Latest news with #EnvironmentalIntegrityProject
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Decades-old paper mill in Covington named nation's top climate polluter in new report
The Smurfit Westrock paper mill in Covington. (Photo by Tom Pelton/Environmental Integrity Project) A World War II-era boiler in Virginia is at the center of a growing debate over the paper industry's role in climate change — and how much pollution goes uncounted due to loopholes in federal reporting rules. The Smurfit Westrock paper mill in Covington, a 126-year-old facility located north of Roanoke, released more climate-warming pollution in 2023 than any other paper mill in the country, according to a sweeping new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. The watchdog group found that the facility reported emitting 970,084 metric tons of greenhouse gases last year — but in reality, it released more than 2.5 million tons. The discrepancy stems from an Environmental Protection Agency policy that allows facilities to omit emissions from the burning of wood and wood byproducts, known as 'biogenic' fuels. 'This plant is burning dirty fuels using a boiler built in 1940, and the pollution is hitting communities and the climate alike,' said Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. '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.' The Smurfit Westrock press office did not to respond to an email seeking comment Monday. The report, titled 'A Paper Trail of Pollution,' paints a dire portrait of the U.S. pulp and paper industry. Over a six-month period, researchers reviewed thousands of public records and visited mills across the country, ultimately studying the 185 largest paper and pulp facilities in the United States. Their findings suggest that many of these plants are operating with outdated infrastructure, lax oversight and little accountability for their true environmental impact. Among the most striking revelations is that nearly three-quarters of the mills rely on outdated boilers, with an average age of 41 years. One of the oldest, built in 1928, remains in use at a mill in Longview, Washington. In contrast, experts recommend replacing industrial boilers after about 15 years. At more than 40% of the facilities studied, at least one boiler was a half-century old or older. The Covington mill, which employs several hundred people and is a fixture of the local economy, has long drawn criticism from nearby residents for the foul odors, soot and water pollution it produces. In 2023, it was the nation's top emitter of methane — a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period — releasing more than 214,000 metric tons. The mill also ranked third among U.S. paper facilities for hydrochloric acid emissions, releasing an estimated 170,000 pounds. The plant's impact extends beyond the air. State records document at least a dozen incidents over the past five years in which locals reported dark, cloudy, or contaminated discharges — including black liquor, a toxic wood-processing byproduct — flowing into the nearby Jackson River, a tributary of the James River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. One complaint, filed in November 2022, warned of 'polluted water destroying the Upper James River fishery.' The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality dismissed the complaint. Victoria Higgins, Virginia director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the Covington facility is a clear example of how outdated equipment and regulatory gaps are allowing the paper industry to skirt accountability. 'Pollution from industrial factories burning trees is an under-counted source of climate-warming pollution,' she said. 'In order to deliver on the promise of clean air and a stable climate in Virginia, we need to ensure facilities like the more than century-old Smurfit Westrock mill are moving to cleaner energy sources.' The American paper industry traces its roots to 1690, when the first mill opened in Germantown, Pennsylvania, using discarded cotton rags and waterwheels for power. By 1810, about 185 mills were operating across the country, but a shortage of rags pushed papermakers to experiment with alternative fibers like straw, bark and eventually wood. With the advent of mechanical wood grinders in the 19th century, wood pulp became the industry standard, and the U.S. quickly rose to become the world's top paper producer. That growth came at a cost — mill operations contributed to large-scale deforestation, including the cutting of tens of millions of acres of woodland in a single year by some companies. Today, the U.S. has more trees than it did 50 years ago, thanks in part to replanting efforts by the industry, which now plants over a billion trees annually. The modern paper sector is dominated by a few major corporations and concentrated in states like Wisconsin, Georgia, and Alabama. More than half of paper produced in the U.S. is now used for packaging and wrapping. Federal law currently allows the paper industry to exclude emissions from the combustion of biogenic materials — such as wood, wood chips, and black liquor — on the theory that trees will regrow and eventually recapture the carbon released during combustion. But environmental groups and scientists increasingly question that logic, particularly when emissions from burning these fuels are both large and immediate, while regrowth can take decades. Nationwide, the 185 mills studied reported a total of 33.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA in 2023. But after factoring in emissions from biogenic fuels — which the EPA does not currently require mills to report — the Environmental Integrity Project estimates that the true number is closer to 115 million tons. That's more than three times the reported total. Other pollutants are also under-regulated. In 2020, the mills collectively released more than 46,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to heart and lung problems, including premature death. Many mills, including some of the worst offenders, lack basic pollution control devices such as scrubbers that can significantly reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The latter chemical is responsible for the rotten egg-like smell associated with many mills, including the one in Covington, and can trigger nausea, headaches and respiratory issues. Hydrogen sulfide pollution is especially concentrated. In 2023, 90 of the mills reported emitting a combined total of eight million pounds of the chemical, with nearly half of that coming from just 12 plants. Six of the top 10 emitters of hydrogen sulfide across all industries last year were paper mills, the report said. The report also found that regulatory enforcement has been inconsistent and often toothless. A third of the 185 mills studied had an air pollution violation in the last three years. Over the past five years, 95 of them were subject to 267 enforcement actions, which resulted in just $7.4 million in total penalties — a modest sum for an industry with multibillion-dollar revenues. Beyond Virginia, the report includes case studies of plants in Washington and South Carolina, where local residents have filed thousands of odor complaints, voiced worries about health risks, and called on regulators to tighten enforcement. In Port Townsend, Washington, a mill has spent 12 consecutive quarters in violation of the Clean Air Act. In Catawba, South Carolina, residents have logged nearly 50,000 odor complaints since 2018 against a mill now owned by a private equity group led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Duggan and her colleagues argue that the solution lies in modernization and tougher oversight. The report calls for pulp and paper mills to replace aging boilers with zero-emission industrial heat systems and shift toward cleaner energy sources. It also urges a greater commitment to using recycled paper over virgin wood, which requires more energy and water and generates significantly more emissions. According to the group, manufacturing a ton of cardboard from recycled materials requires half the energy, 32% less water, and produces just a quarter of the climate pollution. The study's authors also demand an end to the biogenic loophole in EPA reporting rules and warn that the issue could worsen if efforts to eliminate or weaken greenhouse gas reporting requirements under President Donald Trump's administration succeed. 'The American paper industry should modernize these plants to use cleaner and more efficient power systems and increase recycling to reduce climate pollution and protect the health of nearby communities,' Duggan said. 'And this industry should not be allowed to hide its climate pollution.' For residents of Covington and other communities living in the shadow of aging mills, the hope is that attention from this report will bring pressure for long-overdue reforms — before the paper trail of pollution grows any longer. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Paper plants can emit as much CO2 as oil refineries. They're flying under the radar.
For more than a century, Covington, Virginia has had one dominating feature: its paper mill. Smokestacks tower over the community of 5,500, many of whom work there. But according to a new report, the mill spews more nitrogen oxide, methane, and greenhouse gases than is generally known. 'The snow is not white here. It's ash, it's nasty, and it's all over the place all of the time,' Robin Brown, a 65-year-old resident who lives near the mill, told the researchers. 'And there's that funky odor, like rotten eggs. It's all you can smell.' The Covington mill is among the industry's worst polluters, according to a report the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, or EIP, released today. It detailed similar issues at 185 such facilities nationwide. And, because of Environmental Protection Agency reporting rules, the report found that climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions from those mills are being undercounted by some 350 percent. The EPA houses the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, where facilities report their emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. But EPA facility totals don't include what are called biogenic CO2 emissions, or those that come from 'natural sources' such as wood, which is a primary fuel for the paper industry. According to the EIP investigation, the 10 pulp and paper mills that reported the most greenhouse gases in 2023 were able to lower their reported 'total' emissions by between 61 and 90 percent each because they burned wood products. Biogenic emission data is buried deeper within EPA data and, when those emissions are included, the largest paper mills can emit as much as a large oil refinery, the report noted. 'It masks the true impact of the industry,' said Courtney Bernhardt, director of research for EIP and an author of the report. 'It hides the fact that there is an urgent need to address.' The American Forest & Paper Association, which represents the industry, did not respond to a request for an interview. The EPA told Grist it would review the report. Smurfit West Rock, which owns the mill in Covington, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. EIP also used data from the National Emissions Inventory, an annual estimate of the output of gases like sulfur dioxide, methane, carbon dioxide, and dozens of others. One of the major reasons that pollution levels are so high, Bernhardt explained, is that many paper plants continue using outdated equipment that is far less efficient than modern machinery. The boiler at the Covington mill, for example, is 85 years old. The average age across the 185 facilities that the report found data for was 41 years. The Clean Air Act effectively grandfathers in the equipment until it comes time to replace it, and the emissions reductions can be stark when that happens. Bernhardt cited the Ahlstrom's Thilmany Mill in Wisconsin as an example. The plant, built in 1883, replaced its boiler in 2020 and emissions of sulfur dioxide, a health-harming air pollutant, fell from 4,800 tons to 410 tons. A facility in Washington saw an 87 percent drop and one in Georgia plummeted 96 percent. 'There's going to be a large number of these plants that are going to need to install new boilers [in the next decade],' said Bernhardt. She would like them to move toward more efficient options, especially those that run on electricity derived from clean energy instead of natural gas. But it's unclear exactly how, or how quickly, any transition will unfold. 'Developing a technology that can both be financially attractive and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is not easy,' said Sunkyu Park, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in pulp and paper processing. His research focuses on trying to develop a more efficient 'recover boiler,' which accounts for the majority of CO2 emissions during production. He is studying electric options, as well as those that use less natural gas. His work remains at very early stages, but the goal is that 'eventually industry can implement that technology.' In the meantime, Bernhardt hopes the EIP's report can focus attention on cleaning up an industry that is often seen as an alternative to plastics, but carries its own baggage. 'We need paper. We need cardboard,' she said. '[But] there's a lot of greenwashing that makes paper seem cleaner than it really is.' This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Paper plants can emit as much CO2 as oil refineries. They're flying under the radar. on May 29, 2025.
Saba Yemen
26-04-2025
- General
- Saba Yemen
Dirtiest U.S. Cities Revealed
New York - (Saba): Despite New York City's reputation for its insect population, trash-filled streets, and strange odors, a study has revealed that it did not rank among the top 10 dirtiest cities in the United States. In a study published by HouseFresh, a platform specializing in indoor air quality, and reported by the New York Post, researchers analyzed 12.3 million cleanliness-related reports received by 311 emergency services in several American cities, with the aim of identifying those cities most in need of health improvement. The study stated: "We ranked cities according to the number of cleanliness-related reports per 100,000 residents." Baltimore ranked first as the "dirtiest city" in the United States, with an extremely high rate of 47,295 reports per 100,000 residents. This, according to the researchers, indicates "a clear gap between the needs of residents and the reality of the city's cleanliness." They added that "six of the dirtiest zip codes are all located within or near the city center." New York City, meanwhile, had a "surprisingly low" complaint rate of 3,728 reports per 100,000 residents, compared to Los Angeles' 21,616, despite its glamorous appearance. New York City ranked 17th among the 23 dirtiest American cities. However, despite this ranking, which represents an improvement over its ranking as the second dirtiest city in the world according to the 2022 survey, one of its neighborhoods still needs a lot of attention. The data showed that the highest complaint rate in the city came from Brooklyn, with a record 7,664 reports. Researchers explained that this neighborhood, whose population has increased by 6.8% since 2020 to more than 2.5 million, attracts a large number of tourists annually, which explains the deterioration in cleanliness due to increased human pressure. In contrast, the data showed that the 11040 code in the New Hyde Park neighborhood on Long Island is the cleanest in the "tri-state" region (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). Second after Baltimore is Sacramento, California. The state capital is home to its largest river, the California River, which is among the most polluted in the country, according to a recent report by the Environmental Integrity Project. However, a representative for the City of Sacramento explained to HouseFresh that the city encourages residents to call 311 to report any service requests, such as starting garbage collection or reporting a damaged container, which may explain the increase in reports there. Meanwhile, last summer, the New York City Department of Sanitation launched a new campaign calling on residents to report their most derelict neighbors. A digital "Hall of Shame" was created to display the names and belongings of prominent offenders. Former Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the hall would serve as a space to "shame and shame those who endanger the surrounding community by allowing filth to accumulate." She added, "Some of the derelict have gone too far... but now, the era of trash clutter is over." The cleanest city in the nation, according to the study, is Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which recorded only 309 reports related to littering, despite being the state's most populous city. The following is a list of the dirtiest American cities, based on the number of litter reports per 100,000 residents: Baltimore, Maryland - 47,295 Sacramento, California - 34,186 Charlotte, North Carolina – 31,112. Los Angeles, California – 21,616. Memphis, Tennessee – 17,408. Boston, Massachusetts – 10,252. San Antonio, Texas – 8,929. Kansas City – 8,874. Buffalo, New York – 8,509. Dallas, Texas – 8,382. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – 7,854. Nashville, Tennessee – 7,703. Chicago, Illinois – 7,376. Houston, Texas – 6,275. Oakland, California – 6,139. New Orleans, Louisiana – 5,295. New York, New York – 3,728. Miami, Florida – 3,284. San Francisco, California – 2,411. Austin, Texas – 2,245. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 2,144. Riverside, California – 1,609. Milwaukee, Wisconsin – 309. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The ‘dirtiest' US city revealed — and you'll never guess where NYC lands in the ranking
If cleanliness is next to godliness, then New York City is basically heaven on Earth — kinda. Despite its vermin, the trash-lined streets and only-in-New York smells, the Big Apple did not rank as one of the Top 10 Dirtiest Cities in America. It's a miracle on 34th Street — and it's not even Christmas. 'From clean drinking water to sewage disposal, littered streets to missed garbage pick-ups, we analyzed 12.3 million sanitation-related 311 complaints in a series of US cities to reveal which metropolises need to clean up their act,' wrote study authors from HouseFresh, a publication focused on indoor air quality. 'We ranked locations based on the number of sanitation-related reports per 100,000 population.' Shockingly, Baltimore landed the No. 1 spot as the dirtiest locale in all of the land. 'With a staggeringly high complaint rate of 47,295 per 100,000 population, there seems to be a disconnect between the needs of the community and the cleanliness of the city,' investigators said. '[Baltimore] is home to six of the dirtiest ZIP codes,' they continued, 'each located either in or around the city's center.' New York, on the other hand, 'has a surprisingly low complaint rate of 3,728 per 100,000 population — in comparison to the 21,616 complaints made by the inhabitants of the glamorous — albeit dry, dusty and dirty — Los Angeles,' the examiners said of the concrete jungle with praise. In fact, New York City scored 17th on the roster of America's Top 23 yuckiest hubs. But, before Gothamites go parading down their relatively clean streets in celebration of the kind acknowledgements, it seems one of its boroughs is in need of some serious housekeeping. 'We found that the highest-complaining ZIP code, with 7,664 reports, came from Brooklyn,' the analysts revealed. 'With its population having risen by 6.8% since 2020, according to Best Places, Brooklyn is home to more than 2.5 million … and attracts hordes of tourists each year,' the experts explained. 'With such a high turnover of people using the borough as their base, it's no surprise that its cleanliness has suffered as a cost of its hospitality.' Coming up roses, however, is New Hyde Park on Long Island. The neighborhood's 11040 ZIP code is the 'cleanest' in the tri-state area, according to the data. The filthy findings concluded that Sacramento, California, secured the second-place slot in the ranking of rank cities. The state capital 'houses the largest river in California, and its waters, according to a recent report from the Environmental Integrity Project, are some of the most polluted in the country,' reads the study. However, a representative for the City of Sacramento issued a statement to HouseFresh, claiming that local officials encourage their residents to call 311 for 'any Customer Service request they have, including routine collection services such as starting a new service or reporting a broken container lid.' 'This could explain why Sacramento ranks so high on this list,' noted the research team. NYC's not-too-shabby ranking on the 2025 dirtiest list comes as an upgrade to its former status as the 'world's second-dirtiest city' — a dishonor it earned in a 2022 poll. To lessen the mess, the Sanitation Department rolled out a new campaign last summer, urging New Yorkers to snitch on their filthiest neighbors. The foulest offenders are infamously displayed in the city's virtual 'Hall of Shame.' '[It's] where we'll be calling out those worst of the worst — property owners who put the businesses and residences around them at risk by allowing filthy conditions to fester,' then-Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch previously told The Post. 'Some sidewalk slobs have had it too good for too long,' she added. 'But now, their litter lovefest is over.' And when it comes to the cleanest city on our map, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has tidiness down pat, according to the findings. The most populated metropolis in the Cheese State, citizens of Milwaukee have only made a meager 309 complaints linked to its cleanliness conditions. Here's a list of the dirtiest U.S. cities and the amount of grime gripes each has received per 100k population. Baltimore, Maryland 47,295 Sacramento, California 34,186 Charlotte, North Carolina 31,112 Los Angeles, California 21,616 Memphis, Tennessee 17,408 Boston, Massachusetts 10,252 San Antonio, Texas 8,929 Kansas City 8,874 Buffalo, New York 8,509 Dallas, Texas 8,382 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 7,854 Nashville, Tennessee 7,703 Chicago, Illinois 7,376 Houston, Texas 6,275 Oakland, California 6,139 New Orleans, Louisiana 5,295 New York, New York 3,728 Miami, Florida 3,284 San Francisco, California 2,411 Austin, Texas 2,245 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2,144 Riverside, California 1,609 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 309
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Louisiana's wetlands store massive amounts of carbon. They also contribute to emissions when lost.
Wetlands like Wax Lake Delta along Louisiana's coast store massive amounts of carbon, which can contribute to CO2 emissions when lost. (Photo by Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) ST. MARY PARISH – Louisiana's wetlands are one of the planet's most vital carbon storage centers, but destroying these reservoirs can accelerate harmful emissions that intensify global warming, according to experts. The Trump administration is fast-tracking energy projects, such as the Blue Marlin Offshore Port crude oil pipeline near Lake Charles that could destroy about 234 acres of wetlands, according to the Environmental Integrity Project. New research finds the stakes for Louisiana's coast are even higher than previously thought. On a sunny afternoon in early February, rainbows of microorganisms swirled in the muck of the Wax Lake delta, covering the mud like kaleidoscopic patches of plastic wrap. Microbes like these work in tandem with marsh plants to draw carbon dioxide from the air and break it down, storing the carbon in the soil. 'People didn't think about [wetlands] in the way we think today, as a carbon sequestration hot spot,' said Kanchan Maiti, an LSU professor of oceanography and wetland studies. 'If we keep losing wetlands, we're going to be losing that carbon sink,' said Matt Rota, senior policy director from the nonprofit advocacy group Healthy Gulf. But Louisiana is losing its wetlands, an average of a football field of land lost every 100 minutes, due to subsidence, storm erosion, fossil fuel development and sea level rise. The state is home to 40% of all U.S. wetlands. Louisiana's land loss crisis has been widely reported. The state has a multi-billion dollar Coastal Master Plan devoted to addressing the crisis. Now, new research highlighting Louisiana's wetlands' role in the carbon cycle argues for more focus on their heightened global value. When wetlands are destroyed, the carbon they store is released — some ends up in the Gulf, and some is consumed by microbes and gets released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. These microbes also naturally emit methane and nitrous oxide, also greenhouse gases with an even more powerful warming potential than CO2. With the global carbon cycle thrown out of balance by the burning of fossil fuels, understanding where emissions come from and how carbon is stored is beginning to take center stage. 'This isn't just our problem … it is also something that I think is pretty easily connected to national and international issues,' said Beaux Jones, CEO of nonprofit research and coastal policy group The Water Institute. Louisiana's wetlands are stellar carbon storage sites as well as some of the world's most vulnerable to loss. 'It's unique, and it's a natural service for us,' University of Florida geosciences professor Thomas Bianchi said. He has researched carbon sequestration and transport for decades. Maiti said researchers knew Louisiana's wetlands were 'rich in carbon,' but their importance in the carbon cycle has become more critical as the state grapples with global warming and land loss. 'Our relative sea level is the highest [and] because the wetland is subsiding,' Maiti said, 'we're not getting enough supply of sediment for it to keep up with the sea level rise,' he added. The state's relative sea level rise, which takes into account natural subsidence with increased sea levels, is nearly four times the global rate and one of the fastest in the world. Just how much carbon gets released as CO2 when development and land loss disturb Louisiana's wetlands is still unclear, Maiti said. But the destruction of the state's wetlands for oil and gas activity, like the pipeline project near Lake Charles, concerns scientists. 'The moment we start losing this land, we're going to release that carbon,' Maiti said. Tracking where carbon comes into a system, where it goes out and the speed at which it cycles is important in globally managing how things like excessive CO2 affect the planet, Bianchi said. He and other experts call it a carbon budget, comparing it to the business cycle, where places like marshes act like 'banks' for carbon. Fossil fuels are created from carbon, layered deeper and deeper in the earth over eons. Producing oil, gas and coal takes carbon from underground, burns it and releases it into the air faster than it would have naturally if left underground. 'Now we're in a situation where, instead of wetlands buying us 1,000 years before this organic carbon goes [and] makes it to the atmosphere, we're circulating that system, and the carbon is going out the next year,' Maiti said. Industry interest in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology has grown over the past few years as scientists, industry and lawmakers look for solutions to containing greenhouse gases and balancing the carbon budget. Some see the technology as a vital component in decarbonization as well as a way to garner money and industry jobs, while others see it as a red herring for the climate crisis. There are 30 CCS projects planned or proposed in Louisiana, and while oil companies and many politicians have embraced them, they have faced pushback from environmental advocates and community members. 'We're trying to find ways to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere through engineering, but one of the things that is really important is to not lose the systems that are already doing that for us,' Bianchi said. Scientists and advocates alike are calling for increased protection of wetlands because of their natural carbon storage capacity. Constructed or restored wetlands are other avenues being explored as both ways to increase storm resilience, prevent erosion and store carbon in Louisiana. Research shows new wetlands are extremely efficient at pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and level out to similar levels of carbon storage that naturally formed wetlands do after about 15 years. Maiti emphasised that while 'a constructed wetland, if done properly, and if it is given the time' should work like any natural wetland. 'The beauty of wetlands is they can sequester this carbon for thousands of years,' Maiti said. 'I think the key here is the time … anything we are starting from scratch, that will be behind by decades, before it actually reaches the [storage] potential of wetlands we have today.' Delaney Dryfoos from The Lens contributed to reporting from New Orleans. This story is a product of theMississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@
