The American Lung Association recently ranked Humboldt County’s air quality as among the cleanest in the state. But that wasn’t always so. For decades, two pulp mills just across Humboldt Bay from Eureka smothered the city with stinky white smoke. Some say it was the “smell of money,” but the cleanup has cost taxpayers more than $30 million – with a huge mess still left behind. Photo: When the Harbor District acquired the former Samoa pulp mill, hazardous materials, dilapidated structures, and debris covered the site, as seen in 2014 from the roof of the 15-story boiler building. Photo by Jennifer Savage, Surfrider Foundation. In 1989, Surfrider Foundation filed a Clean Water Act citizen's lawsuit against the Simpson Pulp Mill in Fairhaven and the Louisiana-Pacific Pulp Mill in Samoa for dumping a combined 40 million gallons of untreated chemical waste into the ocean daily. The dioxin-laden, caustic effluent known as pulping liquors often turned the ocean black near one of the best surf spots in the region, causing nausea, rashes, and other ailments.
Surfrider had documented 40,000 water quality violations, despite California’s famously-stringent (but often poorly-enforced) environmental regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency later joined the lawsuit, and in 1991, the two companies agreed to what was then the largest Clean Water Act settlement in history. In addition to fines and legal fees, they committed $50 million to clean up their operations. The mills were also required to conduct lab tests to prove that abalone, sea urchins, sand dollars, and kelp could survive in the effluent. Quoted in the L.A. Times, EPA attorney Christopher Sproul, said, “This represents the first time in the country that there has been any direct requirement placed on a discharger to reduce toxicity as measured by its effects on organisms.”The larger Simpson pulp mill was demolished in 1998, and the smaller pulp mill changed hands several times and was eventually bought by Evergreen Pulp, a subsidiary of Lee & Man Paper. In 2006, EPIC and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics sued under the Clean Air Act. In 2008, a raid by dozens of local, state, and federal agents found numerous violations. Within months, the company filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving behind a massive toxic mess, including tanks filled with chemicals like sulfuric acid that were barged in from sea for decades.Harbor District AcquisitionIn 2013, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District acquired the Samoa pulp mill at no cost, accepting responsibility for the aboveground hazardous waste at the site (Louisiana-Pacific is still responsible for groundwater contamination). Until stepping down last fall, Richard Marks was one of five elected Harbor Commissioners. Marks worked at the Samoa pulp mill for decades, and was a union organizer for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. He was adamant that the Harbor District takeover of the pulp mill was the only way to get it cleaned up. In hindsight, he said, “it was a risk, but doing the right thing ended up being the right thing in both the short term and long term.”The Harbor District’s acquisition of the site was financially risky. But in hindsight, the agency’s determination to clean up the site averted imminent disaster. In October 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared the site a Superfund emergency. Dozens of decaying tanks contained three million gallons of highly corrosive pulping liquor, 10,000 tons of sludge, 250 pounds of mercury, and 10,000 gallons of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids. Several of the tanks posed an immediate risk of overflowing due to rainwater accumulation.On March 10, 2014, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast caused more cracks and leaks in the tanks. This was a wakeup call that sped up the removal of the pulping liquors, which were then hauled to a paper mill in Longview, Washington for reuse - 2,500 gallons at a time - at a cost of more than $15 million. Some tanks remain but stand empty, no longer an imminent threat to the bay.Initial attempts to reuse the site included a scheme to process gold ore from British Columbia, a plan that was resoundingly rejected due to concerns about the use of mercury and cyanide next to Humboldt Bay. Today, the site houses 18 businesses projected to pay more than $600,000 in rent this year, including Pacific Flake Salt Company, oyster producers Taylor Mariculture and Coast Seafoods, and two delivery services. Last month, the Harbor District closed the books on its New Market Tax Credit loans. Under this program, equity investments are made in low-income communities in exchange for tax credits. This money funded the renovation of warehouses, including the installation of the largest rooftop solar system in the county. Nordic Aquafarms hopes to demolish the asbestos-laden smokestack and boiler building, remove contaminated soil, and build a land-based aquaculture facility to raise Yellowtail Kingfish, a warm-water species more commonly known as hamachi. Pending permits for Nordic’s ocean discharge and bay intakes are expected to apply modern standards to structures built in an era without environmental protections. Until the site is fully cleaned up, it will continue to threaten Humboldt Bay’s water quality and habitat. Humboldt Baykeeper will continue to watchdog any and all plans to ensure that the bay and ocean are protected. And until the site is redeveloped, the 1.5-mile long ocean discharge pipe will continue to attract industry, given the barriers to building a new one.PULP MILL TIMELINE adapted from Liquor Run (Grant Scott-Goforth, North Coast Journal)1964 — The pulp mill was built by Georgia-Pacific on the Samoa Peninsula and began operating in 1965.1989 — Surfrider Foundation sued Louisiana-Pacific, which ran the pulp mill at that time, and the Simpson Paper Company, which ran another (larger) pulp mill nearby, alleging the daily discharge of tens of millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the ocean. According to the suit, scientists found traces of various toxic byproducts of the chlorine bleaching process, including dioxins and furans, in fish and crab samples from near the discharge sites.1991 — The companies settled, agreeing to pay a combined $5.8 million in penalties to the Environmental Protection Agency. Following the settlement, Simpson closed its mill and Louisiana-Pacific converted its mill to a chlorine-free production process. Louisiana-Pacific later sold the mill to a group of investors, which re-sold the mill several times.2005 — Evergreen Pulp, a subsidiary of Lee and Man Paper Company, purchased the pulp mill.2006 — EPIC and CATs sued Evergreen Pulp, alleging significant and ongoing violations of the mill’s federal air quality permit. Evergreen settled the lawsuit in 2007 by agreeing to install a $1 million, state-of-the-art emissions control system.2008 — Lee and Man Paper Co. sold Evergreen Pulp to a newly-formed company and announced a temporary closure. During its ownership of the mill, Evergreen spent more than $40 million to improve the facility. However, in 2008, the pulp market went into steep decline and Evergreen fell delinquent on its bills, with some debtors acquiring court liens.2009 — With Evergreen Pulp totally insolvent, Freshwater Pulp Co. purchased the mill with plans to get it up and running again – this time to produce toilet paper from tanoak trees.2010 — Freshwater Pulp Co. permanently closed the mill after failing to secure $400 million in financing.2013 — The Humboldt County Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District acquired the mill site from Simpson at no cost, knowing there are several million gallons of caustic pulping liquors on site that needed to be removed. Within months, the district had the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspect the site. The EPA immediately initiated an emergency Superfund response to secure the pulping liquors and plan for their removal.2014 — In late March, the US EPA and the Harbor District began trucking 3,000,000 gallons of extremely caustic (pH 14) pulping liquors - 2,500 gallons at a time - to a paper mill in Longview, Washington (along the Columbia River).2015: The District obtained $12 million in federal New Market Tax Credits to renovate the site.2019: The District obtained a $3.5 million New Market Tax Credit loan to repurpose and modernize approximately 200,000 square feet of buildings, a 20 MW electric substation, a 1,300 square foot dock, the ocean discharge pipe, and pipeline for 40 million gallons per day of fresh water. The District also entered a public/private partnership to install a 730,000 kilowatt rooftop solar system to help offset District utility costs.2023: New Market Tax Credits and Coast Seafoods loan paid off.
