Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Anne Perry Moore (218) 723-2356 Toll-free: 1-800-657-3864 Duluth, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has recently completed an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for a proposed wood fuel pelletizing facility in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. If approved, Mountain Timber Wood Products LLC of Mountain Iron would process and convert wood products and wood wastes into fuel pellets beginning in 2009. Comments on the proposal will be accepted through April 9, 2008. Mountain Timber Wood Products proposes to build its facility on a former mine waste stockpiling site that has been cleaned up for re-use as an industrial property. The facility would include a mill/production building, material storage area, employee parking, and access roads. The proposed facility would be able to process about 200,000 tons of hard- and softwoods, including wood chips, shavings, sawdust and tree trimmings, each year. The woody products would be cleaned and processed into small pieces, dried into pellets and packaged for sale. Mountain Timber Wood Products expects to meet increasing residential and commercial demands for wood biofuel as a renewable energy source. The EAW is a preliminary environmental review of how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment. It also helps the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency determine if an Environmental Impact Statement, a more in-depth environmental review, is needed. A public review and comment period for the EAW runs through April 9. The MPCA may change the permit based on input received. Comments on the EAW should be submitted in writing by April 9 to James Sullivan, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155, or by e-mail to jim.sullivan@pca.state.mn.us. A copy of the EAW is available at
· www.pca.state.mn.us/news/eaw/index.html#open-eaw;
· the Duluth Public Library, 520 West Superior Street, Duluth: and
· the MPCA Duluth office, 525 Lake Avenue South, Duluth.