ENVIRONMENT
ANC ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

Alberta Newsprint Company believes that environmental excellence is an essential element of long term business success.

To achieve environmental excellence a philosophy of continuous improvement is applied to all of our processes and forestry operations. It is the responsibility of the Company and every individual in it to work openly and consistently towards this goal. Alberta Newsprint Company is committed to the following to achieve our goal:

Comply with or exceed all government regulations.
Train all personnel in the philosophy and techniques of continuous improvement. Review all procedures on a regular basis.
Monitor the environmental impacts of our operations, procedures and products.
Periodic audits of performance.
Train employees and contractors in current operating, environmental and forestry procedures and keep these procedures current.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - FOREST CARE

Alberta Newsprint Company is an active member of the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA). The AFPA is the common voice of the forest industry in Alberta and one of its greatest achievements has been the development of an industry audit process based on the following principles:

  • Member companies will ensure that harvest levels do not exceed the capacity of the forest, that all harvested areas are reforested, and that harvest and reforestation methods foster a healthy new forest, supporting a diversity of species.
  • Member companies will manage their activities on forest lands for multiple uses and values, including timber growth and harvest, watershed protection, wildlife and aquatic habitat and recreational and aesthetic benefits.
  • Member companies will manage their forest and manufacturing operations in a manner that protects the environment, placing special emphasis on the quality of air, water, soil and habitat.
  • Member companies will operate in a manner that protects the health and safety of employees, contractors and the general public.
  • Member companies will be open and responsive to community views and questions regarding the industry.
  • Member companies will conduct operations to ensure that the renewable forest resource provides economic activity and employment now and in the future, while conserving other forest values.
ANC ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

Alberta Newsprint Company believes that environmental excellence is an essential element of long term business success.

To achieve environmental excellence a philosophy of continuous improvement is applied to all of our processes and forestry operations. It is the responsibility of the Company and every individual in it to work openly and consistently towards this goal. Alberta Newsprint Company is committed to the following to achieve our goal:

Comply with or exceed all government regulations.
Train all personnel in the philosophy and techniques of continuous improvement. Review all procedures on a regular basis.
Monitor the environmental impacts of our operations, procedures and products.
Periodic audits of performance.
Train employees and contractors in current operating, environmental and forestry procedures and keep these procedures current.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - FOREST CARE

Alberta Newsprint Company is an active member of the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA). The AFPA is the common voice of the forest industry in Alberta and one of its greatest achievements has been the development of an industry audit process based on the following principles:

  • Member companies will ensure that harvest levels do not exceed the capacity of the forest, that all harvested areas are reforested, and that harvest and reforestation methods foster a healthy new forest, supporting a diversity of species.
  • Member companies will manage their activities on forest lands for multiple uses and values, including timber growth and harvest, watershed protection, wildlife and aquatic habitat and recreational and aesthetic benefits.
  • Member companies will manage their forest and manufacturing operations in a manner that protects the environment, placing special emphasis on the quality of air, water, soil and habitat.
  • Member companies will operate in a manner that protects the health and safety of employees, contractors and the general public.
  • Member companies will be open and responsive to community views and questions regarding the industry.
  • Member companies will conduct operations to ensure that the renewable forest resource provides economic activity and employment now and in the future, while conserving other forest values.
ANC ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES

Continual optimization of our effluent treatment system has minimized the impact of our discharge on the Athabasca River. New online nutrient probes and on line respirometry interfacing with our computer model provides enhanced process control.

ANC continually discharges less than 1/10 of it's allowable limits for Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Total Suspended Solids. This further protects fish habitat.

We are often asked about our environmental commitment. Below are some specific examples of ANC’s environmental integrity:

We have never been in violation of our fish toxicity tests. ANC represents the "best newsprint mill technology" in Canada for effluent treatment as reported by the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association.

Biological solids from our effluent system are being used to enhance crop and tree growth. Composting studies using our biosolids combined with hydrocarbon contaminated soils from oilwell sites have provided soil remediation for oil companies. Direct spreading of ANC’s biosolids on agricultural and forest lands has had dramatic positive impacts on vegetation growth. Direct composting of the biosolids has resulted in high quality greenhouse potting soils.

ANC conducts benthic invertebrate (insect) population surveys and fish health surveys on the Athabasca River. To date ANC effluent has provided localized nutrient enrichment increasing benthic populations while maintaining species diversity. This promotes fish habitat by supplying additional food for the fish.

ANC Chip Pile (local sawmill by-product residuals serve as 95% of our fiber furnish)

ANC PULPING PROCESS

The pulping process at ANC uses the sawmill by-product residuals.

ANC has also been working with local sawmills to utilize their burnt wood residuals from the May 1998 fires that occurred in our area. Alberta Research Council is working with us on the development of an on line camera to measure carbon content, bark, and stain levels for chip blending. They are also working on tree species identification technology (on line) to aid refining process control. Brightness optimization projects are in full swing utilizing on line sensors for chip blending and chemical brightner controls.

Consideration of ecological values is fundamental to all forest harvest plans. Minimal impact of river crossings, river buffer zones (areas left with tree vegetation), wildlife & habitat protection (when & where conducting operations), fish studies, and cooperation with Alberta Environmental Protection all promote our ecological friendliness.

In 1998 ANC became the first forest products company in the province to win the prestigious Emerald Environmental Award. Our employees, suppliers, and customers are extremely proud of this achievement.
ANC EFFLUENT TREATMENT

The effluent treatment system designed for ANC includes removal of coarse solids, primary clarification, an equalization basin, dump pond, activated sludge basin, secondary clarification and a polishing pond.

The steps are described as follows:

COARSE SCREENING
Effluent from the trenches passes through a rotating bar screen for removal of coarse solids such as rags, wood, etc.
PRIMARY CLARIFICATION
The screened effluent flows to atop feed 30.5 meter diameter Einico reactor clarifier with design removal efficiency of 90% on settlable solids.
DUMP POND
The dump pond has a capacity of 7500 cubic metres or 12 hours retention. It is intended for use to catch emergency spills. The basin is concrete lined, effluent can be neutralized within the pond and later processed through the effluent treatment system.
EQUALIZATION BASIN
Clear filtrate from the primary clarifier feeds the equalization basin. The 12 hour basin serves to avoid effluent shocks in pH, temperature, BOD, etc. from reaching the major microbiological population within the activated sludge basin. A spray cooler in this basin cools the temperature when required. Initial mixing and aeration occurs within this basin.
ACTIVATED SLUDGE BASIN
Effluent flows from the equalization basin to the activated sludge basin. This 2.5 day basin serves as the major holding pond for a bacterial population to consume wood sugars and resins contained within the effluent. This virtually eliminates the oxygen demand the effluent would otherwise have on the river, which might have effected aquatic life.
SECONDARY CLARIFIER
Effluent flows from the activated sludge basin to the secondary clarifier. This 45.7 meter diameter clarifier serves to separate solids (largely microorganisms) from the water. The secondary clarified water goes to the polishing basin. The solids are reused in the activated sludge pond and a portion wasted to sludge dewatering. This controls the age of our microorganism population.
POLISHING BASIN
Under normal operation the feed to the polishing basin is clean enough to discharge to the river. To ensure a non-toxic effluent and to handle plant upsets a 2.5 day polishing basin was included to provide further aeration, prior to river discharge.

The design of the waste treatment plant includes a level of conservation, equipment selection and redundancy in critical areas which provides reliable performance and comply with the stringent standards applied by Alberta Environment.