The idea that sound environmental practices often make economic sense has been tossed around for decades in Washington, but returned and was then ignored recently after Congress killed legislation that would have required cars to be more efficient and President Bush eased standards on coal-fired plants. The issue may well return next session and if it does, Maine will have its own excellent example of mills that have cleaned up their processes and saved money, too.

Eastern Pulp & Paper of Brewer and Lincoln, as explained in a recent article in Pulp & Paper magazine, already was known for using low-cost waste sawdust as its primary fiber source at its kraft mill. The sawdust is less expensive than chips, meets the federal government’s procurement standards for recycled paper and can produce a lighter weight card stock that provides advantages to customers. But the article, written by senior editor Harold Cody, describes how the company went further to meet federal environmental standards for eliminating chlorine from its discharge.

It developed, built and installed its own hybrid two-stage oxygen bleaching system. The new system is not only less expensive to operate than conventional alternatives but pushes the amounts of discharged dioxin and furans to nondetectable levels, well below current standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency. (The company’s performance no doubt will be highlighted when lawmakers this winter review the dioxin standards established by Gov. King in 1996.) According to Mr. Cody, “The bleaching system has exceeded all original fiber quality and environmental criteria,” and the mill “saved money by utilizing existing equipment and installing oxygen stages within the bleach plant instead of ahead of it.” The company has applied for a patent on this process.

The company’s wastewater treatment plant, which is halfway through a two-year test run, uses a process developed by Kady International of Scarborough to break secondary waste into smaller pieces, which requires less aeration and uses less electricity to treat the waste. No chemicals are used in the process. The result is less sludge and lower costs, with electricity being cut by 10 to 25 percent.

Two lessons from this, neither of which is new but both are worth repeating: All the shouting a few years ago about how tough dioxin standards would imperil Maine mills actually showed that Maine has resourceful people and companies that can achieve unusual success, even on a tight budget. And the dioxin debate of the 1990s began with a demand that mills switch to a specific process to make environmental improvements but ended with specific goals for discharge instead. The state will see shortly how well Maine plants met the goals, but the example from Eastern Pulp & Paper is that that government does better to set standards and not the means to meet the standards. Washington, take note.