Environmental groups oppose Georgia biomass plant’s air-quality permit

Environmental groups are challenging a state-issued permit to allow a wood pellet manufacturing plant in Telfair County to double its pollutant emissions without meeting federal requirements.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) approved a modification of Telfair Forest Products’ air-quality permit last month without requiring the company to install legally required pollution controls or conduct air impact analyses.

“EPD got this one wrong,” said Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which filed the challenge with Georgia’s Office of Administrative Hearings. “Twice, we gave regulators detailed explanations about why this permit request is illegal and dangerous for citizens of Telfair County, and they chose to look the other way.”

The biomass industry is booming in Georgia, the nation’s No.-1 state for forestry. Wood pellets produced by cutting down trees are shipped overseas to countries in Europe and Asia, where they are burned for power.

Wood pellet plants often are located near low-income communities of color, to the dismay of environmental justice advocates. On the other hand, they create jobs in rural counties that typically struggle with high unemployment rates.

The SELC filed the challenge on behalf of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) and the state chapter of the Sierra Club.

“Clean air is a basic human right,” said Codi Norred, GIPL’s executive director. “It is unacceptable to harm the health and wellbeing of Georgians, especially those overburdened by the effects of climate change and pollution.”