The Story of
Butte County's Biggest Polluter
and How You May Be Exposed to Dioxins
Butte Environmental Council
Robyn DiFalco, Julia Murphy, Mark Stemen
Butte Environmental Council
 Educating and Advocating for the land, air, and water
in Butte County and beyond
 A voice for the environment since 1975
 Our work depends on volunteers, member donations,
grants, and fundraising
Butte Environmental Council
The Story of POPI
 Pacific Oroville Power Industries (POPI)
 Located in south Oroville
 highway 7o Industrial Park
 Biomass energy facility
 First permitted in 1983
 Covanta-owned since ‘97
Butte Environmental Council
The Pacific Oroville
Power Industries
(POPI) plant
consumes 28 tons
of fuel per hour
Butte Environmental Council
Up to 30%
urban wood waste
• Construction &
demolition debris
 Recycling credits
 Renewable energy
credits
Butte Environmental Council
Bituminous coal
Butte Environmental Council
So what happens to the waste?
 Covanta pays farmers $17/ton to take the
waste ash as fertilizer
Butte Environmental Council
Waste ash: Hicks Ln, north Chico
 19,000 tons
 20 ft high
 Wider & longer than
a football field
Butte Environmental Council
Digging for Dioxins
 District Attorney’s office investigating waste ash
 Chromium, Arsenic, Copper, Aluminum and Lead found in
DA’s tests
Butte Environmental Council
What’s the Current Status?
 September 2012 – Ash removal from Hicks Ln
 BEC tests show post-cleanup dioxin levels are higher than
background samples & that dioxin migrates as runoff
 December 2012 – POPI plant ceases operations “for
economic reasons”
 Covanta retains permits, PG&E seeks revision of terms
Butte Environmental Council
Wait…Can they do that?
 Facility is self-monitored
 Full evaluation of exhaust
stacks last in 1988
 Reports to Butte County Air
Quality Management District
 POPI pays $12,000/year in
permit fees to BCAQMD
Butte Environmental Council
What is Dioxin?
 Over 250 variations, or “congeners”
 Agent Orange
 Love Canal – Lois Gibbs
 the Center for Health & Environmental Justice
 Toxic & Controversial
Butte Environmental Council
Why is Dioxin a Big Deal?
 Incinerator, Chemical Manufacturing industry by-product
 Persistent in the environment
 Persistent in animals and humans
Butte Environmental Council
Butte Environmental Council
Koppers Superfund Site
 Grant from The California Wellness Foundation
 Dioxin Testing process
 Agency Relations
Butte Environmental Council
According to the
Environmental Health
Investigations Branch:
“The US Food and
Drug Administration
(has also) considered
commercial eggs
adulterated at 1 ppt
ITEQ.” (Environ. Sci. Technol.
2000, 34, 1143-1149)
Butte Environmental Council
POPI / Covanta
 Deputy DA wanted to know what we knew
 We began investigating, tested waste ash
 OH, WHAAAT!!?? On Orchards and Farms??!
Butte Environmental Council
Biomass is “green” energy
Butte Environmental Council
Wood is “natural”
Butte Environmental Council
But what about this?
Butte Environmental Council
POPI ash tests revealed:
 Lead (most dominant due to old paint)
 Copper
 Arsenic
 Chromium
Butte Environmental Council
How about CO2 emissions?
Butte Environmental Council
Burning wood in an incinerator to generate electricity produces
more CO2 per unit of energy than a coal-fired power plant!
Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Energy Source (lbs/MWh)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Incineration
Butte Environmental Council
Coal-Fired
Oil-fired
Natural Gas
Saleable, my ash
Butte Environmental Council
California’s Renewable
Energy Requirements
 Established in 2002 by Senate Bill 1078, the State of
California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is one of
the most ambitious renewable energy standards in the
country, requiring electricity providers to increase the
portion of energy from renewable sources to 20% by 2010
and to 33% by 2020.
 PG&E pays POPI a premium price for its power, and
includes it as part of its renewable portfolio.
 The agreement also requires POPI to run at full-capacity
regardless of local fuel availability
Butte Environmental Council
POPI is dirty energy and should
not be subsidized by PG&E
 Anything that creates
pollution in the
course of producing
electricity shouldn't
be considered clean,
green or renewable.
Butte Environmental Council
Or by anybody, anywhere else!
Butte Environmental Council
And question “green” technology
Butte Environmental Council
What Next?
 Grant funding from Patagonia & Clif Bar
 Measure human exposure & health impacts
 Meet with elected officials and local regulators
 Watch for reoperation of the POPI facility
Butte Environmental Council
Questions? Contact…
Butte Environmental Council
Robyn DiFalco, Julia Murphy, Mark Stemen
www.becnet.org
www.becnet.org/dioxin-butte-county
530-891-6424
[email protected]
Butte Environmental Council