Paper mills in Maine and across the U.S. releasing more greenhouse gases than federal data shows

Two of Maine’s largest paper mills are among the dirtiest in the country, according to a new study on U.S. pulp and paper plants, putting their emissions on par with some oil refineries. The report from the Environmental Integrity Project calls attention to the industry’s overreliance on dirty fuels and the old, inefficient technologies they use to burn them. “In Maine, there are several plants that are still burning coal and…tires,” said Courtney Bernhardt, EIP’s director of research. The group analyzed greenhouse gas emissions from 185 paper plants across the country, which Bernhardt says use a loophole in the reporting process: the EPA doesn’t include greenhouse gas emissions from “biogenic” fuel sources like biomass, which mills burn to power their operations and can be dirtier than coal. The agency’s rationale for excluding biomass from emissions estimates is “because trees can grow back in the future” and offset the carbon emissions from biomass fuels.