As the  leading voice for conservation in the state, one of the Idaho Conservation League’s  goals  is to  protect the air we breathe. To that end, we were initially concerned that a South Idaho bag and packaging manufacturer, Hilex-Poly in Jerome,  was out of compliance on its emissions reporting. After conversations and the opportunity to review additional data, we learned that air quality is also a primary concern for Novolex, the parent company-and the facility is in full compliance. This is a win for Idaho’s clean air.

Since 1973, the Idaho Conservation League has worked to protect Idaho’s clean air on behalf of all Idahoans. In this role,  ICL regularly reviews the self-reported emissions of large manufacturing facilities to make sure that the air quality is within safe limits for local communities.  As a follow up to our initial review process, ICL may  submit “notice of intent to sue” letters informing facilities of their duty to comply with federal law. Despite the name, these  letters rarely result in legal action; instead, they  provide an opportunity  for everyone to  come together, discuss the issue and ultimately work toward achieving a shared goal.

And that’s what happened last week. ICL sent notice letters to Novolex over  our initial concerns  that certain facilities were not complying with laws requiring the reporting of their air emissions. Novolex met  with ICL several times last week to discuss the company’s actual emissions  and  innovative in-house operating techniques to properly manage and reduce emissions from its  facilities.

Since our primary concern is the quality of Idaho’s air,  ICL was pleased to learn that Novolex is proactively  working to minimize emissions from its facilities, resulting in cleaner air and healthier communities. In a time of rising concerns about air quality, it was a relief to learn about these progressive emission-reduction efforts.