RUMFORD – MeadWestvaco has applied for tax exemptions on newly installed equipment they say will reduce air emissions.

Bryce Sproul, director of licensing and enforcement for the Air Bureau of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, said the paper company is asking for exemptions from state sales tax and municipal property tax on computer software valued at $63,800.

If approved, the mill would save $1,212 in property tax and $3,190 in sales tax.

Steve Hudson, spokesman for MeadWestvaco, said the equipment was installed a short time ago. The precise amount of reduced air emissions won’t be known for six months to a year.

“We feel we are getting good emissions reductions,” he said.

He said the software helps improve fuel efficiency in the lime kiln operation, which is part of the recovery process used in paper-making.

“We’re searching for every dollar we can find,” said Hudson.

Sproul said his bureau is reviewing the application but hasn’t made a decision. He said the bureau looks at a variety of criteria, including the purpose and motive for installing the equipment.

The DEP must make a decision prior to the beginning of the new tax year in April. Once a decision is made, Sproul said copies are sent to the state Bureau of Taxation and the municipality affected by the property tax exemption.

He said the air quality bureau receives about a half-dozen similar tax exemption requests each year.

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