EPA Extends Kraft Pulp Mill Pollution Data Collection
Published Date: 12/30/2025
Notice
Summary
The EPA is asking to keep collecting information from Kraft pulp mills to make sure they follow air pollution rules. This renewal won’t add new costs but keeps the paperwork going through the end of 2028. If you’re involved with these mills, you’ve got until January 29, 2026, to share your thoughts on this plan.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.
Estimated Annual Burden and Cost
EPA estimates 85 respondents (kraft pulp mills) will incur a total burden of 12,100 hours per year and total annual costs of $6,360,000, which includes $4,700,000 in annualized operation & maintenance (O&M) costs. The agency states there are no capital costs associated with this information collection.
Kraft Mills Keep Reporting Rules
If you operate a kraft pulp mill covered by 40 CFR part 60, subpart BB, you must continue to submit initial notifications, performance tests, periodic reports, and keep records of startups, shutdowns, malfunctions, and periods when monitoring systems are inoperative. Responses are mandatory under 40 CFR part 60, subpart BB, and reports are required initially, semiannually, and annually as applicable.
Which Mills Are Covered
The rule applies to existing kraft pulp mill units that began construction, reconstruction, or modification after September 24, 1976 and on or before May 23, 2013, including recovery furnaces, smelt dissolving tanks, lime kilns, digester systems, brown stock washers, black liquor oxidation systems, multiple effect evaporators, and condensate strippers. Facilities that began construction, reconstruction, or modification after May 23, 2013 are subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart BBa instead.
Estimate Change From Closures and Index Update
EPA reports the estimated burden decreased from the prior ICR because the number of sources fell due to recent facility closures, while O&M costs slightly increased because O&M cost figures were updated from 2009 to 2023 using the CEPCI index. The ICR includes these adjustments in its current annual cost and hour totals.
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