PORT TOWNSEND — In the wake of an oral court ruling that upheld his company’s permit for a $55 million biomass energy project, Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill President Roger Loney said the expansion will reduce fuel oil consumption by 1.8 million gallons per year, cut particulate emissions by 70 percent and create 30 full-time jobs.

“We believe that the benefits of the project are pretty clear,” said Loney in a rare interview with the media.

Permit upheld

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee on Thursday upheld the “notice of construction” permit that was issued by the state Department of Ecology in October 2010 and later upheld by the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Gretchen Brewer of Port Townsend AirWatchers, an outspoken critic of the Port Townsend biomass project, described Thursday’s court ruling as a “huge disappointment for the citizens.”

“It does not in any way mean that it’s a good project,” Brewer said.

“It just means that on the narrow issues, the judge ruled in their favor. We’re extremely disappointed.

“It’s not good for the environment and not good for the city.”

Five environmental organizations — Port Townsend AirWatchers, No Biomass Burn, the Olympic Environmental Council, the Western Temperate Rainforest Network and the Olympic Forest Coalition — appealed.

April 12 hearing

The judge affirmed the permit in an oral decision and set an April 12 hearing, during which the court likely will issue a written order outlining the specifics of its decision, according to Thurston County Superior Court Clerk office manager Diane Jones.

No court papers with those specifics had been filed as of Friday, Jones said.

“We’re very pleased with the ruling,” Loney said.

“We now have a full permit in hand, and we intend to finish the project by the end of 2013.”

The environmental groups have 30 days to appeal the ruling.

Brewer said no decision had been made as of Friday as to the next steps that would be taken.

Nippon project

Also slated for a 2013 opening is the North Olympic Peninsula’s other biomass cogeneration expansion project: the $71 million Nippon Paper Industries USA cogeneration facility, which is under construction in Port Angeles.

“The project is going well,” said Nippon mill manager Harold Norlund, adding that is it projected to be finished in April 2013.

The piling work is nearly completed, and construction on the boiler’s foundation will begin this week, Norlund said.

All of the materials have been purchased, and much has been delivered.

Norlund said the new boiler, which will turn wood waste into heat and electricity, will be standing in May.

Norlund said it was “nice to hear” that the Port Townsend project was upheld in court.

Permit appealed

The same groups that appealed the Port Townsend permit were joined by the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club in appealing a construction permit issued by the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, or ORCCA, for the Nippon project.

Those groups lost an appeal of the Nippon permit to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board in January and appealed to Thurston County Superior Court.

A hearing is set for May 4.

Norlund said Nippon applied for — and received — its various permits through “a very open, public process.”

“The same groups [that challenged the Port Townsend project] had three cracks at us,” Norlund said.

“They either withdrew or lost on summary judgment.”

Loney, who previously had declined to grant interviews with the media — and whose company has a policy of refraining from commenting to the media — said Port Townsend Paper officials will try to articulate the benefits of the biomass project to the community.

He said a “state-of-the-art” electrostatic precipitator in the upgraded boiler will reduce emissions of harmful particulates by 70 percent.

“Why would anyone who wants cleaner air want to delay the project?” Loney asked.

“Also, it creates 30 full-time jobs at a time when unemployment is above 10 percent.”

Loney said the project will generate 25 megawatts of electricity, about half of which will be used at the mill and the rest sold as renewable energy on the market.

“I think it’s a good for the mill and good for the community,” Loney said.

Brewer of Port Townsend AirWatchers said the Jefferson County commissioners and the county Board of Health “still has a duty and the power to delay the project.”

Environmental impacts

She said people on both sides of the issue need more information about the potential health and environmental impacts.

Even with the 1.8 million-gallon reduction in oil consumption, Brewer said, the mill would still burn more than 12 million gallons of oil per year.

She questioned the 70 percent reduction in particulates, saying that number is based on weight, not on what comes out of the smokestacks.

Nanoparticles

Brewer said reduced particulates do not account for the ultra-fine nanoparticulates that “will kill you.”

She also questioned Loney’s claim that the project would create 30 jobs, adding that taxpayer subsidies would pay for any additional jobs.

“We’d do much better to see it being spent on running a clean operation,” Brewer said.

“We shouldn’t have to choose between jobs and good health.”

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.