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GLOSTER — A public hearing at 6 p.m. tonight at the Gloster Public Library, 229 E Main St., will allow public input on whether Drax Biomass Inc.’s Amite County operation, Amite BioEnergy, should receive operation and construction permits from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

According to the industry’s website, Drax Group is a renewable energy company engaged in renewable power generation, the production of sustainable biomass and the sale of renewable electricity to businesses.

Drax operates across four sites in England and Scotland as well as 13 sites in the United States and Canada, producing compressed wood pellets for its own use and for customers in Europe and Asia. The Group employs 3,400 people in the UK and North America.

The Amite County pellet operation sources biomass from sawmill residues, harvesting residues, and from low-grade roundwood such as by-product of forest thinning operations.

Drax seeks approval for a construction permit that would allow Drax to upgrade its pollution controls as well as a Title V Operating Permit.

Drax’s operations have been contested by Dogwood Alliance, a national organization that seeks to combat environmental injustices such as deforestation for fuel sources.

“Currently (Drax captures) about 95% of harmful emissions. Environmental lawyers and advocacy groups are asking MDEQ to require Drax to install upgrades to reach a 99% capture rate,” the organization said in a news release, adding the Title V Operating Permit would require Drax to follow stricter monitoring and reporting standards and “ensures Drax is accountable for emissions that could affect our health and community.”
Matthew D’Onofrio, Media Contractor for Dogwood Alliance, said Drax has a “troubling history of air quality violations, including exceeding legal limits for hazardous pollutants and volatile organic compounds.”

“Local residents are calling on MDEQ to impose stricter monitoring and reporting requirements to protect their health and the environment,” he said. “This hearing offers an opportunity for the public to voice concerns about the impacts of Drax’s operations and urge MDEQ to enforce tougher pollution control measures.”

Amite BioEnginery has been in operation since 2015.

“They have been caught violating the Clean Air Act on several occasions,” according to Dogwood Alliance. “In 2019, Drax Amite was fined $110,000 for record keeping and monitoring violations. In 2020, MDEQ fined Drax Amite $2.5 million for violating the Clean Air Act. Drax had been releasing over three times the legal limit for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) since the plant opened. Drax Amite didn’t come into compliance until 2021, almost five years later. In 2022, testing showed that Drax Amite was releasing 50% over the permitted limit of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs).

“Drax has a troubling trend of violating the law across all of their facilities. A recent investigation found that Drax’s wood pellet mills have violated environmental regulations 11,378 (in the U.S.) since 2014. The investigation uncovered nearly 3,500 additional incidents in Drax’s own 2023 reporting. These will likely be classed as violations once they have been reviewed by state authorities.”

More information on Drax’s Gloster operation can be found at www.drax.com/gloster.

More information on the Dogwood Alliance can be found at dogwoodalliance.org.