Last NH paper mill with new ideas?

Quoting from a Bangor Daily News article : http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/19/business/last-northern-nh-paper-mill-can-make-it-reps-say/

A cheaper source of fuel, a dedicated sales team and workforce, and an investment in a tissue machine will help the last paper mill in New Hampshire’s North Country succeed, state and mill industry representatives say.

“They’re concentrating on areas that they can be strong on, that there’s a little bit less competition — towel and tissue is a little bit more difficult to, let’s say, import from Asia and make it feasible,” said George Bald, commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Resources and Economic Development. 

Tilton plans to spend the money to convert the mill’s fuel source from oil to gas in about five months. “It’s a must,” she said. The gas line has been secured that would supply power to the mill from a landfill.
She said the largest investment will be a tissue machine, “so we can battle against foreign imports.” She estimated it would take about a year to build the machine and get it operating.
Tilton said one reason she took interest in Gorham was because Patriarch had bought the Old Town Fuel & Fiber mill in Maine a few years ago, the firm’s first mill venture.
Old Town’s owner had filed for bankruptcy. The mill had been selling pulp to customers such as the Gorham mill, but also was researching the development of biofuels.

“We got the mill back up and running, we put all the workers back to work, we were able to make money and we’re building a biorefinery,” Tilton said. “We’re going to be the first to make jet fuel out of wood on a mill level. Everybody, every day is proud of the work we do together. So that is what gave me the inspiration to be here.” 

Some interesting points to ponder........

Katahdin landfill bill - Corporate Blackmail?

Quoting from the recent Bangor Daily News Article, http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/16/politics/katahdin-landfill-bill-okd-despite-claims-of-corporate-blackmail/

A bill authorizing the state to acquire an East Millinocket landfill received final approval Thursday, but not before some lawmakers compared the controversial deal aimed at saving two shuttered paper mills to “corporate blackmail.”A lopsided, 34-1 vote in the Senate Wednesday morning belied the consternation some lawmakers felt as state officials — in their quest to salvage two Katahdin Paper mills and hundreds of jobs — prepare to potentially take over an aging landfill tied to the mills.The Dolby Landfill has, for decades, received paper-related sludge, pulp and other waste from the two paper mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket. Nearly full, the landfill is now regarded as a liability and an obstacle to finding a new buyer for two mills that a few years ago employed roughly 600 people.

To me, the most troubling is :

Another issue raised Thursday was the level of contamination at the landfill. In a letter to the Attorney General’s Office, the Conservation Law Foundation pointed out that the landfill has struggled to receive a permit renewal from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection“due to continuing problems with leachate discharges and landfill stability issues.”

A few months ago I wrote to the Maine Center for Disease Control, Cancer Registry Dept., asking for a breakdown of the incidents of the different cancers broken down by town in Penobscot County.  The County figures are published online so you would think it wouldn't be too difficult to furnish the breakdown but to date I have received no information.

I also wrote to Erin Brockovich and have heard nothing yet.  Perhaps there are so many similar situations across the country that no one has time?