Fort James Ops Co - Pulp and Paper Facility in Ashland, Wisconsin

Fort James Ops Co is a pulp and paper facility located at 2301 Lakeshore Drive East in Ashland, Wisconsin, United States. The plant is operational and classified under NAICS code 322120, which covers paper mills. As a pulp and paper operation, it is part of a sector known for significant water and energy use. The facility operates within the regulatory framework of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which enforces multi-media regulations including the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Section 313 reporting. Pulp and paper mills in the U.S. are subject to specific effluent guidelines and air emission standards, and typically employ technologies such as chemical pulping (kraft or sulfite) or mechanical pulping, with associated recovery boilers and wastewater treatment systems. The plant's location in Ashland, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior, places it in a region with sensitive aquatic ecosystems. The facility's environmental significance includes potential impacts on water quality and air emissions typical of the pulp and paper sector, such as particulate matter, sulfur compounds, and organic pollutants. Regulatory oversight aims to minimize these impacts through permits and monitoring.

The facility is situated in Ashland, Wisconsin, near Lake Superior, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. The pulp and paper sector is inherently pollution-intensive, with primary process emissions including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and sulfur dioxide from pulping and recovery processes. Water discharges may contain organic matter, chlorinated compounds, and nutrients. The proximity to Lake Superior raises concerns about aquatic ecosystem health, and the facility is subject to stringent U.S. EPA regulations under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act to control these impacts.