A bill aimed at increasing the number of wood pellet mills in Louisiana has sailed through the stateâs Legislature â despite some lawmakers, including the billâs sponsor, acknowledging they know little about the controversial industry.
State Representative Chuck Owen, a Republican from Vernon Parish in west Louisiana, said he proposed House Bill 670 in February shortly after learning about the industry, which exports about $1 billion worth of pellets from Louisiana each year. Nearly all the production comes from two British-owned mills in central and north Louisiana that emit large â and sometimes illegal â quantities of air pollutants linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.
Owen, whose district spans one of the stateâs most timber-rich regions, said the goal of his bill is to make Louisiana a âpremier location for wood pellet manufacturing.â
The legislation gives a state agency, Louisiana Economic Development, broad direction to... Read more
