Manufacturing processes at our Park 500 facility involve using water from the James River. As part of our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our business, we are developing engineered wetlands to filter treated wastewater from Park 500 and to reduce our impact on the James River, an important natural resource.
Philip Morris USA's Park 500 facility sits on about 500 picturesque acres along the James River. Located just south of Richmond, Va., the property lies in a richly historic neighborhood known as Bermuda Hundred — which served as home to original Native American lands and one of the first free black communities in the United States.
PM USA's history in the area dates back to 1975, when our Park 500 facility opened to reuse tobacco materials discarded during our manufacturing process. By its nature a recycling facility, Park 500 processes small pieces of tobacco from other PM USA facilities into large sheets of tobacco. The water used during this process is treated in an on-site treatment plant before being discharged into the James River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
The treated water contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that are naturally present in agricultural products like tobacco. Although nutrients are necessary to sustain a healthy water environment, the Environmental Protection Agency and other experts have found that excessive levels of these nutrients in water ecosystems can cause algae blooms and other adverse impacts on aquatic life, impairing healthy rivers and bays.
Since 2001, PM USA has succeeded in reducing total nitrogen loadings to the James River by evaluating and instituting operational changes to the Park 500 facility's wastewater treatment plant. PM USA has voluntarily reduced total nitrogen loadings to the river by 46 percent between 2001 and 2006. These levels are in full compliance with all applicable permit requirements.
As part of our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our business, we identified an innovative method known as a natural treatment system, or engineered wetlands, that would further reduce the level of nutrients in the wastewater discharge from Park 500 into the James River. Natural treatment systems like this one have been successful in further reducing nutrient levels for industrial and municipal facilities in other states, but are relatively new in Virginia.
The proposed natural treatment system will supplement our existing wastewater treatment plant at the Park 500 facility. Once the wetlands are established, treated water from the on-site treatment plant will be routed through it and microbes and other natural processes will further reduce the nutrient levels in the water before it is returned to the river.
In late 2005, PM USA began talking with stakeholders about the idea of engineered wetlands and we hired an expert in wetlands design. We knew that to implement an idea that is new to this area and has a potential impact on the James River — a valued natural resource — we needed the support of a variety of stakeholders in order to move forward. We wanted everyone to understand the environmental benefit and the business case behind our plans.
Our stakeholders included:
- government representatives, including the Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality
- environmental non-governmental organizations, such as the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the James River Association
- academic centers, including Virginia Commonwealth University
- industry neighbors to our Park 500 facility, including DuPont and Honeywell
- the property owners and residents of the Bermuda Hundred neighborhood (comprising about 10 single family homes) adjacent to our property
PM USA engaged with these various groups on a number of different levels ranging from one-on-one meetings to community forums. Throughout these meetings, PM USA explained its commitment to further reducing our environmental impact, particularly on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, and what we expected the natural treatment system to look like and how it would operate. We shared our expert's project plans and artistic renderings of the wetlands.
We also asked for feedback and input from our stakeholders in the meetings. What did they think about the proposed wetlands? Who else did they think we should talk to about it? Could they think of any questions we hadn't thought of yet?
The variety of both type and style of engagements helped us know when we were on the right path and when we needed to adjust our approach.
Stakeholders told us they
- saw the upside of the environmental efficiencies it could bring to PM USA
- supported the project and wanted to help make it happen
In the larger group meetings, particularly with the Bermuda Hundred neighbors, we learned that some had concerns about the potential impact to their groundwater because they use well water and currently do not have access to Chesterfield County's public water system. This was an important learning.
PM USA has remained in dialogue with our stakeholders and provided project plan updates in order to keep them informed.
Based upon our wetlands expert's design, we do not expect that the natural treatment system will have a material impact on groundwater, and we don't expect it will have any impact on the Bermuda Hundred community. However, to address the questions raised by the neighbors, we have arranged to extend access to Chesterfield County's water system at PM USA's expense and to absorb various costs incurred by the neighbors' transition to county water.
While we hope the natural treatment system will position PM USA to achieve even further reductions in the future, we recognize the concerns raised by neighbors and will monitor groundwater on an ongoing basis with oversight by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. We will be guided by their advice in this area.
We believe that the natural treatment system provides both the benefit of nutrient reductions and the enhancement of creating a wetlands ecosystem. We will continue to talk with stakeholders as the wetlands are constructed and fully established and we learn more about its results.
