>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Jared Rogers, Boise's Inland Region engineer, explains how the new boiler going in at the La Grande sawmill includes a dry electrostatic precipitator, seen in the background. The component, called "ESP" for short, keeps air pollution to a minimum and is considered the best available control technology for wood-fired boiler emissions. (Observer photos/PHIL BULLOCK).

- Bill Rautenstrauch

- The Observer

There was a time when wood-fired boilers weren't good for La Grande. But thanks to some improved technology, that time is gone.

At Boise Cascade's La Grande sawmill, workers are wrapping up installation of a $4.5 million "hog-fueled" system that will burn clean and save the company money.

"It's a very efficient boiler, a newer design with state-of-the-art controls," said Jared Rogers, Boise's Inland Region engineer. "It will enable us to get closer to self-sufficiency."

In the early 1990s, the City of La Grande was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to meet standards for particulate matter in the air.

Boise Cascade was using steam heat generated by a wood-fueled boiler system to dry lumber. The system produced an unacceptable amount of smoke.

Natural gas burned far cleaner, and, at the time, wasn't especially costly. Boise decided natural gas was a better alternative for drying lumber at its La Grande sawmill.

The old wood-fueled boiler system was replaced by a three-boiler natural gas system. It was an efficient, low-maintenance solution.

"It cost less than a million dollars and it was clean as a whistle. It was the right thing to do for the city of La Grande," said Rogers.

But over a period of years the cost of natural gas rose. Eventually, it came to represent a threat to the health of the business.

In the intervening time, anti-pollution technology for wood-fired systems dramatically improved.

Inland Region Manager Tom Insko started looking into the possibility of installing a new system, one fueled with byproducts from the sawmill's day-to-day operation — bark and sawdust associated with the removal of bark.

The La Grande mill will continue to supply tons of "clean" sawdust to the particleboard plant near Island City, Rogers said.

"The sawdust we use in the boiler is the stuff that comes off the log when we remove the bark," he said.

The boiler going in at the La Grande sawmill includes a dry electrostatic precipitator, a component that keeps air pollution to a minimum.

The system, called "ESP" for short, is considered the best available control technology for wood-fired boiler emissions.

"You might see a steam plume in the air sometimes, but most of the time you won't even know the boiler's operating," said Rogers.

Rogers said Boise bought the new system from Hurst Boiler Inc., a Coolidge, Ga.-based company that produces gas, oil and wood-fired boiler systems. Site work for the project began in June and completion is expected next month.

Rogers said steam generated by the new system will mostly be used for drying lumber in the plant's nine kilns. A small portion of the steam, about 10 percent, will be used for heating buildings.

As for the three natural gas boilers, one will be kept online and another will be used for back-up. The third will be mothballed, said Rogers.

In all, the new boiler system cost $4.5 million, said Rogers, with a fair portion defrayed by public money.

Rogers said tax credits under Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit program will account for 25 percent of the cost.

The Governor's Strategic Fund also kicked in $250,000 and the Oregon Lottery added $100,000.

Rogers said the money from the Strategic Fund comes in the form of a loan, though Boise will not have to pay it back if it meets requirements for job creation.

"The money from both the Strategic Fund and the Lottery is tied to job creation and retention of existing jobs," he said.

Boise will add five full-time jobs as a result of the project, including four boiler operators and a maintenance person, Rogers said.

Union County also contributed funding for the boiler, pledging $75,000 per year for two years. Rogers said the county also supported the project by helping Boise find other sources of funding.

"As much as anybody, the county wants to see us remain here," said Rogers. "We've been a very stable employer, and one of the big ones."

Boise also was the first local company to receive tax incentives from Union County's Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone.

Recently, the company has been weathering some tough times, marked by temporary curtailments at the La Grande mill and Elgin stud mill, and intermittent down time at the particleboard plant.

Boise blames a sagging lumber market and a meager supply of timber from federal forests.

So far, no permanent layoffs have been announced. It is hoped the new boiler system will help keep things that way.

"In all likelihood, we would have lost 300 jobs without the boiler. It was crucial that we support it," said Union County Commissioner John Lamoreau.