Researchers: paper mills generate more greenhouse gases than reported

A new report from Environmental Integrity Project — a national watchdog group founded by Eric Schaffer, former director of the Environmental Protection Agency — claims some paper mills could be generating up to three times more greenhouse gas emissions than reported.

Researchers spent six months reviewing state and federal data for 185 pulp and paper mills across the country, combing through thousands of public records, and visited three mills: one in South Carolina, one in Virginia and the Port Townsend Paper Co. mill north of Seattle.

“Even in the digital age, we need paper products. But there is no reason a clean sheet of paper needs to be made with dirty fuels and antiquated methods,” Environmental Integrity Project executive director Jen Duggan said in a news release.

Of the 185 mills reviewed, 73 percent have outdated boilers still in operation, many dating back to World War II, according to the report, including the Georgia-Pacific mill in Camas and Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Smurfit Westrock Corrugated and North Pacific Paper Co., or NORPAC, in Longview. Nippon Dynawave had the oldest boiler on the list, which dates to 1928.

“About half of the facilities — 90 of the 185 — reported burning a high-polluting wood waste product called ‘black liquor,’ and 38 of the mills reported burning other dirty fuels, including coal, tires, or an oil refinery waste product called petroleum coke,” Tom Pelton, communications manager for Environmental Integrity Project, wrote in an email.

Black liquor is a thick, dark fluid that is a by-product created when pulpwood is converted into paper pulp. It contains lignin, the material in trees that binds wood fibers together. The EPA classifies black liquor as a carbon-neutral, renewable biomass fuel.

“(The) EPA’s inaccurate system for reporting greenhouse gases, which allows companies to exclude the carbon dioxide released from burning ‘black liquor’ and other wood products, hides the real climate impact of paper mills and inhibits an industry transition to cleaner production methods,” the report states.

State Department of Ecology and EPA data from 2023 show the Georgia-Pacific mill in Camas produced 53,794 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s similar to NORPAC’s Longview facility, with 36,395 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Numbers for Longview’s two other mills included in the report were substantially higher. The Smurfit Westrock mill produced 1.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, and the Nippon Dynawave mill produced nearly 1.6 million metric tons. Data for 2024 is not yet available.

Smurfit Westrock — which also operates the Covington, Va., mill that researchers visited — disputes claims that greenhouse gas emissions are underreported.

“Contrary to the statements in the report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rules require U.S. paper mills to submit total tons of biogenic and fossil fuel CO2 emissions to the agency,” the company said in a statement June 10. “These reports are publicly available on USEPA’s website and accurately depict emissions measured at the Longview mill.”

North Pacific Paper Co. did not respond to requests for comment.

Duggan said the paper industry needs to modernize its plants to use cleaner, more efficient power systems that will reduce climate pollution. The issue, the group says, is that older boilers — those older than 15 years — are not only less efficient but also more likely to release higher rates of pollution than newer boilers. The average age of the boilers at the mills examined was 41 years.

While the data included in the report does match reports from Ecology and the EPA, it does not reflect that Georgia-Pacific has replaced its old boiler.

“That boiler was taken out of service, and we have a new boiler that started up in 2021,” Kristi Ward, spokesperson for the Camas mill, said June 9.

As Georgia-Pacific knows, the cost for replacing these outdated boilers can run into the millions of dollars. Georgia-Pacific’s new package boiler, which allowed the mill to increase its steam production and reduce emissions, was part of a $15 million investment the company made to update the facility.

“This is the first one I’ve heard. It’s not impossible because, as we indicated in our report, our source was EPA records which were a few years old,” Pelton said after learning about the boiler replacement. “If companies have upgraded in the last couple of years … then good for them.”

Shari Phiel: [email protected]; 360-562-6317; @Shari_Phiel

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