When the world’s largest producer of wood pellets established what was termed as a state-of-the-art biomass facility near Ruby Bell’s home in Faison, North Carolina, she began to mobilize. Bell informed her neighbors about the possible repercussions and sought to prevent the company from exacerbating the area’s environmental strain. Her efforts have faced significant challenges.
The retired educator remembers the moment she realized the true effects. She had spent the afternoon discussing with residents their experiences living near the new wood pellet plant. Upon returning home, Bell found herself sniffling, with a runny nose and burning eyes. “I wondered, ‘what on earth is happening?’ Then it dawned on me: I had sat outside for 20 minutes talking to a resident. There was dust everywhere, and my pants were covered from sitting on a chair,” she recalls. “If this is the result after just 20 minutes, I can only imagine what it’s like for those living there.”
Experiences like Bell’s, where ordinary residents become frontline advocates, inspired Sherri White-Williamson to delve deeper into environmental justice, altering her career path. Having spent decades working in federal agencies in Washington, D.C., White-Williamson aimed to return to North Carolina to tackle industrial pollution. Convinced she could have a greater impact as a lawyer, she enrolled at Vermont Law School at 63. After earning her degree, she founded the Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN), a grassroots initiative focused on empowering rural communities to protect their environment and health.
Mallory Cash
She emphasizes EJCAN’s goal of educating community members so they can advocate effectively for themselves. “This work is far more impactful when conducted by those directly affected,” she asserts.
Initially, the group concentrated on groundwater contamination and air quality issues stemming from North Carolina’s industrial hog farms and its largest landfill, which had exposed neighboring areas to toxic substances. However, White-Williamson soon extended her efforts to counter the expanding wood pellet industry.
More than ten years after Enviva Biomass launched its facility, Bell’s early doubts have been validated. The company’s promises of creating numerous well-paying jobs remain unfulfilled, while its operations have intensified noise, truck traffic, and deteriorated the local air quality.
White-Williamson notes that the biomass boom began in Europe in the late 2000s when the European Commission introduced a new climate and energy policy. This policy called for a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% boost in renewable energy consumption, and a 20% enhancement in energy efficiency compared to 1990 levels. The American South’s rich forests were integral to these objectives. Currently, the non-profit Dogwood Alliance estimates that Enviva facilities in North Carolina alone utilize approximately 50,000 acres of forest annually, resulting in flooding and deforestation.
Once the trees are cut down, they are transported to a processing plant where they are chipped, dried, and compressed into small pellets. Enviva asserts that its impact on forestland is minimal, as it only utilizes wood unsuitable for other uses, such as tree limbs and leftover wood from timber harvests. However, environmental groups like Dogwood Alliance and the Southern Environmental Law Center have documented evidence to the contrary, capturing images of clear-cut logging and mature felled trees arranged in tidy rows around barren dirt fields to supply the pellet mills.
White-Williamson emphasizes that none of this energy benefits the U.S. “The pellets are exported overseas, and the trees are being cut down here,” she highlights, noting that these forests would otherwise be storing carbon.
A growing body of research indicates that burning wood pellets releases more carbon than coal. While trees are renewable, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that in some cases, it could take more than a century for young trees to absorb the excess CO2 emitted by the forests they replace.
The repercussions extend beyond carbon emissions. Recent research has shown that Enviva’s wood pellet plants are 50% more likely to be situated in vulnerable communities already impacted by polluting industries and environmental injustices. Oversight often lags behind these developments. Despite the facility receiving several citations for excessive toxin emissions, in 2019, the Department of Environmental Quality approved Enviva’s proposal to expand its production capacity, despite community opposition.
“The narrative is always the same,” White-Williamson states. “Communities lacking power or access to influential figures and decision-makers are continually shortchanged.”
This poses significant health risks for nearby residents, according to Danielle Purifoy, a geography and environment professor at the UNC Gillings School of Public Health. The pellet production process emits a harmful mix of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Cornell Watson
“We’ve observed similar issues in industries like timber and wood pulp, where trees are processed into paper,” says Purifoy. “These pollutants typically affect respiratory systems and sinuses, posing risks for those with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Anything that stirs up dust contributes to air pollution with similar impacts.”
The Southern Environmental Law Center recently led a coalition of local and regional activists to collect quantitative data on the experiences of nearby residents. Their report revealed that air pollution, dust, noise, and traffic significantly affect quality-of-life.
“The findings of this survey confirm what we have known for years: Biomass wood pellet plants cause significant harm to nearby communities, predominantly communities of color or lower-income communities,” said SELC staff attorney Jasmine Washington. “When they were consulted, they candidly shared their frustration with the daily impact of this pellet mill.”
Keen to discuss their experiences after years of being overlooked, respondents complained about constant plant and traffic noise, frequent car washing, and discomfort sitting on their porches. Some even reported having to wear masks indoors.
“People are speaking up more because they now recognize a direct connection between their experiences and their surroundings,” White-Williamson says. The survey results highlight the importance of EJCAN’s efforts to help communities document harm and build collective power to advocate for protections.
The Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN) is a North Carolina–based nonprofit that works to advance environmental justice in rural communities, particularly in Sampson County. The organization supports residents facing pollution and other environmental harms by providing scientific research, water and air monitoring, education, and advocacy. EJCAN also helps communities access legal and technical resources, empowering them to hold polluters accountable and push for cleaner air, water, and soil.
