By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – The state is going to reconsider a recently signed wastewater permit for International Paper Co. in Jay, a Maine environmental official said Wednesday.

“This is the Androscoggin, the birthplace of the Clean Water Act. We want to get it right,” Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner David Littell said Wednesday.

DEP wants to take a harder look at the five-year license issued in September, he said.

The move was hailed by environmentalists, who have complained the new permit is so lenient it does nothing to make the Androscoggin River cleaner.

An International Paper spokesman was displeased, saying he’s worried about the mill’s future. He asked whether the decisions were based on science or politics.

Littell said the state has “indicated to IP we’ve made a preliminary decision to reopen their permit” to accelerate reduction of phosphorus. He expects the mill to appeal.

Littell is taking over Androscoggin River cleanup after Commissioner Dawn Gallagher transferred the task to him, he said.

What’s driving DEP’s decision, he explained, is IP’s data showing that the mill in September had discharged half the phosphorous allowed in the new permit. Phosphorous is a byproduct of papermaking that reduces oxygen levels, erodes water quality and feeds summer algae blooms.

“To their credit IP controlled phosphorus better” than expected, Littell said.

In September, IP discharged 79 pounds of phosphorus per day. The new license states that by 2010, the mill can’t release more than 160 pounds per day on average. By 2015, IP is not to release more than 130 pounds per day.

In light of the data, DEP is questioning whether the new license is too lenient.

“IP told me their production is down,” that two of the mill’s paper machines were down, Littell said. Even with lower production, it appears IP should be able to live with lower limits, he said.

The license review will begin next week, Littell said. In addition to phosphorous limits, the state will re-examine limits for organic waste from making paper. That waste consumes oxygen and degrades water quality. If the decision is made to rewrite another license, that would happen next year, he said.

IP spokesman Bill Cohen said the mill was “surprised and disappointed that DEP has done this so quickly. We have not heard formally from DEP. We don’t know their intent. If they’re going to reopen it, we really hope that we’re going to look at all the science, not just some of it selectively.”

IP doesn’t know whether politics, science or public pressure is motivating the action. One month’s worth of data is not enough for the state to base a decision, Cohen said. “Our entire environmental footprint needs to be looked at over time. We’re very concerned about our future.”

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, who pushed unsuccessfully for tougher environmental laws to clean the Androscoggin quicker, said she was pleased. She’s requesting that any new permit process include a public hearing.

The new permit would do little to clean the river because “IP was already within the limits,” Makas said. “I wanted to drop the ceiling so not to allow them to dump more than they’re already dumping. … I want the public to see the numbers I was seeing, showing they could easily do this. All this (opposition) is smoke.”

Nick Bennett of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said environmentalists are hopeful. Wednesday’s announcement doesn’t mean DEP will issue a permit “that will bring the river into compliance. But it’s a good first step,” Bennett said.