NC requires pollution controls but lets wood pellet plant expand

State environmental regulators have issued an air-quality permit that will allow the world's largest wood pellet maker to expand a plant in eastern North Carolina.

The modified permit requires Enviva to install new equipment to reduce hazardous air pollutants at the plant in Ahoskie, in Hertford County.

Neighbors and environmental groups fought the permit, which was delayed for months while state officials listened to concerns about how the expansion would affect nearby communities of color and low income.

The state Department of Environmental Quality said the revised air quality permit and newly required equipment will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and fine particles.

"The final permit includes conditions that ensure ambient levels of all pollutants beyond the facility's fence line comply with emission standards, including applicable health-based standards," DEQ said in a news release.

Enviva plans to expand the plant's production by 31% to help meet demand for wood pellets, primarily to be burned for energy in Europe.

The company welcomed the approval, saying in a statement: "This permit authorizes us to expand production at the plant and to install and operate additional state-of-the-art emission control equipment. We continue to invest in our plants by expanding their capacity to meet growing demand for renewable energy sources and modernizing them with the best-in-class emission control equipment."

The company has four North Carolina plants, including one in Hamlet, in Richmond County, 80 miles east of Charlotte.

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