JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has denied British wood pellet producer Drax's request to modify two permits for its Amite Bioenergy plant in Gloster, Mississippi, citing past permit violations and ongoing pollution worries raised by local residents.

During an April 8 public hearing at MDEQ’s headquarters, Gloster residents, detailed alleged detrimental health impacts from the plant's pollution. Concerns included respiratory issues and heart problems, with one resident directly attributing her congestive heart failure to the plant's emissions. Environmental groups echoed these concerns.

MDEQ officials confirmed the requested permits could have increased the plant's production and, potentially, its pollution levels. Drax had previously been fined $2.5 million in 2020 and $225,000 in September 2024 for exceeding emissions standards. 
The new permits would have reclassified the plant as a major source of hazardous air pollutants.

While Drax stated the permit change aimed to align with current operations and allow for potential production increases within permitted limits, the Environmental Board ultimately denied the request. 

The Drax Gloster plant, officially named Drax Amite BioEnergy, has a production capacity of approximately 525,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually. The plant, commissioned in 2015, produces wood pellets using low-grade wood, including sawmill waste. 

The wood pellets produced at the Gloster facility and 25 others located throughout the United States and Canada are destined for Drax’s renewable power generation plant in the United Kingdom. Drax UK recently received a new round of renewable energy subsidies that amount to about half of what is most recently received  

According to Reuters, the plant produces about 6% of the nation's power supply.