Mill closure averted.

It has been an emotional roller coaster for Echo Bay Milling Ltd. owner Conrad Mainville.

Mainville, who opened the mill in 2001 with his wife Shirley, was facing the possibility of his mill shutting permanently after the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) issued an environmental order because of emissions concerns.

The mill employs about eight people in the small community approximately 15 kilometres east of Sault Ste. Marie.

By early August, he was down to the eleventh hour and facing the possibility of his business heading for closure.

Instead, he received good news.

"We did get a license from the MOE to go ahead and we're going to be getting our milling license," said Mainville. "Things look to be on the upswing. Hopefully, we will be able to pull through."

Mainville's crisis came to a head this spring when he was ordered to shut down his mill due to emissions.

On June 9, Sault Ste. Marie MPP Tony Martin sent a letter to then Ontario Minister of the Environment Chris Stockwell to plead the couple's case that the mill was not an environmental hazard and should be asallowed to operate.

"Echo Bay Milling Limited is a very small mill that operates on three small diesel motors. It is not a heavy polluter," stated Martin in his letter. "There are huge corporate polluters across this province with several outstanding orders against them that your ministry is not shutting down ..."

At that point, Mainville had nearly reached the end of his financial abilities to meet any more requirements and was prepared to call it quits. One of the main problems was a lack of available information, Mainville said.

"What we didn't know, when we built in 2001 and applied for all the permits, was that there were these air emissions requirements. There was no literature or information anywhere," he said. "We've lost $200,000 in material and time over the period of a year (because of ministry-ordered shutdowns)."

Mainville said the MOE required a hood to be placed over one engine to capture fumes from it and carry it through newly installed duct work away from the mill. The ministry also required extensions on the exhaust pipes of the other engines that provide power to the mill.

Mainville said the MOE could have saved him time and money by outlining earlier what it wanted in order for his mill to be up and running so he could do the work. As a result of the MOE delays, he has already lost several contracts.

Four of the eight people he originally employed are now working sporadically as he begins the long process of rebuilding his business, said Mainville.

"It's been a whole lot of stupidity that was not needed," he said.

The mill creates flooring material from wood byproducts.

By ANDREW WAREING

Northern Ontario Business