FORKS — Starting today, Clallam and Jefferson counties’ cedar mills will not be able to legally burn cedar waste wood into the atmosphere because of a new federal clean air rule.
“At this point, we’re going ahead with enforcement,” said Richard Stedman, executive director of the state’s Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, on Thursday.
“Like I’ve said before, [inspectors] won’t be showing up on July 1 to see who is and who isn’t conforming, but we do expect people to comply with the law.”
Stedman said that agency personnel will continue to respond to complaints of burn violations, as is their usual practice.
Reducing carbon monoxide
The federal environmental rule that goes into effect today is designed to reduce carbon monoxide released by the burning of small cedar dust and scrap wood in burners.
While Stedman said that the state clean air agency can do nothing to postpone the deadline or grant mills compliance exemptions, he has been privy to recent meetings between local officials and Environmental Protection Agency officials.
In those face-to-face encounters, Forks City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck presented EPA officials with findings from a recent study that found the West End’s $11 million cedar mill industry would have a hard time surviving the new clean-air regulations without time to develop cost-effective, alternative solutions.