The Crofton pulp mill has received a non-compliance warning letter from the province for failing to meet numerous air-emission requirements.

In a letter dated May 28, 2025, that is expected to be officially posted later this week, the Ministry of Environment and Parks says the mill failed to meet Environmental Management Act permit requirements from January 1 to November 22, 2023.

The inspection determined that the kraft mill failed to properly sample for total particulate matter and sulphur dioxide, including the finding: “Crofton Elementary School was not monitored for sulphur dioxide” from January 5 to February 1, 2023.

Sulphur compounds are responsible for the foul odours associated with pulp mills.

The inspection also found that the chlorine dioxide limits were exceeded on “101 days at Bleach Plant Stack A and 137 days at Bleach Plant Stack B.”

The Crofton pulp mill was fined $13,490 in 2019 for ongoing, excessive emissions of chlorine dioxide from two stacks in 2017 and 2018. Chlorine dioxide, while harmful if inhaled at higher densities in enclosed areas, dissipates quickly in the air.

Brian Houle, environment manager at the former Catalyst mill, now a Domtar operation, said in response Wednesday that the company has long disputed the government’s use of “continuous emission monitoring” to track chlorine dioxide emissions.

The province in November 2023 issued the mill a new air permit that adopted a “wet chemistry method” of monitoring emissions, Houle said.

“We have passed the six first set of monthly tests for each bleach plant and as 2024 ended, we reverted to quarterly testing…” he said.

“The emission of excess ClO2 has never resulted in callbacks for poor air quality given this emission breaks down in sunlight very quickly.”

Houle added that the switch in monitoring methods “will allow us to now put more focus on odour emission reductions for the mill.”

Asked for specifics, he said: “We are inventorying all emissions of TRS (total reduced sulphur) from site to better understand this aspect of the mill. As we define the odour footprint, we will target to eliminate any emission of TRS that we can.”

Read more about Crofton mill: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/the-price-of-paper/

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— Larry Pynn, June 11, 2025