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BY )IE TErg1gT zou Colter for Publiclratekriiy Three years ago, pulp and paper company Dommar un- veiled a "state -of- the -art" addi- tion to its plant in Plymouth, North Carolina, where waste would be transformed into eco- friendly energy. Domtar, based in Fort Mi11, S.C., touted the facility as the only one of its kind in the Unit- ed States and said it would pro- duce 75 toms a day of a fossil - fuel alternative by refining a molasses -like rnbiture of pro- cessed pine chips. Company officials claimed it would do so without significantly increasing air pollution. But it wasn't until August 2014 that Dorntar notified North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality about excessive eni.ssions of hydrogen This Dorntar mill in Plymouth was one of more than a dozen [Jorth Carolina facilities flagged by the SEE ENFORCE, 2E Environmental Protection Agency in a May letter criticizing state Clean Air Act enforcement. sulfide and other toxic compounds at the new plant, even though the company had begun notic- ing pollution spikes the year before. Hydrogen sulfide is so dangerous that it can cause instant death in high concentrations; it skews the memory and dulls.the sense of smell in lower amounts. In 2014, the Plymouth site released more than 130,000 pounds of the gas — up 78, percent from 2013, ac- cording to the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency. Domtar was one of more than a dozen North Carolina facilities flagged by the EPA in a May letter to DEQ Secretary Donald van der Vaart. The letter, obtained by the Center for Public Integrity under the Freedom of Information Act, criticized the state agency for its reluctance to go after repeat offend- ers and its pattern of issu- ing few violation notices and paltry fines. The EPA blamed the DEQ's lacklus- ter performance on 2011 state laws that provide polluters with "greater opportunity for informally resolving" violations and a "tiered enforcement pol- icy" that has led to fewer penalties. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970 with a pledge to protect public health, and the law has been largely successful at driving down emissions even as the economy has grown - reducing six common air pollutants by nearly 70 percent. The act relies on coop- eration between federal and state regulators. But experts, including some at the, EPA, say its benefits aren't being fully realized because enforcement remains wildly inconsis- Domtarr