• Decades of Challenging the Wood Pellet Industry’s Harms to Communities

    20 years ago, at a time when few in NC were aware of the rapidly growing wood pellet industry, CWFNC’s Northeast Organizer, Belinda Joyner, got word from a contact in Ahoskie, just east of her in Hertford County, of what it was like living with huge Enviva wood pellet mill. Terrible noise 24/7 from the massive mills chewing up logs to be made into pellets to be burned in electric power plants, mostly in Europe. Heavy, dangerous truck traffic through a community only hundreds of feet away. And perhaps worst of all, the sticky wood dust that was everywhere, a nuisance on homes, yards and cars, but a real health hazard to those forced to breathe it every time they stepped outside. (Image- Belinda Joyner speaking at 2019 hearing on wood pellets, as community members look on.) Belinda and Hope traveled to Ahoskie ,met with concerned residents who had contacted us, then visited door to door in nearby neighborhoods to learn of residents’ experiences and concerns. Over two years, we met with the diverse community members several times and built visible resistance to Enviva’s practices. Working with impacted neighbors, we investigate the company’s permits, what to do about the noise and dust and began learning about a predatory industry that was aggressively working to build more wood pellet plants, always in low income communities of color with little political power. The NC Division of Air Quality, which had been unaware of the problems caused by the plants, responded to the community’s pleas by requiring Enviva to implement an enforceable dust control plan, which reduced dust substantially. Sadly, noise, which can cause major stress and sleeplessness, is not considered an environmental threat by the state agency, and the local Ahoskie government was unwilling to apply their noise ordinance to an industry that was contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. When her local planning board discussed approval of an Enviva plant not far from  her own western Northampton County home, Belinda, who is also President of the Concerned Citizens of Northampton County, reached out to residents close to the proposed site for the plant, trying to build resistance to the new facility, but she was met with indifference and hopes for sone new jobs. As soon as the Enviva mill started operating, the community realized their mistake in not preventing Enviva from building the plant. Meanwhile, the Dogwood Alliance, which focuses on forest issues throughout the southeast, was learning about the wood pellet industry’s major impacts on forests and heard of Belinda’s work in Northeast NC.  Dogwood collaborated with Clean Water for NC on a video that focused on the environmental injustices the industry was forcing on communities, while wreaking havoc on forests, too. Video Partnering with Dogwood Alliance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNJFPefdnIw For over 10 years, Belinda has also worked closely with the Dogwood Alliance on initiatives to investigate harms to communities, take action to hold Enviva and Drax, another huge wood pellet manufacturer, accountable, educate Clean Water for NC and the regional media about the industry, and resist a major new port facility in Wilmington for shipping wood pellets to Europe. Because several European countries offered “clean energy” subsidies to electric generators there to burn wood pellets instead of coal, the market for wood pellets grew quickly and the US industry expanded through the southeast, always location in Environmental Justice communities. After years of advocacy and independent investigations, it has become clear that utilities that burn wood pellets are even worse emitters than coal plants, and the climate impacts, including the loss of forests and transportation of the pellets over thousands of miles, are even worse than coal. European governments are waking up about their misguided policies and are removing subsidies for burning wood pellets. The industry is finally experiencing major financial setbacks. Belinda shakes her head as she says, “The very least they could have done was try to be a better neighbor and make their operations less harmful to their community!”.  Her relentless work with community partners, Dogwood Alliance and keeping Clean Water and other Environmental Justice allies involved in action and advocacy has been a big part of why Europe’s policies are changing and the harmful wood pellet industry is now starting to shrink.  It never created more than a few jobs, and the costs to communities were huge.  We salute Belinda and the outspoken community members she has motivated and empowered for their persistent and determined work to hold this industry accountable.


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  • The Current State of Waste and Race in North Carolina

    This talk will examine the historical and contemporary impacts that solid waste facilities have on communities of color in North Carolina and reflect on the 40-year history of environmental justice organizing around waste facilities in the United States. Courtney Woods is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she leads the Environmental Justice Action Research Clinic, which provides technical assistance for residents facing urgent environmental health threats. Woods also is a founding member of Earthseed Land…


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  • EPA Nat’l Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call

    The purpose of these calls is to inform communities about EPA’s environmental justice work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with environmental justice advocates. As environmental justice continues to be integrated into EPA programs and policies, the Agency hopes that these calls will help reaffirm EPA’s continued commitment to work with community groups and the public to strengthen local environmental and human health outcomes. EPA has increased the frequency of these engagement calls to learn more from stakeholders and communities and to provide updates about ongoing initiatives. Registration: Due to limited space, participation…


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  • Environmental justice board hears concerns about wood pellet plants

      By: David Boraks November 18, 2022 The state's growing wood pellet industry came under fire at a meeting in Raleigh last night from scientists, activists and residents who live near wood pellet plants. The meeting's main target was Enviva, the world's largest wood pellet manufacturer, which has four plants in eastern North Carolina. The company cuts trees and turns them into wood pellets that are shipped to Europe to be burned for electricity. All four of Enviva's North Carolina plants are in counties with high poverty rates and large populations of people of color. At the meeting of the Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board, Ruby Bell of Sampson County, said that makes this an environmental justice issue. "DEQ has an obligation under Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to consider disproportionate impacts," she said. Bell said most of her neighbors are afraid to speak up. "They don't feel that their voices will be heard. Their feeling is what's the use, meaning that the county and the state government are going to do whatever they want to do, with no concern for them," she said. She said when Enviva was first recruited to the county, local leaders ignored residents who opposed the plant, and instead gave the company a multi-million-dollar subsidy. The board scheduled the meeting after writing a letter to environmental secretary Elizabeth Biser in September expressing concerns about the industry. The board worried about the impact on communities with large non-white populations and high poverty and about excessive logging of forests around the plants. And they said the industry does not contribute to the state’s goal of increasing renewable and other clean energy production. Pollution and destruction During the 2½-hour meeting, more than two dozen speakers complained about dust, air pollution and noise, and said the industry is not climate friendly. "This industry is not contributing to any of our goals to increase renewable or clean energy production," said Maritza Mendoza. "It rather continues the status quo of continuing our practices of extraction and deforestation. And so I really hope folks think critically about whether this is good for any of us." In Europe, wood pellets are subsidized and treated as a carbon-neutral fuel. The industry says the carbon is accounted for where the trees are cut. Climate scientist William Moomaw (MOO-maw) said many factors aren't considered. "When wood is burned, it releases more carbon dioxide immediately than does any coal or any other fossil fuel to produce the same amount of energy or heat or electricity. Second, the forest that would have kept on growing would have accumulated three to 10 times as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by 2100 as would the regrown cut forest," Moomaw said. While many comments were about the industry broadly, speakers from a group called Impacted Communities Against Wood Pellets urged the DEQ to reject Enviva's pending request for an air quality permit to expand its plant in Ahoskie, in Hertford County. The plant is near tribal lands of the Meherrin. Tribe member Hannah Jeffries called on the company and DEQ to improve communication. "I'm here to let you know, after speaking to my chief, my chairman, my council, members of my general body, we were not aware, fully, what the industry was doing to the community," Jeffries said. Other speakers called on state regulators to begin tracking the industry's carbon emissions. Emily Zucchino of the Dogwood Alliance, an environmental justice group that's part of the coalition, said they're also worried that the pellet industry's growth will further endanger North Carolina forests. "This permit (Ahoskie) also has a massive expansion of production and there's no forum to express concerns about the impact of that expansion. The industry talks about forest health and forest growth in a way that's misleading," Zucchino said. At the meeting's end, advisory board chair Jim Johnson hinted that the board would pass along at least some of the recommendations to Biser. "I think that it is incumbent upon us as an advisory board to take seriously everything that we've heard and make known to the secretary and all the people at DEQ our stance on what we've heard," he said. In a statement before the meeting, Enviva said its plans provide "well-paid jobs and create a positive economic impact." The company said that air quality near its plants complies with environmental laws and regulations. And it said the air quality permit for Ahoskie would allow it to begin installing state-of-the art emission control equipment. Read on Blue Ridge Public Radio


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  • Governor’s Office Community Input on Environmental Justice

    As directed in Executive Order 246, the North Carolina Governor’s Office and Cabinet Agencies are seeking community input on Environmental Justice. The first of three community input sessions will be held virtually on December 14, 2022. The Metropolitan Group will facilitate these conversations to identify and prioritize key issues and recommendations for potential future executive action. What: Community Input on Environmental Justice When: Wednesday, December 14 from 4-6 p.m This session is open to the public and includes opportunities for individuals and organizations to comment and provide input and recommendations to advance environmental justice. Members of the public are invited to participate online or…


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  • EPA Nat’l Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call

    Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/epa-natl-environmental-justice-community-engagement-call-dec-13-2022-registration-458954193347 The purpose of these calls is to inform communities about EPA’s environmental justice work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with environmental justice advocates. As environmental justice continues to be integrated into EPA programs and policies, the Agency hopes that these calls will help reaffirm EPA’s continued commitment to work with community groups and the public to strengthen local environmental and human health outcomes. EPA has increased the frequency of these engagement calls to learn more from stakeholders and communities and to provide updates about ongoing initiatives. Registration:…


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