Pulp mill lower Caddo east of Amity AR

[Roger]

If there is to be another industry such as this , anywhere in S.W. Ark. I also would wish they might consider utilizing the older facility at Camden. Infrastructure already in place, and jobs needed even more so than Arkadelphia. Camden was my birth place, and it has just 'dried up on the stalk' since International Paper Company shut that paper mill down quite some years ago. If we must ship our resources abroad , I would more wish it could be in a completed form, such as finished paper products rather than pulp.


Jim

Gotta maximize profits for the investor class, Jim. That's why it's going as pulp.

[BGW]

I have to wonder if the nice folks on the Clark County Economlc Development Committee honestly believe the 350 Jobs created would be worth throwing away the millions of dollars the people of Arkansas have spent advertising this as the Natural State and allowing our ERW's to be polluted by this type industry. I think I about destroying the recreational based businesses that already exist or the deminishing tax base as property value both downstream and downwind decline with the water and air quality. If this isn't the type of growth you want please speak with your community leaders and elected officials about this issue. Where is our AEDQ they're supply to be protecting our enviroment ?

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

The link below takes you to a Corps of Engineers list of ERWs and every other similar classification of waterway in Arkansas. The Caddo above Lake DeGray is on the list of ERWs.

http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/ ... aters.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve

[LeanDoc]

Hello,

The only reason to pay China over $300 million to build the largest mill in the US is to sell our forests as fiber.

To make 700,000 tons of fluff per year, the Chinese mill will use 16 millions of gallons of fresh water per day, a permit to dump the wastewater, and a sewer to dump 12 million gallons per day of polluted water on the Ouachita River.

AEDC and the Arkadelphia Economic Development Commission say the mill will use the latest technology with no stench or pollution, but there are no documents backing this up and the story does not make sense. Only greed and ignorance explain this deal.

Forest owners should be compensated for the clean air, clean water and flood protection provided by the forests. Forest carbon offsets, paid to forest owners by coal-fired power plants and other polluters, are the smart solution for Arkansas.

[Yarbrough]

Forced carbon offsets is a great idea! More regulations, more laws, bigger government and a efficiency like no other. Being the parent company is chinese, maybe if we petition, we can get the UN to come in and sort out the idiot locals that don't care about their own environment. This sort of decision should be made in Washington DC or better yet Brussels,,,, not by locals that don't know anything.

[Ben Rodda]

Yarbrough,
Carbon offsets are one of many ways to compensate forest owners for their investments and the benefits from their forests. The rest of your comment seems inappropriate for a project that will change the future of Arkansas. I don’t understand what you are trying to say. Please post your opinion, or questions, if you would like me to respond. Thank you.

[arkansas-santa1]

My wife is from Camden, we go down there often. The trees that would be used are from "tree farms" that have been in use for many years. I hope that the few oaks and other hard woods will not be cleared to make more tree farms. The water usage is a big concern however.

[LeanDoc]

Mill size matters. At 700,000 tons of fluff per year, the Sun mill would be the largest in the U.S.

The mill would use 4 million tons of round wood as feedstock per year, with 400 40-ton log trucks making daily deliveries on state roads.

Logging trucks will create safety hazards and will tear down country roads: a 40-ton logging truck causes the same damage as 10,000 midsize cars.

[LeanDoc]

Arkansas-Santa,

Fluff kraft mills create massive water pollution: the mill would use 16 million gallons of clean water per day.

11 millions of gallons of wastewater would be dumped into the Ouachita River, every day.

Surprisingly, no one seems to care. Why?

[LeanDoc]

Arkansas-Santa,

Oaks and hardwoods will be soon gone replaced with pulpwood. Tree farms are not forests, just sticks in the ground.

With a single buyer, Sun will have tree farms bidding and drive the price of pulpwood down, down, down. Timely deliveries driven by the mill production schedule will be hard to meet. Deforestation, starting at the mill, will spread like cancer.

Sun is a high volume, low-cost mill; not someone you want to deal with. Fluff is a commodity in a highly competitive world market.

[arkansas-santa1]

Hay guys I'm on your side! Not as smart as some y'all. I know tree farms are NOT forest I've seen them. As a matter of fact I LIVE in the woods. I've seen what growth has done to NWA. I own land in South Arkansas and have managed to keep our hard wood in the same condition they have been in for years. So back off!!!

[Yarbrough]

This is a bunch of doom and gloom. A company is investing a billion dollars in Arkansas and creating jobs and jobs where they are needed, I would like to point out. In return they are being painted as a bunch of ax murderers.

LeanDoc, "if" what you are saying was true, Arkansas would be baron of trees, have no water and have nothing but dirt roads full of potholes. Arkansas has been logged for over 150 years and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a tree. "If" what you were saying was true South Arkansas would have already been deforested and there would be nothing but bare dirt. However we know that is not the case. "If" a pulp wood mill were to deplete, pollute, waste and ruin all of our most precious natural resource then that would have already happened. However we know that is not the case. "If" one 40,000 pound truck really caused as much damage as 10,000 cars then we wouldn't have a single paved road in this state. However we know that is not the case. Any extra road maintenance needed because of heavy trucks has already been paid for by the taxes put on those heavy trucks.

This has all been done before and none of these dire predictions came true. This thread is fear mongering preying on those who will believe anything.

On the good side: These jobs will create income. With income comes disposable income. Some of that disposable income will be spent on kayaks, canoes and rafts. My prediction is that more people will be able to enjoy a day on the river because of this investment.

[LeanDoc]

Yarbrough, thank you for your comments, it gives me an opportunity to state the facts:

Shandong Sun is not investing in Arkansas. Sun wants to build a mill to make fluff and ship it to China. They have polluted the air, the rivers and have no forests: they can't build a fluff mill in China.

The mill would be fully owned by Sun. All the benefits are for China. Clark County gets the pollution, road congestion, and deforestation.

If Sun was building a university, a training center, hotels, or even a Chinese restaurant, then you could say Sun is investing in Arkansas, and Arkansans would benefit from Sun’s investment.

El Dorado, AR, was one of the sites bidding for the mill. The News-Times report, December 11, 2015, “El Dorado City Council eyes pulp mill package” says local business leaders opposed giving Sun the funds AEDC was requesting, the low-paying jobs, and the pollution of the Ouachita River:

Richard Mason expressed concern about air and water pollution, adding, “This is a bad deal. You don’t need those jobs in El Dorado. You need quality jobs, and those jobs are the lowest of the low.” Local attorney Matt Thomas raised questions about the environmental impact on the Ouachita River and said the project is sure to attract lawsuits. “You remember what happened the last time we went down this road. I don’t think this project will get off the ground because of litigation,” Thomas told board members. “If you want to throw money on the front end, I think you’re wasting your money.”

Please read the full article, it explains why El Dorado dropped the project. Arkadelphia should do the same. Thanks, Luis

[LeanDoc]

Yarborough,

Sun is not creating 250 jobs paying $52,000 per year for Arkansas. This is a false statement used to make the deal look good.

Fluff mills run around the clock with several shifts, requiring many Chinese managers and supervisors. The 250 mill jobs include the Chinese staff. According to CNN-Money, July 21, 2016, “Chinese flock to America to work for companies they own.” The U.S. granted 10,258 L-series visas to Chinese workers and their family members in 2015, more than four times the number approved in 2005.

The $52,000 average wage, stated in the MoU, is a meaningless number used by AEDC to deceive the public.

Chinese managers will have high salaries and benefits. Arkansans will get the remaining low-pay jobs with no union or benefits.

AEDC is in violation of Arkansas rules. Sun does not qualify for the AEDC Create Rebate funds. The Create Rebate Program is an incentive Arkansas reserves for projects that bring quality jobs to communities. The program provides a cash rebate on a percentage of qualified payroll.

AEDC needs to tell the whole truth about this project.

Please look at my op-ed today "Fluff Folly" http://eureka.news/independent-guestatorial-fluff-folly/ Thanks!

[LeanDoc]

Yarborough,

There are many references to the damage done by heavy trucks - the 400 daily deliveries coming to the mill would be using similar roads.

Here is one reference: "Heavy trucks obviously cause more road damage than cars, but how much more? According to a GAO study, Excessive Truck Weight: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Afford, road damage from one 18-wheeler is equivalent to 9600 cars (p.23 of study, p.36 of PDF)."

Thanks