Georgia Pacific Corporation
Frequently Asked Questions and Associated Information
1. What is being announced?
Georgia Pacific (GP) will soon begin building a pipeline to
relocate the facility’s effluent discharge from Rice Creek to the
St. Johns River. The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection’s (DEP) existing Administrative Order requires
construction to be complete by September 2010.
2. Is a permit needed to construct the pipeline?
An extensive permitting process, including scientific review,
public input, and an Administrative Hearing, concluded in August
2002, resulting in several manufacturing upgrades, a wastewater
quality optimization period and authorization to construct the
pipeline under certain conditions. All required approvals have
already been obtained.
3. Why is the pipeline needed at this facility?
After implementation of all the manufacturing improvements and
wastewater quality optimization activities, GP studied its effluent
and Rice Creek to see if water quality standards could be met if the
discharge remained where it is today. The Water Quality Report
submitted in June 2008 confirmed that water quality standards were
not obtainable in Rice Creek. The flow capacity of Rice Creek is not
large enough to assimilate the improved effluent. The discharge will
be relocated directly to the St. Johns River that has much more
assimilative capacity to maintain water quality standards.
4. What environmental benefits will result from relocating the
discharge from Rice Creek?
Relocating the outfall will allow Rice Creek to return to natural
conditions. Eventually, Rice Creek’s color levels, conductivity and
ammonia concentrations will be greatly reduced and back to the level
of background conditions, or the normal amounts of these elements
that would naturally be in the creek. Removing the effluent from
Rice Creek should also allow grassbeds to develop along the western
shoreline of the St. Johns River, north of the mouth of Rice Creek.
5. Will moving the discharge adversely impact the St. Johns River?
GP will meet water quality standards in the St. Johns River. To
ensure the River’s protection, DEP has required an on-going water
quality study of the St. Johns River designed to monitor for any
potential effects on water quality from the proposed effluent
discharge to the St. Johns River. The sampling for this plan of
study is already underway. GP is also monitoring for potential
effects on biological communities from the discharge to the St.
Johns River. Biological community monitoring includes issues such as
submerged grasses and aquatic species such as amphibians, reptiles
and fish.
Ultimately, the effluent discharging to Rice Creek today goes to
the St. Johns River. Therefore, with the relocation of the outfall,
the overall effluent loading to the St. Johns River will not change.
6. How will this change affect the established Total Maximum Daily
Load (TMDL), or the ongoing development of the Basin Management Action
Plan (BMAP) for the St. Johns River?
This change will not impact the TMDL or the BMAP process. GP has
an allocation for nitrogen and phosphorus included in the TMDL and
the company is currently meeting this allocation as a result of the
wastewater quality improvements.
7. Does the construction of the pipeline allow Georgia Pacific to
increase production or increase the amount of effluent discharged
through the pipeline?
No. GP has not requested an increase in production or pollutant
load to the St. Johns River and DEP has not granted an increase in
pollutant load to the River.
8. What is the timeline for the
pipeline construction?
The Administrative Order requires construction to be complete by
September 2010.
9. What improvements have been made at Georgia Pacific?
GP has invested more than $200 million dollars in manufacturing
improvements at its Palatka facility that has resulted in reduce
groundwater consumption and effluent loading into Rice Creek,
including:
a. Installation of an enhanced (i.e. two stage) oxygen
delignification system;
b. Replacement of existing brownstock washing lines with new
brownstock washing systems;
c. Installation of green liquor dregs filter;
d. Minimization of all pulping liquor leaks and spills;
e. Handling the chlorine dioxide generator waste (i.e. salt
cake), including efforts to find viable, long term sustainable
market for such material and evaluation of alternative
technologies for treating such materials;
The mill has already seen a reduction in water consumption from
an average of 37 million gallons per day (mgd) to an average of 23
mgd.
The following pollutant reductions were also seen:
| Effluent Parameter |
Percent Mass Reduction
(1997/1998 baseline) |
| Color |
66 |
| Conductivity |
32 |
| AOX |
80 |
| Total Nitrogen |
54 |
| Total Phosphorus |
78 |
| Flow |
36 |
10. Where can I learn more about the pipeline project?
The Administrative Order and other documents associated with GP’s
existing permit and pipeline relocation are available on this web page
under supporting documents.
For more information please contact:
Georgia.Pacific@dep.state.fl.us
Or call the Northeast District Office at (904) 807-3300 and reference
the Georgia Pacific Industrial Wastewater Permit.
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