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mquirfments of State and Federal law. But the company knew that the mill's 

 discharge would not comply with even the most minimal of standards. 

 Therefore KPC immediately challenged, and comlnnes to challenge the '94 Ward 

 Cove permit; blocking its adoption for ihe past 21 months while it continues lo 

 discharge toxic waste. In an attempt to preempt the Ward Cove permit, KPC has 

 applied for a new discharge permit to begin the pollution of the adjacent water 

 body of Tongass Narrows. 



On May 16th, several citizen's groups including ACWA, filed a lawsuit against 

 KPC for 283 violations of Suie and Federal pollution laws. More than a hundred 

 of these violations, totaling over a million gallons of illegal discbarges, have 

 occurred since the consent decree settlement last Fall. The mUl's consistent state 

 of non-compliance as evidenced in our stiit underscores the immediate need to 

 contain and cleanup the toxic waste in and about Ward Cove. To ignore the 

 connection between toxic pollution and cancer, reproductive disorders, and 

 immune dysfunction, shirks our responsibility to the residents of Ketchikan, 

 both present and future generations. 



Why does the mill continue to have such widespread pollution problems? 

 Because KPC's antiquated facility is a dinosaur of the pulp industry. There is no 

 guarantee that even a major rebuilding of the mill would allow the operation to 

 meet State and Federal water quality standards. 



KPC officials have stated their intention to eliminate the use of elemental 

 chlorine. Wc support this goal. But while eliminating the creation of highly toxic 

 organochlorines is a positive step towards the protection of public health, these 

 same process changes are expected to increase the concentration of other wastes 

 in the mill's effluent that rob oxygen from the water, further increasing the 

 toxicity of the mill's discharge to aquatic life. 



Every time the government has demanded the mill clean up its operation, KPC 

 has used the people of Ketchikan and their economic survival as a shield, spitting 

 out reruns of the "jobs vs. environment" myth. The truth is a noh-pulp. valur- 

 added timber industr y would cut fewer trees and provide far more job .security 

 fpr the neonle of Ketchikan than KPCs current operation. 



The $110 million "Economic Disaster Fund", perhaps more aptly named the 

 "Economic Opportunity Fund', should be dedicated to the construction of a sute 

 of the art. value-added manufacturing plant that can yield a return on our 

 timber many times greater than the value of pulp, without producing the toxic 

 waste. Instead of discussing a fifteen year extension of a contract that locks us 

 into the past, we should be designing and constructing a new, more efficient 

 umber based industry for Southeast Alaska, while establishing a safety net to 

 protect the mill workers and their families until the new industry is operational. 



