164 



Testimony of Emesta Ballard 



Senate Energy Committee 



July 10, 1996 



My name is Emesta Ballard I am an environmental consultant, and was formerly 

 Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency In my testimony I am 

 going to focus on the serious allegations that have been made about KPC's environmental 

 compliance. In my view, the time has come to set the record straight 



Ketchikan Pulp Company operates only with the specific permission of both State and 

 Federal environmental agencies KPC operations are regulated by at least 75 different 

 permits and plans which cover everything from logging camp stormwater to hazardous 

 waste disposal 



The allegations of KPC's opponents attack their performance, vilify their people, and 

 diston their record They present data out of the context in which they were originally 

 reported and without regard for the strict scientific methods which are mandated by 

 regulation They reach conclusions which are based on subjective values instead of the 

 objective measures established by law In these presentations information has been 

 manipulated and distorted in order to support theories which are intentionally designed to 

 raise public alarm 



The Felony and Misdemeanor Violations of the Clean Water Act 



Wastewater management at Ketchikan Pulp was the subject of a lengthy investigation by 

 the I'nited States Environmental Protection Agency which began in 1991 In 1995 KPC 

 paid a fme of $4,250,000, and agreed to complete capital projects in lieu of an additional 

 fine of $1,750,000 Available for Committee review are twelve studies and workplans 

 describing additional projects required by the settlement 



KPC has paid a heavy price for the mistakes of the past Money and management time 

 have been heavily invested in achieving change The enforcement action achieved the 

 intended result of dramatically increasing corporate awareness of environmental 

 responsibility. 



Ward Cove Fish Kills 



It has been alleged that KPC effluent kills fish in Ward Cove There have been no 

 reported fish kills resulting from KPC's effluent The only fish kill for which KPC was 

 responsible resulted over fifteen years ago from an accidental release of a cleaning 

 chemical downstream of the water reservoir at Connell Lake 



Toxic Release Inventory 



A regulatory report which is filed annually by KPC has been used by opponents to support 

 a theory that the pulp mill is among the so-called "worst" polluters in the Pacific 



