Chaos Hits Timber and Paper Mill Industry Across the South

A recent wave of closures in the economically-powerful paper manufacturing industry has left officials and developers across the South scrambling for ways to overcome job losses and a huge oversupply of timber.

The situation finds workers hustling to find new employment opportunities--and cities and counties seeking ways to make up for lost tax revenue. Mississippi’s latest setback in this industrial realm is the shuttering of the newsprint mill at Grenada that left 180 workers jobless. This plant was a source of pride for the state due to its economic importance and uniqueness of product.

According to the Magnolia Tribune, “When the Grenada mill was built in 1989, the company said its location in North Mississippi was ideal as it had cost-effective access to ports along the Gulf of Mexico for international markets. The company touted that the facility had ‘one of the most modern, high-speed and efficient newsprint machines in North America.’”

As a former purchaser of the product on which newspapers are printed, I would’ve bought from Newsprint South Inc., but the plant opened after we had sold our press at the Leland Progress.

The problem of timber oversupply is most evident in Georgia where three paper mills closed in the past three months-a

Georgia-Pacific mill in the state’s southwest corner, leaving some 550 workers jobless; and two International Paperowned facilities near Savannah on the eastern seaboard, placing 1,100 employees out of work.

All made containerboard, a key component of cardboard boxes, and required that thousands of trees be cut daily to do it. IP is shifting some work to more modern plants in Alabama. The plant in Southwest Georgia also was outdated and G-P, sadly, had no plans to update it.

An unsubstantiated rumor has circulated that unknown manufacturers plan a new mega-containerboard plant to be built at an undisclosed site in the state.

Georgia-Pacific operates a more modern containerboard mill in Mississippi at Monticello along U.S. 84. The owners could move additional work there.

Meanwhile, as timber growers, brokers, loggers, analysts and developers plot the future of the industry in Georgia and elsewhere in the Southeast, a nasty battle in Southwest Mississippi over wood pellet production deepens among citizens, elected officials, environmentalists and state pollution guardians.

British-utility giant Drax’s plant in Gloster turns timber into wood pellets and ships them to England to produce electricity. The process has created badly-needed jobs--and timber usage--in the Amite County town where

Georgia-Pacific formerly operated a plywood mill.

Drax has been accused of emitting hazardous material in its process, allegedly causing breathing problems among residents, but the state on Oct. 15 approved increased emissions for Drax, creating more of a stir at Gloster.

Drax and its adversaries have been fighting each other in full-page ads in the Clarion Ledger and other outlets. Drax’s ad tells of employing area residents and says, “We’re proud to support Mississippi’s economy.” Adds Drax, “The forests of Mississippi are a key part of the state economy for sectors like forestry, logging, trucking, railways and ports. As a global energy company with pellet production plants in-state and across the US South, our own contribution continues to make a difference.”

Its antagonists claim “Dirty Biomass Wood Pellets (Are) Bad for Mississippi Health and Communities,” leading to heart and lung diseases. They planned to rally against Drax in front of the state environmental regulatory agency. Citizens have claimed Drax has repeatedly been fined for breaking pollution rules.

In an essay, Gloster Mayor Jerry Norwood disputes the pollution and writes, “Those who oppose Drax and some in the media have made our town out to be some sort of smogfilled nightmare, but that is simply false … I can assure you we breathe clean air.”

This battle could outlast the trees.

---Mac Gordon is a native of McComb. He is a retired newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com. CHAOS HITS TIMBER AND PAPER MILL INDUSTRY ACROSS THE SOUTH by Mac Gordon, GAZETTE Contributing Editor Sandwiches $9