SP Newsprint, Riverkeeper reach agreement
Upgrades in the works to reduce plastic in waste water discharge

August 5, 2005
By Natalie Davis
The Dublin Courier Herald

SP Newsprint and the Altamaha Riverkeeper have reached an agreement to reduce contaminates in the Oconee River, bringing an end to a year-long negotiation.

Based on conditions of the agreement, the local newsprint company will construct and install new technology to reduce plastic in its waste water discharge.

The company will evaluate its operating practices and equipment for improvement and provide discharge information to the Altamaha Riverkeeper over the next four years. The company will also conduct two years of water quality sampling in the river on a quarterly basis.

"We're pleased to be working with the Altamaha Riverkeeper to protect the quality of water in the Oconee River and to make operations at the Dublin mill a shining example of corporate environmental stewardship," Mark Rawlings, senior vice president of operations for SP Newsprint said in a press release.

In addition, SP Newsprint will soon complete the previously announced $20 million upgrade to equipment and manufacturing processes that will improve its efficiency. A new drum pulper will use state-of-the-art technology to improve pulping efficiency and productivity, the release states.

The agreement between the two sides is the culmination of a series of negotiations that began after the environmental agency received citizen reports last summer about contaminants in the river near the Dublin mill.

After further investigation, the Altamaha Riverkeeper filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue SP Newsprint under the Clean Water Act in summer 2004 after small amounts of shredded plastic were discovered in the company's wastewater discharge.

The two sides debated whether or not the six pounds of plastic discharged daily from the plant were in violation of state and federal law.

According to an SP Newsprint release, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has reviewed the company's plastic discharges and concluded that it was in compliance. Officials from both sides previously met at the mill for a tour, and although Riverkeeper representatives still contend there was a violation, both sides have agreed that keeping the waters clean extends beyond the legalities.

"We maintain and continue to maintain that it's a violation of the Clean Water Act," said Deborah Sheppard, executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper, which works to protect and restore water quality and flow in the Ocmulgee, Oconee and Ohoopee rivers.

"[But] from our perspective, the most important thing was to work with the company" to prevent river contamination, she continued.

"Our goal is to clean up the river and we believe that this agreement is a good example of a company working with the community to achieve that goal."

In addition to the technological aspects of the agreement, the two sides will also work cooperatively to increase public awareness about the importance of removing plastic before depositing newspapers for recycling.

Sheppard said often residents, who despite their good intentions, place newspapers still in their plastic sleeves or bags in recycling bins. Because consumers often do not always separate the bags in which their daily news is delivered, and because plastics are present in small amounts in other parts of the recycling stream, traces may be present as old newspapers are recycled and turned into reusable newsprint.

In an effort to combat the problem, SP Newsprint has agreed to develop in-house flyers and work with the Riverkeeper on a media campaign. The company will also place messages about the problem on newspaper sleeves and signage emphasizing the need to remove them before recycling.

"Like with most solutions, there's a technological end and a human end," said Sheppard. "We have also agreed to work together to educate the public about the problem."

She said making residents aware of the problem can help to make the job for both sides a lot easier.

"That's something that everyone who recycles can start to do today," she said.

"Every bag that doesn't go in is a bag that doesn't have to be removed."