Editor,
The April 2016 Newsweek story on the Georgia-Pacific paper mill and the Ouachita River, with people dying from cancer, includes a statement from GP: “The body of water residents call Stink Creek is a lawful, necessary part of the process.”
GP’s claim is false. Stink Creek is Coffee Creek, a natural stream predates the plant. Coffee Creek is now a water treatment canal taken by GP. Why add pollution to the Ouachita River from a massive 700,000 tons per year fluff mill?
Arkansas Economic Development Council does not welcome questions on the project. The total investment to get this deal paid with our taxes is over $260 million, excluding public health and tourism losses. Please see online comments to my guest editorial “Sun Paper not a done deal.”
What if we use our funds investing $10 million in 26 low-income counties to create community edible gardens, emergency shelters, pet rescue shelters, and tree planting programs to reconnect people with nature? New jobs, no pollution, and tourist revenues. Standing trees are golden, the only CO2 sink we have. Forest carbon fees paid by polluters are the lean solution.
Dr. Luis Contreras
The Ouachita River is polluted well before it gets to Crossett.