Any perception of increased odors from the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill isn’t supported by pollution monitoring results from the state Department of Ecology, the department’s director said Wednesday.
Jay Manning, a longtime environmental attorney who has held the state’s top Ecology job for 13 months, said his department has received increasing complaints recently about smells emanating from the Glen Cove mill.
But monitoring data show that the mill is within its permitted emissions levels, Manning told PDN editors during a private meeting Wednesday.
Ecology’s conclusion, he said, is that additional housing built in areas near the mill has brought in new residents who are not used to the odors from a paper mill and have complained.
He called Port Townsend Paper a “pretty good citizen” in complying with Ecology’s permits.
Port Townsend Paper operates under at least 15 different environmental permits and programs at the federal, state and local levels, according to the company’s Web site.
In a wide-ranging interview with the PDN following an appearance before the Port Angeles Rotary Club, Manning said one of his priorities is restoring Hood Canal, part of a broader plan to clean up all of Puget Sound.