Citing rising costs and dwindling profits, a wood treatment plant that’s been on the same Oregon site since the 1940s says it’s going out of business
Re-signing: In March 2021, Oregon DEQ fined J.H. Baxter & Co. $223,440 for violations including illegal treatment of 1.7 million gallons of hazardous waste between 2015-19. Photo: Chris Pietsch/The (Eugene) Register-Guard
By Adam Duvernay, The (Eugene) Register-Guard, February 1, 2022. The president of the company that owns a Eugene, Oregon, wood treatment plant, which was accused of regular environmental regulation violations, has informed state regulators in writing it will end its primary industrial operations there.
J.H. Baxter & Co. will end industrial activities at its Roosevelt Boulevard facility on Jan. 31, according to a company letter sent to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The company has chemically treated wood products at the 42-acre site since the 1940s.
DEQ and the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency, which issue and enforce permits for the Baxter plant, said a company attorney told them operations were ending.
DEQ and LRAPA received that written notification Jan. 28.
“As you know, J.H. Baxter & Co. is mothballing its Eugene wood preserving facility effective January 31, 2022. This decision was made for a number of reasons, including rising costs associated with operating the facility and dwindling sales margins due to shifts in the market,” says the letter to DEQ signed by Georgia Baxter, the company’s president.
Big fines, high levels of dioxins
The Baxter plant has a long record of environmental regulation violations, and neighbors have blamed it for noxious smells and health issues. DEQ revealed earlier this month an investigation into certain toxic chemicals at the plant discovered them in nearby yards.
On Jan. 13, DEQ announced soil samples from seven nearby residences showed high levels of dioxins, a class of carcinogenic compound that can be created by industrial processes. Six of the seven yards need soil replacement, three of them by early summer.
The investigation began after dioxins were discovered at and around the Baxter plant. DEQ believes operations at the Baxter plant contaminated neighboring homes’ yards.
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DEQ spokesman Dylan Darling has said the agency was working out the details of soil replacement with J.H. Baxter, which would be responsible for paying for the work.
J.H. Baxter is also in settlement talks with DEQ concerning a slew of hefty fines it received last year, the steepest of which concerned the use of wood treatment tools called retorts to boil off process waste. An appeal hearing on those violations is scheduled for mid-May.
Problems remain
Regulators said they were waiting to learn more details about the plans for the plant so they can better understand the company’s future responsibility for those issues.
LRAPA spokesman Travis Knudsen said staff will visit the Baxter plant Monday to learn more about the company’s plans.
The company’s environmental control permits are still active.
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“Although our treating operations will be suspended, our intention is to comply with all regulatory requirements including storm water, groundwater and process water treatment. Daily inspections will also be done to ensure environmental safety and compliance,” the letter to DEQ reads.
The letter says a small crew will remain on-site to assure water systems are working and in compliance with environmental and safety regulations. The company also plans to use one of its retorts to reclaim wood preservative oil from its process water, according to the letter.
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“Treated process water will be evaporated in accordance with our current permit. Hazardous waste generated will continue to be managed under current profiles and stored in our 90-day hazardous waste shed,” the letter reads.
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.
Columbia Insight is publishing this story as part of the AP StoryShare program, which allows newsrooms and publishing partners to republish each other’s stories and photos.
