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Potlatch Corp. Still Leading Polluter Lewiston Complex Cited In New Government Report

Associated Press

The Potlatch Corp. complex in north-central Idaho remained the state’s top polluter in 1995, according to a new government report.

Figures from the Environmental Protection Agency showed the company’s Lewiston operations released 1,851,510 pounds of hazardous chemicals into the air, water and land during 1995 compared to 1,856,410 pounds during 1994.

But Potlatch spokesman Michael Sullivan said revisions in the figures for both years, due to refinements in the calculation method, reveal a fractional increase from 1,790,400 pounds in 1994 to 1,811,430 pounds in 1995.

Sullivan said that was primarily due to lower-than-previously-calculated methanol emissions in 1994.

The annual EPA report relies on estimates compiled by the companies themselves and did not include the Potlatch revisions.

With the addition of 286 new chemicals including nitrate compounds since the 1994 report, companies had to report on releases of 643 chemicals considered by the government to be among the most toxic.

Statewide, 60 plants and businesses reported on-site releases into the air, water, and land totaling almost 8.2 million pounds during 1995. The previous year, 67 plants and businesses reported releases of less than 6.3 million pounds.

But there was some shuffling among the rest of the top 10 from 1994.

The Amalgamated Sugar Co. plant in Paul cut its releases 41,000 pounds from 1994 to slip from second to third at 1.05 million pounds.

Ore-Ida Foods Burley plant, which was not among the top 10 in 1994, claimed second for 1995 with 1.09 million pounds.

Amalgamated’s Nampa plant was down a spot to fourth although its releases rose 65,000 pounds in 1995 to almost 800,000. And the company’s Twin Falls plant dropped from fourth in 1994 to eighth in 1995 after cutting its releases over 100,000 pounds to 462,000.

Avonmore West Inc.’s cheese plants in Gooding at 674,000 pounds and Richfield at 492,000 pounds ranked fifth and sixth after not making the list in 1994.

Wood Grain Millwork in Fruitland dropped from sixth to seventh even though its releases jumped 197,000 pounds to 466,000.

J.R. Simplot’s Caldwell processing plant remained ninth after releases increased 54,000 pounds to 261,000. And the Simplot elemental phosphorous operation in Pocatello was 10th with almost 171,000 pounds.