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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2006)
BY SUZI STEFFEN Trees for Teens “O K, everybody, it’s time to gath- er in a circle!” The hundred people milling about in front of the dining hall started moving. Teens — some with purple or fire- engine red hair — herded fraternity guys and sorority women, environmental studies majors and community members into shape. At 10:20 on a Saturday morning, the fourth LEAD Plant-a-Thon at Camp Harlow was about to begin. Becca Purkey, a 14-year-old from Junction City High School, was a teen leader for the day. She spoke slowly and loudly: “OK, say your name, share what you’re excited about, and LEAD people, share your life assignments.” LEAD, which stands for Leadership, Adventure, Education and Direction, is a non-profit organization for low-income teens. Begun in 1998 as a partnership with the city of Eugene, LEAD now serves 34 teens directly and aspires to help many more with a proposed teen center, preferably downtown. The youth who come for family dinners and outdoor adventures — not to mention City Council meetings — commit to school and to their “life assignments.” “My life assignment is to build fun bikes,” said one teen. Or “to make class- SUZI STEFFEN Volunteers break dirt to fund a downtown teen center. Chloe Shipp, community service organizer for Kappa Delta sorority, prepares the hole as Terra Williams, LEAD participant and board member, brings out the tree. rooms more humane for young people,” said another. Adults added, “to facilitate heart connections” and “to teach men how to share their feelings.” In the short term, however, everyone’s BY KERA ABRAHAM Semi-Stinky LRAPA evaluates J.H. Baxter’s emission-control measures. I t’s been a year since J.H. Baxter & Co. signed an agreement with Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) to install new odor control equipment, in an effort to reduce the smelly emissions that bother nearby residents. A consulting firm has found that the measures taken by Baxter under the Best Work Practices Agreement have reduced creosote and fuel oil emissions by two-fifths. Complaints about the plant have dropped by a similar fraction, but some neighbors insist that the air still stinks — just maybe a shade less. Baxter’s plant on Roosevelt Boulevard treats wood for industrial use, driving preservatives such as creosote, pen- tachlorophenol and arsenic, all of which the EPA considers known or probable human carcinogens, into lumber. In the process, some of these chemicals are emitted into the air, creat- ing a stench that is unpleasant at best. The plant has been operating since 1943, but over time, the densely populated Bethel, Trainsong and River Road neighbor- hoods have sprouted up around it. Now, both the company and its neighbors are coping with the unfortunate siting of a pollut- ing plant within one mile of about 7,000 residential homes. That sticks regulators with the job of trying to contain the plant’s pol- lution — in the ground as well as the air. While Baxter works with LRAPA to reduce its air emissions, it’s also working with the Department of Environmental Quality to contain a plume of arsenic in the soil and a pool of pentachlorophenol contaminat- ing the groundwater below the plant. Neighbors have identified a host of health effects they sus- pect are related to Baxter’s emissions, from the bothersome — headaches, dizziness, burning eyes and throat — to the critical. Three people living near the Baxter plant have been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, a rare cancer. Complaints about Baxter, as logged with LRAPA, increased from about 70 in 2001 to more than 700 in 2004. But due to a lack of air monitoring data, neighbors can’t prove that Baxter’s pollution is making them sick. So they latch onto their next- best bet: pushing LRAPA to fine Baxter for each odor complaint, pur- suant to a state nuisance ordinance the LRAPA board adopted in 2001. Baxter representatives deny that the plant’s emissions are in any way harmful or bothersome, reserving the right to litigate over any fines LRAPA might impose. LRAPA has not yet fined Baxter. Wishing to pursue a cooperative rather than punitive approach, in February 2005 the LRAPA board negotiated a Best Work Practices Agreement with Baxter, planning engineering fixes to quell the stench. Baxter, in return, got temporary impu- nity; LRAPA can’t cite the company for nuisance rule violations while the agreement is in effect. In compliance with the agreement, Baxter modified its vac- uum system and installed an odor control system at a cost of $380,000, resulting in a 39 percent reduction of creosote and fuel oil emissions from the site, according to a November 2005 report from Global Environmental Solutions. The consultant, hired by Baxter, suggested two additional modifications that could further reduce odor emissions by about 9 percent, but doubted that greater gains could be had for a reasonable cost. Baxter also performed air emissions modeling, using naph- thalene as a proxy for other chemicals. The models indicated that the naphthalene levels only exceeded the odor threshold in limited areas just beyond Baxter’s property line. LRAPA collected seven air samples from Baxter’s property boundaries between January 2005 and January 2006, at $2,000 a pop. The data support Baxter’s models, showing that only low concentra- tions of hazardous air pollutants drift over the company fenceline. At a Jan. 10 LRAPA board meeting, Baxter plant manager Gary Hunt said that the results show that there are no health hazards leaving the Baxter property. Hunt did not respond to requests for comment. From the neighbors’ perspective, the engineering fixes may have worked to some extent. Complaints about Baxter dropped by 40 percent in the last half of 2005 as compared with 2004 numbers. “The odor is not as strong as it was, but it’s still there,” said Kimm Marshall, who lives several hundred yards from the Baxter plant. “It’s constantly in the air and it’s still harmful. I’m not satisfied until that plant’s closed down.” Baxter’s air contaminant discharge permit is currently up for renewal, and LRAPA may absorb the existing Best Work Practices Agreement measures into the renewed permit. LRAPA Director Merlyn Hough said that if neighbors continue to complain about the plant’s emissions, the agency will likely addend and extend the agreement with Baxter, a move that could further reduce the odors but would also protect the company from nuisance fines. “I’m not concerned about shielding [Baxter] from fines,” Hough said. “In my mind, it’s more effective to negotiate solu- tions rather than pushing it toward litigation.” But River Road resident Becky Riley disagrees. “All that a new BWPA would accomplish is protecting the company from further enforcement actions,” she wrote in a Feb. 14 let- ter to the LRAPA board. “Fines might be the only way to motivate the company to make the expenditures necessary to really control its pollution.” – Kera Abraham For more background on Baxter’s air pollution, see EW’s 2/3/05 cover story: www.eugeneweekly.com/2005/02/03/coverstory.html, and visit www.lrapa.org/public_education/JH_Baxter LRAPA’s 24-hour complaint line: 726-1930. assignment was the same: to plant trees and raise money. According to Molly Gordon, LEAD intern and junior in the UO’s Family and Human Services program, the monetary goal was around $5,000. Plant-a-Thon par- ticipants collected flat amounts of money for every tree they planted from sponsoring friends and family. And many saplings awaited a place in the cold ground. “We have 2,100 trees, and the tempera- ture is right around freezing,” said LEAD founder and executive director Maj Rafferty, urging everyone to stay warm. Some of the LEAD teens wore sleek gear donated by SportHill, a Eugene-based out- door clothing company. Weyerhaeuser, Roseburg Forest Products, and several nurseries donated trees, and FOOD for Lane County provided lunch. Two Weyerhaeuser representatives trained everyone on keeping saplings alive between tree bag and soil, and LEAD teens paired off with community members. Half the participants headed up the road; half hiked to what Colin Halstead, Camp Harlow guest services director, called “the back 40.” Rafferty and Gordon were both awed. Three previous Plant-a-Thons each attract- ed 30 people; Saturday almost quadrupled that number, thanks to Gordon’s UO con- nections. Jessica Spaulding, a young woman from Cascade Middle School, surveyed the field. She loved planting trees because, she said, they were “making the camp a better place for animals.” Caleb Pruzynski, a 13-year-old LEAD board member and teen center co-coordina- tor, planted quickly and efficiently. He began to warm up and took off his hat. Caleb raised the most money last year, but he was excited this year about funding the teen center. For Will Ross, Caleb’s classmate at the Network Charter School, the teen center was also fueling his shovel. “There’s a big problem in Eugene with teens on the street, doing drugs and being homeless,” he said, speculating that a teen center would help with downtown “street kid” issues. Will found a grub and carefully placed it back in the ground. By 1 pm, only 350 trees remained. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy showed up to help. Piercy was impressed that the teens were “getting their voices heard and helping their community.” Rafferty noted that trees planted a few years ago were as tall as she is — about 5’8”. “As the young people grow up, the trees grow,” she said. “These are teens who will make positive change in the world.” ew FEBRUARY 23, 2006 13
