Taking Stock, Vol. 14: Exploring Changes in PRTR Reporting, With a focus on releases to air and water from pulp, paper and paperboard mills KEY FINDINGS Danielle Vallée Public Meeting of the North American PRTR Project Mexico City, Mexico November 2014

Objectives and Approach 1. Gain a better understanding of reported industrial pollutant releases and transfers over time, and across the region  dataset available for all 3 countries 2. Identify issues of data comparability, quality, completeness – e.g:  Key differences among the 3 countries in the industry sectors and pollutants subject to reporting  Lack of reporting, as well as inconsistencies in reported data 3. Try to establish links between PRTR data and environmental sustainability within industry  Detailed look at data from pulp, paper and paperboard mills  Feedback from reporting facilities and industry associations

Key Findings 1. From 2005 through 2010, the number of reporting facilities* in North America decreased by almost 3,000

US TRI - 2,651 facilities PRTR Reporting Facilities in North America Canada’s NPRI * facilities Mexico’s RETC * facilities 2005: 25,519 facilities; 2010: 22,612 facilities

Key Findings 2.Increase of 14% in total reported releases and transfers: In 2005: 4.83 billion kg In 2010: 5.53 billion kg

Changes in Reported Releases to Air from North American Electric Utilities,

Key Findings 3.38% decrease in releases to air, and 5% decrease in releases to water, of Pollutants of Special Concern: Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBTs) Developmental or reproductive toxicants Certain metals Known or suspected carcinogens

Key Findings – Releases to Air and Water from Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills - Among the sectors common to the 3 PRTR programs, pulp and paper mills have consistently ranked 2 nd and 3rd for releases to air and water. - But between 2005 and 2010, reported releases to air decreased by 19%, and releases to water decreased by 6%. Why?

Canadian and US paper mills showing decreases: Blue = facilities reporting consistently, Red = all facilities reporting between

Key Findings – Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills 1.Facility closures, especially in Canada and the United States, were a main driver of the decreases in releases to air and water 2. Other factors, including government regulations, have had impacts

Survey of Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills However, among those facilities that reported decreases in releases to air and water, but were still active (had not closed down!), factors included: Responding to client demands for environmentally- friendly products Adopting environmental management practices, including pollution prevention.

Looking forward Focus on enhancing the comparability of PRTR reporting across North America: Pulp and paper mills: certain pollutants that are typical of pulp and paper manufacturing (e.g., methanol) are not subject to reporting in all 3 countries Of the more than 500 pollutants reported to the PRTRs every year, only about 60* are common to all 3 programs Oil and gas extraction: an important sector not subject to reporting in the United States; in Mexico, very little has been reported by facilities in this sector.

Thank you! Gracias!