The Coalition for Clean Energy Say Humboldt Sawmill Biomass Plant’s Permit Expired; Encourages RCEA to Make a Clean Break

Press release from the Coalition for Clean Energy:

Mill in Scotia releasing smoke. [Photo provided by a reader]

Local climate and clean air activists recently discovered that Humboldt Sawmill’s biomass plant in Scotia has been operating without a permit since February 2022, in violation of the federal Clean Air Act and North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District (NCUAQMD) rules. Dr. Wendy Ring, a local retired physician, was reviewing the plant’s environmental compliance for the Humboldt Coalition for Clean Energy when she noticed the expired permit. The coalition is a group of 16 local faith, health, environmental, and community groups concerned about climate change and public health who want the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) to eliminate biomass from its renewable energy portfolio. Forty percent of RCEA’s renewable energy, and 20% of its overall energy, comes from the Scotia biomass plant. The coalition believes ratepayer dollars should support the development of clean renewable energy, not biomass; because biomass energy emits more carbon and pollution than coal, exacerbating the climate and air quality problems that renewable energy targets were created to address.

Operating a power plant without a permit is subject to civil and criminal penalties of up to $10,000 per day and five years in prison. If the maximum financial penalty is imposed, Humboldt Sawmill Company would have to pay $7.3 million. This is not likely because the state and federal governments delegate enforcement of the Clean Air Act to the local air district which, 2 years in, has not issued any violations or shut down orders in response to this violation of federal law.  Brian Wilson, the district’s Air Pollution Control Officer, told Dr. Ring the plant was operating legally under an “application shield” because it submitted a permit renewal application, but federal law and the district’s own rules specify that the renewal application must be “ timely” for a facility to qualify for a shield. The deadline for submitting permit renewal applications is 6 months prior to expiration but Humboldt Sawmill’s renewal application was filed in May 2023, a year and a half after the permit expired and two years after the deadline.

Martha Walden, of the climate action group 350 Humboldt, was angered to learn the plant was operating without a permit.  “Humboldt Sawmill Company has been greenwashing their biomass electricity for years. It’s not good for the climate. Now we’ve discovered how bad it is for air quality and community health. Why do they think the law doesn’t matter?”  Patty Harvey, co-chair of the Humboldt chapter of Health Care for All and Physicians for a National Health Program, added “With our shortage of local health care, the last thing we need is a dirty renegade power plant making more people sick.”

Dr. Ring, who has been studying the biomass plant’s emissions and health impacts for several years, said she was shocked that the plant was allowed to keep operating and disappointed that RCEA has been unresponsive to complaints by citizens and the Humboldt Del Norte County Medical Society about the plant’s poor environmental performance. Ring says “The air district’s sin now, pay later approach and their longstanding practice of reducing financial penalties for infractions make it profitable for the plant to keep breaking the law and collecting $15 million a year from RCEA, and pay a relatively small fine after the fact.  That makes sense for a business whose goal is maximizing profit, but not for RCEA, whose mission is serving the public.” RCEA’s power purchase agreement with the sawmill provides for termination of the contract in the event of environmental misbehavior, but that option has never been brought before its board.

Operating without a permit is not the biomass plant’s only violation of the Clean Air Act. The plant has been cited by the air district for over 1000 violations over the past ten years, with several hundred taking place while under contract with RCEA. The coalition supports replacing the 38 year old power plant with a cleaner facility that can turn sawmill waste and thinned forest residues into climate beneficial products like hydrogen, liquid biofuels, biochar, building insulation, and the hydro-mulch used to stabilize slopes after wildfires.  They oppose using biomass to generate electricity, which emits large amounts of carbon dioxide. In 2022 the Humboldt Sawmill biomass plant emitted 312,559 tons of CO2e, which is equivalent to 70% of the greenhouse emissions from all the county’s passenger vehicles, Humboldt’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.  The coalition is calling on RCEA to keep their 2019 commitment to provide 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2025.

If RCEA terminates Humboldt Sawmill’s contract on environmental grounds, that could cause a temporary shortfall in meeting the percentage of renewable energy mandated by the state’s renewable portfolio standard.  Under ordinary circumstances that could lead to a fine, but coalition members doubt that the California Public Utilities Commission would fine RCEA for refusing to do business with a company operating so blatantly in violation of federal law. The shortfall would be temporary in any case as RCEA has over 100 megawatts of new clean renewable energy coming online next year and there is a glut of solar plus storage projects in the state in queue for connection to the grid.

The Coalition for Clean Energy plans to advocate for denial of Humboldt Sawmill’s permit renewal and encourages concerned citizens to submit public comments to RCEA asking them to end the contract with Humboldt Sawmill and ban biomass electricity from its renewable portfolio.

NOTE: Original photo of the mill on fire replaced with one showing the mill releasing smoke which was provided by a reader.

UPDATE: NCUAQMD Says Scotia Mill Still Operating Legally