A deal finalized with local officials this week positions Chatham County’s largest greenhouse gas polluter – and source of the city’s infamous sulfur smell – to significantly increase production at its Savannah-area facilities.
The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) on Tuesday approved issuing $130 million in bonds to “finance the costs of certain machinery, equipment and other personal property” at International Paper Company’s Savannah and Port Wentworth mills.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners signed off on the deal late last year.
The company will avoid being taxed on the expansion-related additions in exchange for a commitment to repay the bonds within a decade at 7% interest and add at least 400 jobs between the two facilities.
Under the “abatement” arrangement, SEDA, a tax-exempt public agency, will initially own the new property.
In Savannah, International Paper’s production process also is the source of the sulfur smell that for many residents and visitors is as synonymous with the city as its signature oak-lined squares.
The company also has the area’s most expansive carbon footprint, which is likely to grow with any significant increase in production.
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In 2022, International Paper’s northwest Savannah mill released more than 367,000 metric tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data shows. That’s 84% more than the county’s second-leading carbon polluter, the U.S. Sugar Savannah Refinery, and the equivalent of what nearly 83,000 gas-powered vehicles would emit over the course of a year, according to the EPA.
Carbon dioxide is the leading contributor to human-caused climate change.
International Paper’s Port Wentworth mill is fifth on the county’s list of greenhouse gas polluters. That facility emits more than 95,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Combined, the two Chatham plants – with machinery powered by burning natural gas and wood – release the equivalent of carbon emissions generated in more than 1.2 million miles of travel by a typical vehicle with a combustion engine, according to EPA.
‘All that production’ coming to Chatham County
International Paper did not respond to a request for more information about expansion in Chatham County, but SEDA board member Kevin Jackson noted that “all” positions lost when the company closed an Orange, Texas, containerboard mill late last year would move to Savannah-area facilities.
“So, it’s great for International Paper and the community,” he added during the board’s meeting Tuesday. “All that production is going to move to Savannah.”
International Paper’s containerboard production capacity fell by 800,000 tons a year with the closing of the Texas plant, the company said.
In 2002, that facility released more than 237,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide – a figure that easily would have made it the second-largest greenhouse gas polluter in Chatham County.
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Air quality could play a significant role in potential expansion at the Savannah and Port Wentworth facilities
Significant additions of equipment and production capacity would likely require modifications to the company’s state air permits for both plants, said Patrick Anderson, an Atlanta-based attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
If the changes lead to new emissions reaching thresholds set by the federal Clean Air Act, International Paper could be required to complete a “major modification” of its pollution-control systems.
“That would then trigger the requirement to do an analysis for the best available control technology,” Anderson explained. “That’s expensive and facilities like this try to avoid it.”
Another consideration is the EPA’s announcement last week of more stringent standards for emissions of soot, from 12 micrograms of particulate matter to 9 micrograms.
Under the Clean Air Act, “major source” facilities such as International Paper’s Savannah and Port Wentworth mills would have to show that an increase in emissions won’t push the county over the limit.
“So with a tighter standard, that could make that (process) a little bit trickier for (International Paper),” Anderson said.
The Memphis, Tennessee-based company, which employs about 1,700 people locally, has set a goal of slashing companywide greenhouse gas emissions 35% by 2030, as well as significantly reducing waste and water use.
John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com
Read More: $130M in bonds a boost to Savannah’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter