The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting tonight in Crossett regarding a proposed consent decree against the state's largest emitter of hydrogen sulfide.
The agencies will present the consent decree proposal, and officials with the agencies and Georgia-Pacific Corp. will be on hand to answer questions.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Crossett Middle School.
The meeting was originally set for Jan. 15 but was postponed because of the partial federal government shutdown. The EPA announced the new date and time Wednesday.
The proposed consent decree would order that the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Crossett be fined $600,000 over a 2015 inspection that reportedly found leaks and flaws in the company's management of hazardous air pollutants, such as formaldehyde.
The proposed consent decree would order several additional measures, estimated to cost millions of dollars, based on complaints from residents regarding excessive hydrogen sulfide in the air, which they say often causes them breathing troubles. Neither the decree nor the inspection documents state any specific findings or violations related to hydrogen sulfide.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported last year that the plant emitted more hydrogen sulfide than the company's permit allowed. Levels were found to be high enough to create an odor with the potential to cause breathing problems.
State Desk on 02/07/2019