemicals
and heavy metals, as the majority are indirectly regulated by limits on
particulate matter. He said B.C. doesn't have standard pollutant limits
for pulp mills - each is regulated on what is achievable with its
technology.
"It is very difficult to set a standard," Bintner said. "Permits need
to be enforceable and achievable, and each is tailor- made for each
mill. This permit is very good, we have come a long way."
But breaking from past practice, Bintner said future permit updates
could be based on the community forum's formative pollution prevention
process. As the process finds avenues for improvement at the mill, the
permit can be rewritten as needed, Bintner said.
"The fact is this permit hasn't been rewritten in 15 years. There is no reason not to keep it current."
Don McKendrick, Catalyst Crofton's vice-president, said he supports the
permit changes, and called the suggestion for continuous permit updates
as "precedent-setting".
"This permit amendment is catching up to our improvements," McKendrick
said. "What I see happening is more of a commitment to keep the permit
current."
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