re 3 - Wednesday, December 16, 1987 - North Shore News CANFOR TO SPEND $50M FOR PORT MELLON MILL CONTROLS CANADIAN FOREST Products (Canfor) officials say they will invest over $50 million in upgrading the company’s Port Mellon mill to tighter ‘A’ pulp mill pollution standards rather than invest $10 million in patching up old equipment to meet current ‘B’ mill standards. The plan was announced despiie the continued protests of a West Vancouver environmentalist, who wants existing mill equipment adapted to meet air poliution standards now, and contrary to a requirement of the mill's amended air pollution control permit. Canfor’s director of energy and environment Kirke MacMillan said Monday the company would not install a $10 million high speed scrubber to reduce particulate ash and Totally Reduced Sulphur (TRS) emissions from its Port Mellon’s recovery boiler number three as originally required under Canfor’s amended air pollution control permit, but would instead continue its $2.3 million program to reduce overall TRS emissions from the mill. He said scrubbers worth $7 mil- lion had been installed on the mill's other two recovery boilers but had proved ineffective in reducing particulate ash emissions. The aim of the mill’s air pollu- tion program, MacMillan said, is to reduce, in the most cost efficient way, its overall emissions, not just those from recovery boiler number three, which is scheduled to be replaced in 1990. Canfor, he said, will apply to the provincial Environment and Parks Ministry for another amended air pollution control permit in January. The permit worid come into effect at the July 1, 1988 expiration of Port Mellon's December 1986 air pollution variance order and cover the mill to 1990, when a single new ‘A’ low odor recovery boiler is scheduled to replace the existing three. It would remove the requirement to install a scrubber on boiler number three. MacMillan said the new boiler would reduce particulate and TRS emissions by 80 and 70 per cent respectively over current mill operating levels. But West Vancouver resident Terry Jacks said Friday, the mill, without the scrubber, will not be in compliance with. its amended pollution control permit, which lists a ‘thigh energy scrubber’’ as By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter equipment that must be installed on the recovery boiler ‘to meet the (TRS and particulate) emissions specified...”* He said Canfor's announced $1 billion plan to modernize the 79- year-old mill is just another plan that has yet to be finalized and will only delay, for another 2% years, the mill‘s compliance with the less stringent ‘B’ level air pollutions standards, which it has not met since 1978. The mill has never been fined or charged by the provincial gov- ernment even though it has never met all the conditions of its origi- nal 1978 polution permit. It has also been granted special permission in 1983 and 1986 variance orders to exceed its per- mitted air pollution levels. Though Canfor claims that its amended permit proposal will re- quire it to operate at overall air pollution standards 20 per cent better than ‘B’ jJevels while the mill is upgraded to ‘A’ pollution stan- dards, Jacks said the particulate and other emissions from recovery boiler number three present the more serious potential health threat to West Vancouver residents and must be reduced before other improvements are made. He said the company’s proposal to measure overall air pollution from the mill under a ‘“‘bubble or ‘total loading’ system’’ will allow it to reduce other less toxic emis- sions while leaving emissions from the offending boiler at current levels. Dr. Rick Wilson, the director of the environment ministry’s air Management program, said that while Canfor is required under its permit to install a scrubber in its number three recovery boiler, ‘‘we are looking to reduce the total (pollution) load on the air sh- ed,..we will take it any way we can get it. The big concern is how much is coming out.’’ The ministry, Wilson said, is willing to look at Port Mellon’s us- ing a “bubble system’’. He said single source emission measure- ment is used more often to gauge pollution because a bubble systera does not take into account such variables as different stack heights and their accompanying dif- ferences in emission velocity. According to MacMillan, in- stallation of scrubbers on recovery boilers one and two has reduced TRS but increased particulate emissions, resulting in both far ex- ceeding maximum particulate levels. An electrostatic precipitator in- stalled on recovery boiler number three, he said, has reduced its par- ticulate levels to below those of the other two boilers, though it is still exceeding its maximum allowed under Port Mellon's air pollution permit. MacMillan said a strong black liquor storage tank has recently been installed to help reduce sud- den jumps in TRS emissions from number three recovery boilr:. The six points of Port Mellon's December 1986 variance order, which primarily address mill TRS emissions, sould be completed by early next year, MacMillan said. Photo submitted HOWE SOUND'S Pori Mellon pulp and paper mill is shown here in operation. Mill officials have said over $50 million will be invested in upgrading it to stricter air and water pollution standards starting in 1990. NORTH VAN DELEGATION DISCUSSES SCHOOL CRISIS WITH BRUMMETT District Mayor Marilyn Baker...member of the delegation which discussed the need for new public school facili- ties in the Seymour community. NORTH Vancouver sn ¢r Stalls s MONEY REMAINS the mountain standing between moral support from the Ministry of Education and the need for new public school facilities in the growing Seymour com- munity. A North Vancouver delegation representing residents, school of- ficials and politicians trekked to Victoria) Monday to meet with Education Minister Tony Brum- mett to lobby for improved facili- ties for the area, which is currently facing a classroom-space crisis. The group wants funds for a new elementary school for the In- dian River neighborhood and for the upgrade or replacement of the old) Burrard View Elementary School. The delegation included North Vancouver District Mayor Marilyn Baker, North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jack Davis, North Van- couver Schoo! District 44 superin- tendent Dr. Leo Marshall, District 44 board chairman Marg Jessup, Burrard: View Parent Teachers Association representative Sue Geddes and Deep Cove Dollarton and Indian River Community Association president Jean Hodgson. Marshal! described the 14-hour meeting as ‘‘positive.’’ But he said, “Even though the reception was positive, the major obstacle is the moiiey."” He said that while the Ministry of Education has included both projects among the $170 million worth of high priority requests for funding, the provincial treasury board has to date made available only approximately $50 million for capital construction in the ‘87-°88 budget. “They (the ministry) were hope- ful that things might change,” said Marshall. The estimated cost for the In- dian River school land purchase and infrastructure is approximately $4 million. The -Burrard View school replacement project comes with a similar price tag. While nothing was fixed in stone, Marshall said there was discussion of fand purchase and planning money for the River school coming through in the capital expenditures budget for the fiscal vear '88-’89 in April and money for building in the follow- ing year. The budget is expected to in- crease to $55 million for '88-'89. “Even though both projects are high priority, they have to become highest priority before they are funded,’"’ Hodgson said. ‘‘Ap- parently there is no money left in this year’s budget.”’ Said Geddes: ‘‘} was not as fulfilled as I had hoped to be, but we did get moral support. We're not discouraged. We've probably cut at least a year off the wait for something to happen.”’ Indian — Weather: Wednesday, cloudy with a mix of rain and snow. Thursday, periods of rain. Highs near 7°C. INDEX Auto..........6.+-. 55 Business............ 28 Classified Ads........59 7 Doug Collins......... O€ Comics ........ ....82§ Or. Ruth... Editorial Page........ 6 Food ......... .. 49 Bob Hunter Lifestyles..... Mailbox. |Sports.......... TV Listings........ What's Going On.....43