NEW CHIP-MILL RULE IS PROBABLY OVERKILL

Operators of a wood chip mill in Southeast Missouri are challenging a new state regulation that allows the state to monitor its timber harvest. Willamette Industries of Portland, Ore., has filed a complaint with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources over the new rule requiring the mill to report the locations of all its wood harvests, according to Scott Freeburn, Willamette's senior environmental engineer.

The rule was contained in a new stormwater runoff permit issued by DNR for the Willamette mill last month. The runoff permits traditionally have included only rules intended to prevent water pollution. Speaking for Willamette, Freeburn says that no other state has a rule like this.

Two chip mills are operating in Missouri -- the Willamette mill in Mill Spring on the Black River and the Canal Industries mill at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority on the Mississippi River near Scott City.

Phil Schroeder, DNR's director of water pollution control, said knowing the Willamette mill's area of harvest will give state officials a chance to consult landowners and educate them about responsible harvesting methods. Opponents of the chip mills pushed for the new rules to guard against increased clear-cutting that they say will result because of chip mills' ability to use the youngest, smallest and least desirable trees. Schroeder noted that the new rules were included in accordance with an executive order from Gov. Mel Carnahan, which states that the conditions of operation will be included in all new chip mill permits.

Gov. Carnahan's approach is probably overkill. It was only a few short years ago that the Missouri Department of Conservation was visiting chip-mill operators to encourage them to locate in Missouri as part of our economic development efforts. Moreover, MDC had a study at the time that indicated that chip mills can be a part of good forest management and that Missouri could support three such mills out of the annual growth in forest products. We needn't fear chip mills, but instead should embrace them as part of sensible forest management.