Clean Air for Black Hills of South Dakota

Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action works to safeguard clean air in Colorado and the surrounding region. That includes the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

And just recently, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action scored a major victory for clean air in the Black Hills.

In 2006, we challenged the state of South Dakota's decision to give an air pollution permit to Pope and Talbot, Inc., a logging company based in Portland, Oregon that operates a lumber mill in Spearfish, South Dakota. The Black Hills of western South Dakota are the most heavily logged forests in the Rocky Mountain region, and Pope and Talbot operates the largest lumber mill in the region.

The Black Hills are one of the most heavily logged forests and Pope and Talbot's lumber mill is a major air polluter.

Unfortunately, their air pollution permit was incredibly weak. It allowed Pope and Talbot to spew toxic air pollutants unchecked, and avoid important clean air monitoring requirements. The lumber mill burns wood chips as fuel in a boiler and a drying kiln and according to the permit:

• Has the potential to release 636,000 pounds of particulate matter a year. Of this, the mill releases 242,000 pounds of particulate matter less than 10 microns in size, or 1/7 the width of a human hair. Such particulate matter is small enough to get into human lungs and is closely linked to respiratory ailments and incidences of asthma.


• Has the potential to release 558,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, which at high levels can kill people.


• The mill also has the potential to emit 46,000 pounds per year of hazardous air pollutants, including methanol and formaldehyde. Methanol can cause neurological damage and formaldehyde is a known carcinogen.
  

We petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to overturn Pope and Talbot's permit and make it stronger. On March 22, the EPA agreed with us and ordered the state of South Dakota to do just that. In particular, the EPA held that the permit:

• Illegally allowed the lumber mill to increase its emissions through a "minor" permit amendment which would not be subject to public comment;
  
• Did not require frequent enough opacity monitoring;


• Illegally allowed for less frequent opacity monitoring; and


• Grossly underestimated hazardous air pollutant emissions and failed to limit toxic emissions to protect public health.

The EPA's ruling will not only help clean up Pope and Talbot's lumber mill, but will also strengthen air pollution permits throughout South Dakota. This is good news for all air breathers in the Black Hills.