Wood pellets are being touted as "carbon neutral" fuel for power plants - but burning them contributes to climate change, and making them damages NC woodlands and communities. Speak up now against wood pellet factory expansion in Ahoskie!
Enviva, a company that currently turns North Carolina woodlands into wood pellets - is seeking state permission to expand its factory in Ahoskie. The state Division of Air Quality (DAQ, part of the Department of Environmental Services) will hold a public hearing on Enviva's air quality permit for this expansion plan - and it's YOUR chance to help fight this greenwashing industry.
Wood pellets made by Enviva and other domestic companies are largely shipped overseas and burned by power plants. As we explained last year, industry advocates claim that pellet-burning is carbon-neutral, but that's not really the case.
Moreover, as we explained in the same post and in this recent report from one of our summer fellows, Derrick Galloway, pellet production threatens the environment right here in North Carolina and poses health and quality-of-life issues for people who live near these plants.
You can speak out against Enviva's expansion plans at the in-person hearing, or by submitting written comments. Here's how:
Attend the hearing:
- Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at 6 p.m.
- Roanoke-Chowan Community College gymnasium, New Student Services Center, Room 101, 109 Community College Road, Ahoskie, NC 27910.
- Oral comments must be limited to no more than three minutes
Submit comments:
- Deadline: 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19
- By email: DAQ.publiccomments@ncdenr.gov; be sure to use the subject line “Enviva Ahoskie.20B”
- By voicemail: Call (919) 707-8430
What you can say:
- All four of Enviva’s N.C. facilities are located in communities with higher-than-average populations of Black and Indigenous people. Many of these people are already burdened with pollutants from these and other industries near their homes.
- For the past 10 years, Enviva has polluted Ahoskie communities with harmful toxins that can cause heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases like asthma.
- Enviva has saved itself millions by NOT installing air pollution controls so far. Under this permit, they'll add controls that will bring about a decrease in some harmful pollutants, but the planned expansion will INCREASE wood dust emissions overall.
- According to the Dogwood Alliance, Enviva’s expanded Ahoskie facility would destroy almost 16,000 acres of forests per year.
North Carolina is a source for much of the world's wood pellet production. When you speak up against this dirty, greenwashing industry, you can help locally on behalf of North Carolinians and our forests and water, and globally on behalf of all who are affected by climate change.
YOU can make a difference! Fight back now against Enviva's expansion!