December 26, 2005
A burning question | Battle lines form over the use of waste wood as an energy source
By Jess Kilby
The standards for burning waste wood as fuel in Maine might be changing soon, and nobody seems happy with the new rules being proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The rules concern construction and demolition wood ˆ a material known as CDW ˆ which is salvaged from commercial and residential worksites for use as fuel in biomass boilers at power plants, paper mills or other large, industrial facilities. To date, the state has lacked formal guidelines for issuing CDW permits, instead determining regulations on a case-by-case basis. The new rules aim to standardize that process by creating uniform limits on various toxins that are often found in CDW, such as asbestos, arsenic, lead and PCBs, and by addressing the handling, storage and testing of CDW for contaminants.
But companies hoping to fire their boilers with CDW ˆ which is becoming more attractive in part because of the rising cost of traditional energy sources ˆ say the new rules
would require that material to be cleaner than is economically feasible. Sappi Fine Paper has a permit pending to burn CDW at its Westbrook mill, and GenPower of Massachusetts is proposing a state-of-the-art power plant in Athens to do the same. Georgia-Pacific has a permit to burn CDW in its Old Town mill, but is holding off on using the fuel until the rules are settled.
These companies say the new benchmarks are higher than the DEP's own tests have proven necessary, particularly if the fuel is destined for modern boilers equipped with the latest emission-control technology. Moreover, executives like John Martis, managing director for Sappi's Westbrook mill, say the ability to burn CDW is a "matter of survival."
Martis is hoping to use CDW to replace 200,000 of the 438,000 tons of virgin wood his mill burns each year. The company stands to save $7 per ton, or $1.4 million annually, on the switch, but Martis says the permit application is about more than money. He notes that a large biomass facility in New Hampshire is scheduled to come online in 2006, which would require huge quantities of virgin wood. "[T]he marketplace will dry up for the material that I need to fire my boiler in Westbrook," Martis said at a November Bureau of Environmental Protection public hearing on the rule changes. "If I can't get the wood at all, I can't fire the boiler."
Environmentalists and concerned citizens, however, say the new rules are far too lax. These groups are particularly worried by the DEP's proposal to double from 50% to 100% the amount of CDW allowed in the fuel mix of permitted boilers. Critics warn that such an increase would not only introduce unhealthy levels of toxins into the environment, but also clog Maine's landfills with five tons of unburnable debris for every ton of wood that is salvaged from the mix. That's because most CDW would come from out of state, as Maine barely produces enough CDW to fire a single boiler for one month, according to the State Planning Office.
Smoke alarm
Maine and New York are the only northeast states where CDW is burned as a fuel source. Massachusetts allows it, but doesn't have any boilers that are currently using CDW, and New Hampshire passed a year-long moratorium on the practice last June to conduct studies that will inform the state's stance on the issue. The practice is banned everywhere else in the region.
Opponents of the Sappi permit, who think both the current process and the proposed rules changes are based on bad science, have convinced the DEP to hold a public hearing on Sappi's application. Officials say that hearing will probably happen in February.
In addition, Maine Toxics Action Center Associate Director Will Everitt would like to see the residents of Westbrook pass a 180-day moratorium on CDW burning, "to look at this issue and figure out what public health protections and ordinances they need on this."
Everitt, a Portland resident, isn't the only one who wants to put on the brakes ˆ the newly formed Westbrook for Clean Air committee is pushing for a statewide moratorium on CDW permits until further research can be conducted. These critics say the DEP is basing its fuel quality standards and other recommendations on a flawed interpretation of a study the DEP commissioned the University of Maine to conduct last year at two of the state's five CDW-burning boilers.
UMaine economics professor Melvin Burke explained his objections to the DEP's methods at the November BEP hearing. "I would like to point out to you that this is not a random study," he said. "These were selective samples. To extrapolate that to say that the characteristics of this sample and these test runs are characteristic of the entire biomass burning of CDW is not scientifically valid. You have to have a random sample."
Moreover, those bothered by the DEP's proposal to let companies burn 100% CDW note that the UMaine study only ran test burns with 50% CDW in the mix ˆ and even then produced dioxin levels that were 25% to 50% of the allowable level for air quality standards. By doubling the amount of CDW burned, critics see a recipe for unsafe dioxin levels. "Dioxin is not safe at any level," said Matthew Davis, Environment Maine advocate, at the hearing. "We're limiting the amount that comes from mills [through other regulations], and why, oh, why would we ever bring more dioxin into this state?"
But Paula Clark, director of the DEP's Division of Solid Waste, stands by the state's science. "The people in the Bureau of Air Quality are comfortable that burning wood from [construction and demolition debris] is environmentally sound and does meet relevant air quality standards," she says.
And Sappi spokesman Jeffrey Pina notes that the Westbrook mill is only applying to burn 50% CDW, which will be fed into modern boilers. "We have the technology to make sure whatever we burn will be within acceptable guidelines for emissions," he says.
In the meantime, Clark says the DEP is currently working with members of the governor-appointed BEP to address concerns about the new rules raised at the public hearing. She says it will be January at the earliest before the new rules are approved in any form. Current licensees will have until the end of June 2006 to comply with any changes to their permits required by the new rules. Whatever those rule changes look like, opponents will likely keep up the fight, however, by challenging individual permit applications and attempting to pass municipal moratoriums on the burning of CDW.
The rules concern construction and demolition wood ˆ a material known as CDW ˆ which is salvaged from commercial and residential worksites for use as fuel in biomass boilers at power plants, paper mills or other large, industrial facilities. To date, the state has lacked formal guidelines for issuing CDW permits, instead determining regulations on a case-by-case basis. The new rules aim to standardize that process by creating uniform limits on various toxins that are often found in CDW, such as asbestos, arsenic, lead and PCBs, and by addressing the handling, storage and testing of CDW for contaminants.
But companies hoping to fire their boilers with CDW ˆ which is becoming more attractive in part because of the rising cost of traditional energy sources ˆ say the new rules
would require that material to be cleaner than is economically feasible. Sappi Fine Paper has a permit pending to burn CDW at its Westbrook mill, and GenPower of Massachusetts is proposing a state-of-the-art power plant in Athens to do the same. Georgia-Pacific has a permit to burn CDW in its Old Town mill, but is holding off on using the fuel until the rules are settled.
These companies say the new benchmarks are higher than the DEP's own tests have proven necessary, particularly if the fuel is destined for modern boilers equipped with the latest emission-control technology. Moreover, executives like John Martis, managing director for Sappi's Westbrook mill, say the ability to burn CDW is a "matter of survival."
Martis is hoping to use CDW to replace 200,000 of the 438,000 tons of virgin wood his mill burns each year. The company stands to save $7 per ton, or $1.4 million annually, on the switch, but Martis says the permit application is about more than money. He notes that a large biomass facility in New Hampshire is scheduled to come online in 2006, which would require huge quantities of virgin wood. "[T]he marketplace will dry up for the material that I need to fire my boiler in Westbrook," Martis said at a November Bureau of Environmental Protection public hearing on the rule changes. "If I can't get the wood at all, I can't fire the boiler."
Environmentalists and concerned citizens, however, say the new rules are far too lax. These groups are particularly worried by the DEP's proposal to double from 50% to 100% the amount of CDW allowed in the fuel mix of permitted boilers. Critics warn that such an increase would not only introduce unhealthy levels of toxins into the environment, but also clog Maine's landfills with five tons of unburnable debris for every ton of wood that is salvaged from the mix. That's because most CDW would come from out of state, as Maine barely produces enough CDW to fire a single boiler for one month, according to the State Planning Office.
Smoke alarm
Maine and New York are the only northeast states where CDW is burned as a fuel source. Massachusetts allows it, but doesn't have any boilers that are currently using CDW, and New Hampshire passed a year-long moratorium on the practice last June to conduct studies that will inform the state's stance on the issue. The practice is banned everywhere else in the region.
Opponents of the Sappi permit, who think both the current process and the proposed rules changes are based on bad science, have convinced the DEP to hold a public hearing on Sappi's application. Officials say that hearing will probably happen in February.
In addition, Maine Toxics Action Center Associate Director Will Everitt would like to see the residents of Westbrook pass a 180-day moratorium on CDW burning, "to look at this issue and figure out what public health protections and ordinances they need on this."
Everitt, a Portland resident, isn't the only one who wants to put on the brakes ˆ the newly formed Westbrook for Clean Air committee is pushing for a statewide moratorium on CDW permits until further research can be conducted. These critics say the DEP is basing its fuel quality standards and other recommendations on a flawed interpretation of a study the DEP commissioned the University of Maine to conduct last year at two of the state's five CDW-burning boilers.
UMaine economics professor Melvin Burke explained his objections to the DEP's methods at the November BEP hearing. "I would like to point out to you that this is not a random study," he said. "These were selective samples. To extrapolate that to say that the characteristics of this sample and these test runs are characteristic of the entire biomass burning of CDW is not scientifically valid. You have to have a random sample."
Moreover, those bothered by the DEP's proposal to let companies burn 100% CDW note that the UMaine study only ran test burns with 50% CDW in the mix ˆ and even then produced dioxin levels that were 25% to 50% of the allowable level for air quality standards. By doubling the amount of CDW burned, critics see a recipe for unsafe dioxin levels. "Dioxin is not safe at any level," said Matthew Davis, Environment Maine advocate, at the hearing. "We're limiting the amount that comes from mills [through other regulations], and why, oh, why would we ever bring more dioxin into this state?"
But Paula Clark, director of the DEP's Division of Solid Waste, stands by the state's science. "The people in the Bureau of Air Quality are comfortable that burning wood from [construction and demolition debris] is environmentally sound and does meet relevant air quality standards," she says.
And Sappi spokesman Jeffrey Pina notes that the Westbrook mill is only applying to burn 50% CDW, which will be fed into modern boilers. "We have the technology to make sure whatever we burn will be within acceptable guidelines for emissions," he says.
In the meantime, Clark says the DEP is currently working with members of the governor-appointed BEP to address concerns about the new rules raised at the public hearing. She says it will be January at the earliest before the new rules are approved in any form. Current licensees will have until the end of June 2006 to comply with any changes to their permits required by the new rules. Whatever those rule changes look like, opponents will likely keep up the fight, however, by challenging individual permit applications and attempting to pass municipal moratoriums on the burning of CDW.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments