PORT TOWNSEND — A discussion on biomass cogeneration that was scheduled Wednesday has been canceled.
No new date has been set, though the Local 2020 Energy Action Group plans to reschedule the meeting in the future.
The discussion at RoseWind Common House was intended to allow follow-up comments on a forum on biomass that drew 130 people to the Port Townsend Community Center on Monday.
Retired biophysicist Larry Bonar, environmentalist Diana Somerville of Port Angeles and Team Jefferson member Bill Wise spoke at that forum.
Both Port Townsend Paper Corp. and Nippon Paper Industries USA in Port Angeles are planning to expand their biomass facilities, using wood-burning to produce steam and generate electricity, for which credits can be sold.
Both are the subjects of appeals to state agencies by environmental groups who say burning wood waste for industrial uses increases air and water pollution and threatens the sustainability of ecosystems.
An appeal of the Port Townsend mill’s project will be before the state Pollution Control Hearings Board on June 2-3.
An appeal of Nippon’s project will be heard Thursday and May 2-3 by the state Shoreline Hearings Board.
For more information, visit www.l2020.org or phone 360-379-4858.