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Paper Company Sued Over River Pollution ; Environmental Groups Say International Paper's Jay Mill Illegally Discharges into the Androscoggin.

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

Two environmental groups sued International Paper Co. in federal court Tuesday to stop what they say are illegal discharges into the Androscoggin River from its paper mill in Jay.

The company is the biggest polluter along Maine's dirtiest river, and its mill has operated for years without having a valid discharge permit, according to the plaintiffs.

"It's been a long time coming, and this river needs to be cleaned up," said Brownie Carson, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

A company spokeswoman responded that the mill operates legally and has voluntarily reduced discharges into the river.

The Natural Resources Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Bangor. The action shifts a long-running struggle over the water quality below the Jay mill out of the hands of state agencies and the Legislature and into the courts. And it comes as the paper company says it is considering selling the Jay mill and another mill in Bucksport.

The Jay mill dumps about 40 million gallons of wastewater a day into the Androscoggin but has not been issued a valid permit since 1985, according to the lawsuit. The plant has been allowed to discharge at a higher rate than mills on other rivers because of regulatory compromises that have waived water quality standards below the plant on the section of river between Turner and the Lewiston/Auburn area.

IP spokeswoman Fiona McCaul said Tuesday that the paper mill complies with federal, state and local rules.

"The last federal discharge permit we received was issued in 1985. Since then, we've voluntarily reduced our limits in cooperation with state, federal and local authorities," McCaul said from her office in Jay.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection rele- ased a new draft discharge permit for the mill on Monday, she said. The last state permit was issued in 1997, she said.

"All parties agree that water quality in the Androscoggin River needs continued improvement," McCaul said. "How we get there should be determined by sound science and common sense, not emotions."

The company has argued that drastic environmental restrictions would affect the viability of the plant and threaten jobs.

While the federal Clean Water Act is credited with dramatic improvements along the Androscoggin and other Maine rivers, sections of the Androscoggin still have not met minimal state standards for oxygen levels that are needed to sustain trout and other fish and river creatures.

Carson said it's ironic that the sponsor of the U.S. Clean Water Act, the late Sen. Edmund Muskie, grew up next to the polluted Androscoggin River in Rumford and that a lawsuit had to be filed to fully enforce the law there.

Cleanup advocates, including many Lewiston and Auburn area residents, criticized the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and state lawmakers in May for what they said was caving in to the paper company and again waiving water quality standards below the Jay mill.

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, said the Legislature failed to resolve the dispute by not setting a cleanup deadline and bringing IP into compliance.

"They are discharging into the river and they do not have a license that specifies how much they can discharge," she said. "To be perfectly honest, I'm glad (the groups sued) because it gets the paper companies off the dime, particularly International Paper. It's been IP that's been really resistant."

IP, the world's largest paper company, announced a major restructuring plan earlier this month that could result in the sale of its two Maine mills.

Hoping to boost profits and cut debt, the company is looking at selling $8 billion to $10 billion in assets, including millions of acres of forestland around the country, closing mills and possibly relocating its Connecticut headquarters.

It's unclear whether the lawsuit would affect the company's plans.

Makas doesn't think so. She said it was clear the company has been unwilling to invest in the Jay mill, even while modernizing other facilities.

"I certainly care about the people that work there, but the reason they're selling has nothing to do with being held to environmental standards," she said.

Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791 - 6324 or at:

jrichardson@pressherald.com

Source: Portland Press Herald

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