PORT TOWNSEND — Members of PT AirWatchers said that, beginning two weeks ago, they have seen and smelled more from the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill and have filed complaints with the state Department of Ecology.

Teddy Le, a permit officer with Ecology, reported 15 complaints about the mill were received during the week of Nov. 14-18 and said all would be investigated.

“I don’t know if [the pollution] is any worse than before; that’s not my area of expertise,” said Elaine Bailey of PT AirWatchers. “But people are realizing they have a voice, and they are expressing themselves.”

Increases noted

On Nov. 14, several members of PT AirWatchers said they noticed an increase in the smoke plume and the smell and began posting pictures from the city’s webcam onto the group’s Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/cdw5jfg.

They also posted the telephone number and email address of Angie Fritz, a compliance officer with Ecology, and urged people who noticed a smell to contact Fritz directly.

The page urged people to leave a message on the mill’s general number reporting the odor.

A call to the mill’s general line last week was not returned, so the number of complaints is not known.

Le said Ecology will evaluate each complaint and then decide whether the department needs to do any of its own independent research, such as location testing.

“We collect all the information and put it into a database for tracking purposes,” Le said. “We ask for the time of day and what kind of weather they are experiencing. The smell can be noticeable if there is an inversion.”

If a dangerous level of contaminants is found, a fine could be assessed or the mill could be forced to comply with air quality standards, Le said.

Garin Schrieve, Ecology’s industrial section manager, said seasonal changes often cause increases in odors that do not reflect an increase of pollutants.

Biomass protest

PT AirWatchers are among those protesting Port Townsend Paper mill’s $55 million biomass expansion project and Nippon Paper Industries USA Inc.’s $71 million cogeneration expansion project in Port Angeles.

Both will burn wood waste from logging sites and sawmills.

The Port Townsend project will create up to 25 megawatts of electrical power for which credits could be sold.

The Nippon boiler expansion, which is expected to be completed in early 2013, will produce up to 20 megawatts of electricity. The company could then sell credits for the electrical power.

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.