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Department of Ecology News Release - February 8, 2008
08-035
OLYMPIA – The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Kimberly-Clark’s Everett mill $235,000 for allowing a wood-fuel stockpile in Everett to smolder for months last year, causing odor problems in the city’s northeastern neighborhoods.
Smoke and odors from the fire prompted citizen complaints to Ecology on 15 days, between Sep. 27 and Nov. 15, 2007.
“We expect Kimberly-Clark to operate as a good neighbor at all times,” said Carol Kraege, supervisor of Ecology’s Industrial Section, which oversees the state’s major pulp mills. “We recognize that the company faced an unusual situation. The circumstances made it all the more necessary to take extra steps to prevent odors that affected whole neighborhoods, especially during calm weather.”
The company stores the material, known as “hogged fuel,” at industrial property east of the Riverside neighborhood, along the Snohomish River, across town from its Port Gardner mill. The fuel is used to produce steam that powers one of the mill’s generators. Mechanical problems closed the generator between June 21 and September 21, 2007. During this time hogged fuel deliveries to the Riverside yard continued, and the pile reached an unusually large size.
“We again apologize to residents in the area who were affected by the smoky odors coming from the fuel pile at the Riverside site,” said Everett mill manager Chris Isenberg. “We strive to be a good corporate citizen and once the magnitude of the problem was identified, we acted promptly to eliminate the odors caused by flare-ups in the fuel pile. As Ecology points out, this was an unusual situation. We worked in concert with Ecology and appropriate state and local agencies to put in a new management plan, so a situation like this does not occur in the future.”
Large hogged fuel stockpiles can get hot enough to start burning. To prevent this, earth-moving equipment shifts the material around to prevent hot spots from developing deep inside. The Everett mill’s hogged fuel pile size became so large that the facility was unable to keep it sufficiently turned over, and the fire is believed to have ignited sometime in July.
Water can cool the pile and help prevent it from starting to burn. A hydrant at the Riverside yard lacked a part during the summer, leaving the facility without water. Once the pile ignites, water speeds decomposition, which heats and ignites more material, producing more smoke. The Everett mill managed the pile to minimize smoke by covering burning areas to reduce air flow to the fire.
When the generator was repaired and returned to service, the Everett mill operated it at full capacity to reduce the hogged fuel stockpile to a more manageable size. The stockpile reduction began in late October.
Ecology issued a Notice of Violation to Kimberly-Clark on Oct. 29, warning the company that it was violating air quality laws by emitting odors that interfered with the rights of others to use and enjoy their property.
The company may appeal the penalty to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
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Media Contact: Larry Altose, public information officer, 425-649-7009
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
