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Weyerhaeuser Company
Pulp and Paper Noncombustion MACT Fact Sheet
June 8, 1995
PULP AND PAPER NONCOMBUSTION MACT
DESCRIPTION: This project is to limit emissions of hazardous
air pollutants (HAPs) from existing and new pulp and paper mills engaged
in the production of pulp by chemically pulping wood. This part of the
NESHAP pertaining to non-combustion sources (referred to as MACT I)
at pulp and paper mills was coordinated into a joint proposal with the
Clean Water Act (CWA) effluent guideline standards for this industry.
NESHAP for chemical recovery area combustion sources (referred to as
MACT II) at kraft, sulfite, and soda mills will be proposed separately
(see separate fact sheet). NESHAP for nonchemical pulp and paper mills
and paper machines (referred to as MACT III) will be proposed and promulgated
separately.
MAIN COMPONENTS: For the pulp and paper industry, EPA is developing
an integrated regulation that includes both effluent guidelines and
air emission standards to control the release of pollutants to both
the water and the air. The regulations are being developed jointly to
provide greater protection to human health and the environment, to promote
the concept of pollution prevention, and to enable the industry to more
effectively plan compliance via a multimedia approach.
CONCERNS/ISSUES:
- Compliance timelines for CWA and CAA standards
- Definition of the MACT floor (6% vs. 12%)
- Cost of complying with the integrated rules
- Control technology bases of proposed standards
- Lack of subcategories for proposed MACT standards
- No totally chlorine-free pollution-prevention process change for papergrade
kraft mills (largest sector of industry in terms of number of mills
and production)
- Interaction between MACT and PSD/NSR
- Clean Fuels Exemption from RCRA for steam stripper coverheads
- Quality of data at proposal
STATUS:
- MACT I
proposed 12/17/93
- Comments and industry data currently
under review
- Issued Notice of Data Availability in
FR on 2/22/95 to announce availability of industry's data
- Plan to issue 2nd FR Notice Summer '95
to announce additional data received and to take comment on changes
to proposal under evaluation
- Working toward a target proposal date
of late Fall '95 for MACT II (see separate fact sheet)
- Working toward a target promulgation
date of late Spring '96.
- Initiating Presumptive MACT process for
MACT III with Presumptive MACT identified Fall '95
STATUTORY/COURT-ORDERED DATE:
Final NESHAP for all mills in source category, statutory, November 15,
1997.
AFFECTED MILLS:
- Pulp and
Paper Source Category: approx. 565 mills
- MACT I: approx. 160 mills practicing
chemical pulping (kraft, sulfite, semi-chemical, soda)
- MACT II: approx. 130 kraft, sulfite,
and soda mills
- MACT III: <
565 mills practicing nonchemical pulping and mills with paper machines
RECOMMENDED CONTROLS:
MACT I proposed MACT Floor: Enclose open process sources; route pulp
mill vents to combustion device; route bleach mill vents to scrubber;
route pulp mill condensates to steam stripper
BENEFITS: (MACT I and Effluent Guidelines)
-
Air Emission Reduction
(metric tons per year)
-
120,000 Hazardous air
pollutants
716,000 Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
295,000 Total reduced sulfur (TRS)
-
Water Effluent Reduction
(metric tons per year)
-
2,800 Toxic pollutants,
including dioxin, furan, and chlorinated organics
45,100 Adsorbable organic halides (AOX), a bulk parameter that measures toxic pollutant reductions
227,000 Conventional pollutants
2. Human Health Benefits. Projected decreases in:
-
VOC emissions, a precursor
to ozone formation, would reduce long-term health effects (primarily
lung impairments) of exposed populations.
Dioxin discharges would improve quality of the water and sediments which will result in decreased risk fro dioxin contaminated fish.
-
VOC emissions, a precursor
to ozone formation, would result in improved crop yields and reduced
crop damage such as premature aging and leaf loss.
TRS emissions would alleviate objectionable odors often associated with pulp and paper production.
Toxic pollutant discharges would reduce both acute and chronic effects (e.g., tumors, lesions on fish) on aquatic animals. It would also reduce acute and chronic effects to wildlife who feed on contaminated fish and insects.
-
Rule Coverage:
Approximately 300 pulp, paper, and paperboard mills (160 for MACT/300
for Effluent) would incur direct costs to comply with the proposed
regulations.
Regulatory Compliance Costs:
· Annualized Cost: $600 Million
-
[Note: The $600 million is
after tax adjustment. Typically OAQPS would report this as straight
annualized cost of approx. $1 billion. MACT is approximately 1/4
of the capital and annualized cost.]
Plant Closures: 11 to 13 mills could face the possibility of closure. About one-half of all closures are mills owned by small companies.
Job Losses: 2,300 to 10,700 jobs (or less than 1% to 5%) could be lost. However, this does not include job gains anticipated from capital expenditures on pollution control equipment.
Product Prices: Small increases in market prices are projected, the largest being a 1 to 3 percent increase for uncoated free sheet paper which is primarily copy and tablet paper. Uncoated free sheet paper accounts for approximately 12% of the total U.S. production.
Imports: Less than 1 percent increase is projected
Exports: Small impacts are projected:
· 2 percent decline in uncoated free sheet export value (2% of total export value)
· 7 percent decline in newsprint export value (4% of total export value)
-
Sludge Quality and
Disposal: Projected reductions
in dioxin and furan will improve sludge quality and allow greater
use of land application, potentially saving the industry about $53.0
million per year.
Water Use: The industry is expected to reduce its use by 1.2 billion liters per year.
CONTACTS:
-
Penny Lassiter Project &
Standards (919) 541-5396
Development Lead
MACT I
Stephen Shedd Technical Lead (919) 541-5397
MACT I
Jeff Telander MACT II Lead (919) 541-5427
Elaine Manning Project & Standards (919) 541-5499
Development Lead
MACT III
Scott Mathias Economic Lead (919) 541-5310
Michele McKeever Benefits Lead (919) 541-0503