MILLINOCKET, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- Leaders in Millinocket have given their knod for a project that could bring new life to the town's closed paper mill.
The town's planning board approved 'Cate Street Capital's' plan for the old mill site. The New Hampshire company bought the Katahdin paper mills last year. Company officials wants to use part of the Millinocket mill to make torrefied wood, which is an energy rich pellet similar to biomass.
'Cate Street Capital' filed an application with the town for the project. It was reviewed and approved following a public meeting on Wednesday night at the Millinocket Municipal Building. Several residents came armed with questions. Many were concerned about emissions, noise and odors that might come from the new plant.
Company officials say that they have been considering all of those factors.
"Hopefully they realize from what we talked about this evening that we've very thoroughly thought about those and addressed those in our designs," said Dammon Frecker, who is the project manager for the Millinocket project, "so I think everybody will be very pleased about the outcome and realize that we adequately addressed all of their concerns." '
Cate Street' still needs to get two more permits from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in order to proceed with the project. The company is hoping to break ground on the plant by September and be making torrefied wood in Millinocket by next summer.
NEWS CENTER