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The mill has been generating complaints about dust, smoke and noise from neighbors, but the Department of Environmental Quality says it is operating within the limits of its permit. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) Mill dust-up Neighbors say Panel Products mill in Rogue River continues to create too much dust and smoke, but DEQ says it is meeting emissions standards By sanne specht Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — Increased production at the local mill has generated more complaints from neighbors, prompting Panel Products to consider ending its policy of accepting yard waste, said mill officials. "I think they're going to stop taking that stuff," said Wade Bentley, general manager. "The neighbors bring it in and then neighbors complain." Meanwhile the mill will shut down for a week starting today to perform routine maintenance on the mill's boiler, said Bentley, who denied ongoing complaints to the Department of Environmental Quality about dust and smoke have anything to do with the closure. Panel Products, a Milwaukie lumber wholesaler, purchased the Rogue River mill at the end of 2003. Since its transition, the mill has added two veneer dryers and installed three plywood presses. The new equipment has increased production and added jobs — although a recent downturn in the construction industry has reduced employee numbers from a high of 175 in 2005 to its current 125, said Bentley. Gene VanDorn lives across from the plywood mill on North River Road. A retired mill worker who now refinishes furniture, VanDorn said the mill's ongoing "fog of sawdust" has left him frustrated. Advertisement "It's just so filthy," said VanDorn. "The inside of my house is like a pigpen." Rogue River Fire District Chief Ben Ramsey said the mill's policy of accepting yard waste for fuel is helping the general air quality in the area. The waste is used as "hog fuel" for the mill's boiler, which generates steam and electricity. The boiler — unlike homeowners' burn piles — is equipped with air cleaners, he said. "The benefit to our community is that people can drop off their stuff and we don't have so many people doing open burning," said Ramsey. Other neighbors complain about traffic, noise and "blue haze" from the mill's stacks. Don Cook, who lives nearby, said people have been complaining to the city and to DEQ to no avail. "They never do anything," said Cook. City Administrator Mark Reagles said the mill is within city limits, but the city has no jurisdiction over environmental complaints. The mill is operating under its allowable emission standards on all applicable measured pollutants, said DEQ environmental specialist Anna Kemmerer. It has significantly reduced its particulate emissions since it stopped green-end production, she added. "They no longer peel logs for veneer," said Kemmerer. "But they're drying green veneer on-site and pressing it into plywood." VanDorn said his home, vehicles, even his fruit trees require frequent washing to remove airborne particulates, he said. "There is sawdust packed in every crack and crevice in my home," said VanDorn. "The other summer my fruit trees had to be washed down to keep them from suffocating." Bentley said someone recently dropped off "a lot of sawdust" in the yard. The sawdust had to be moved to the boiler, and some of it drifted. That generated complaints, he said. The mill's emissions were tested in 2005 and were within their permit limits. There have been no warning letters or pre-enforcement notices since the last permit was issued in 2004, Kemmerer said. Kemmerer said sawdust drift, considered to be a "fugitive emission," is often brought to the DEQ's attention via citizen complaints. "(Gene VanDorn's) trees were covered in sawdust," she said. "That really was a problem. We had them water the yard more. That seemed to help." The mill has been instructed to water the yard during the summer months to keep dust down. But if mill workers did not water the yard during the unseasonably dry winter, more dust probably drifted into VanDorn's yard and home, Kemmerer said. A recent decision to begin screening the mill's log deck could be the cause of recent complaints, Kemmerer said. Sifting and separating the large piles of wood and dirt debris are causing dust problems, she said. "Particularly when the wind comes in off the river in the afternoon and starts blowing the dirt," Kemmerer said. Another area of complaint to DEQ is people mistaking the white steam which comes from the boiler stack for smoke, said Kemmerer. Boiler stack emissions which give off a blue haze can indicate a possible smoke emission violation, she said. The mill has been instructed to notify DEQ whenever it emits the haze, she added. "Last week we had a problem with blue haze," said Kemmerer. "We had an inspector go out on Friday. It was really foggy that day so he had trouble pinning anything down." DEQ officials need to monitor what and how the mill burns its fuel on the weekends, Cook said. "They like to sneak out stuff on the weekend," said Cook. "We get a lot of green or gray colors coming out of the smokestacks on the weekend. It was never like that with the other mill." Other neighbors said Panel Products has made the mill a better neighbor. Butch Thomas "used to get a lot of smoke and drifting dust" coming his way, he said. "But it looks like they've cleaned it up pretty good in recent months," Thomas said. Kemmerer said the mill's high-visibility location provides DEQ officials and neighbors easy access to check things out. "It's right out there right on the I-5 corridor," said Kemmerer. "And we're up and down there all the time." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. 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