NEW LIMERICK, Maine — A wood siding manufacturer is filing a new air emissions license application with the state so it can add another line of finish products at its Houlton-area mill.
Louisiana-Pacific will file the application with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on May 3, LP spokeswoman Breeanna Straessle said.
Details about the new emissions and their effect on the environment will not be made public until the filing. The new finish will not result in making more products or hiring more employees, according to Straessle.
“It is not about capacity. It’s about making a different type of product. Our siding has a cedar finish, this new finish will make a smooth finish with a different texture on the siding,” she said.
The Louisiana-Pacific mill, located about five miles outside Houlton, employs approximately 150 people in the area.
The public must be notified about new license filings and may request a public hearing with the Board of Environmental Protection in writing no more than 20 days after the application is accepted by DEP, according to Maine law.
Lynn Muzzey, an environmental engineering specialist with the DEP Bureau of Air, said on Monday that she is aware of the company’s intent to file in the coming weeks but it has not yet been received.
“I believe this facility plans to apply to amend their license to produce a slightly different product,” she said. “This change is expected to include new finishing equipment.”
In another filing, Louisiana-Pacific applied in February to renew its existing air emission license and that application is still pending, Muzzey said. These are filed with the state every five years.
Renewal applications are processed as time allows, she said.
“I anticipate it will be several months before I am able to begin working on this [February] one,” she said. “In accordance with State and Federal rules, because the application was submitted at least six months prior to the expiration date of their current operating license, the current license remains in effect until the renewal application is acted upon.”
Copies of the renewal application are on file in the Town of New Limerick office.
Current emission sources at the Houlton Mill include the dryers, presses, the central heating unit, and fuel combustion in control equipment, according to the mill’s pending license renewal application.
Emissions from the central heating unit for example, are the result of the combustion of biomass including bark, wood, mill trimmings, cleanup residue from the blenders and former infeed conveyors, and solid oily materials, the application states.
Other licensed emission sources include two diesel‐fired emergency engines, two propane‐fired emergency engines, dry wafer storage bins, flying cut‐off saws, pneumatic systems for material handling, and painting operations for edge sealing and surface treatments of finished products.
L-P is not proposing any changes to the licensed emission units with the renewal application
and there are no changes to facility‐wide emission estimates.
About three years ago, Louisiana-Pacific, based in Nashville, announced it was investing $150 million into the Houlton-area mill to begin manufacturing its SmartSide product, a type of advanced engineered wood strand siding.
The project was completed In 2022 and the New Limerick facility produces about 220 million square feet of siding per year, or enough siding for about 100,000 homes.
For the new finish project, once DEP approved, the mill will install a curtain coater and spray booth for primer application, propane-fired drying ovens, and a new groover saw, according to the public announcement.
After the new application is filed with DEP, it will be available for review by contacting the DEP Bureau of Air Quality offices in Augusta, 207-287-7688, during normal working hours. A copy of the application and supporting documentation may also be available at the municipal office in New Limerick, Maine.
Written public comments may be sent to Lynn Muzzey at the Bureau of Air Quality, State House Station #17, Augusta, Maine 04333.
