Report: Virgina Paper Mill Is Nation's Top Climate Polluter
year but in reality, it released more than 2.5 million tons. The discrepancy stems from an Environmental Protection Agency policy that allows facilities to omit emissions from the burning of wood and wood byproducts, known as “bio- genic” fuels. “This plant is burning dirty fuels using a boiler built in 1940, and the pollution is hitting communities and the cli- mate alike,” said Jen Duggan, executive director of the En- vironmental Integrity Project. “Even in the digital age, we need paper products. But there is no reason a clean sheet of paper needs to be made with dirty fuels and antiquated methods.” The Smurfit Westrock press office did not to respond to an email seeking comment. The report, titled “A Paper Trail of Pollution,” paints a dire portrait of the U.S. pulp and paper industry. Over a six- month period, researchers reviewed thousands of public
A World War II-era boiler in Virginia is at the center of a growing debate over the paper industry’s role in climate change and how much pollution goes uncounted due to loopholes in federal reporting rules. According to an article on VirginiaMercury.com , the Smurfit Westrock paper mill in Covington, Virginia, a 126-year-old facility located north of Roanoke, released more climate-warming pollution in 2023 than any other paper mill in the country, according to a sweeping new report by the Environmental Integrity Project on environ- mentalintegrity.org . The watchdog group found that the facility reported emitting 970,084 metric tons of greenhouse gases last
records and visited mills across the coun- try, ultimately studying the 185 largest pa- per and pulp facilities in the United States. Their findings suggest that many of these plants are operating with outdated infra- structure, lax oversight and little account- ability for their true environmental impact. Among the most striking revelations is that nearly three-quarters of the mills rely on outdated boilers, with an average age of 41 years. One of the oldest, built in 1928, remains in use at a mill in Longview, Wash- ington. In contrast, experts recommend replacing industrial boilers after about 15 years. At more than 40 percent of the fa- cilities studied, at least one boiler was a half-century old or older. The Covington mill, which employs sev- eral hundred people and is a fixture of the local economy, has long drawn criticism from nearby residents for the foul odors, soot and water pollution it produces. In 2023, it was the nation’s top emit- ter of methane — a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period — releasing more than 214,000 metric tons. The mill also ranked third among U.S. paper facilities for hydrochloric acid emissions, releasing an estimated 170,000 pounds. The plant’s impact extends beyond the air. State records document at least a dozen incidents over the past five years in which locals reported dark, cloudy, or con- taminated discharges — including black liquor, a toxic wood-processing byproduct — flowing into the nearby Jackson River, a tributary of the James River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
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