Enviva Releases Statement Following Issuance of Air Permit for its Forthcoming Bond Facility

Enviva Inc., the world’s leading producer of sustainably sourced woody biomass, issued a statement today thanking the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ) permit board for unanimous approval for the construction permit of Enviva’s Bond, Mississippi facility. The permit was issued after an extensive review process that included a public comment period, a well-attended public hearing, and numerous public comments. The proposed facility will be designed to produce approximately 1.2 million oven dried tons (ODT) per year of wood pellets and will be equipped with maximum achievable control technologies to curb emissions to the greatest extent possible. Emission control technologies to be deployed throughout the site include baghouses, bin vents, wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP), and thermal oxidative controls (RTOs/RCOs).

Thomas Meth, Enviva’s President and CEO, issued the following statement:
“We appreciate the regulatory process and diligence that MDEQ and the air permit board demonstrated over the last 8 months in reviewing and issuing our permit. Our teams worked diligently with MDEQ to address questions raised by the community on the air quality of our operations, following the public comment process, and provided science-backed assurances which demonstrate no negative impact to air quality in the surrounding communities. We look forward to becoming a part of the Stone County community and to bringing economic development along with environmental leadership with our forthcoming plant.”

To obtain this permit, over the last year, Enviva engaged closely with the community to hear and proactively address any concerns, as well as prove the plant will comply with all regulatory requirements to protect public health and the environment. As it relates to operations, Enviva’s existing plants perform routine emission testing on all emission point sources. These tests are conducted by third-party experts and then submitted to the applicable regulatory agency for approval. Approved emission test results are made public and continue to demonstrate Enviva’s consistent compliance with established regulatory limits across the states in which Enviva operates. All Enviva’s facilities are subject to periodic on-site inspections, which are conducted by state regulatory agencies.

These inspections review site operations, environmental monitoring, and environmental recordkeeping, among other variables, and the same regulatory oversight will apply to Enviva’s forthcoming Bond plant.

Enviva’s Bond plant will strengthen the regional wood market for previously unmerchantable timber, creating additional incentives for local landowners to keep their forests as forests. Once operational, the facility in Bond, MS will support approximately 350 direct and indirect jobs, including adjacent industries such as logging and trucking.

Enviva remains committed to working tirelessly – every day – to be a company that makes Mississippi proud.