BOGALUSA, Louisiana (From The Times-Picayune) -- Authorities said the release of a substance into the air Wednesday night (10 June) at International Paper Mill in Bogalusa does not pose a threat to nearby businesses and residents.

A pipe broke at the mill at about 7 p.m., releasing a small amount of "black liquor" and covering part of Willis Avenue with a fine mist, according to news reports from Wednesday night. Black liquor is a byproduct of the paper making process.

Police Chief Joe Culpepper said that the rupture was controlled quickly and the state Department of Environmental Quality did not feel there was a health threat to the community.

Mill spokeswoman Kalisa Hyman said in a statement Thursday (11 June) there was a "slight leak" in a process unit that created a mist of diluted black liquor, the majority of which remained on mill property.
"We are confident that there is no risk to human health or to the environment."

No mill personnel were impacted, she said. A person fishing at Bogalusa Creek at the time was taken to a hospital as a precaution and released shortly after, according to Hyman.

The incident was immediately reported to the appropriate authorities, she said.

A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality said Thursday the release involved a small amount of black liquor.

The spill has been cleaned up and secured, the spokesman said. DEQ responders were on the scene Wednesday night and returned Thursday to gather information.

The mill is the same plant that discharged black liquor into the Pearl River in 2011, resulting in a massive fish kill. Temple Inland owned the plant at the time; International Paper bought it in February 2012.

A judge ordered Temple Inland to pay $3.3 million in restitution and fines and to serve two years' probation for the discharge and fish kill. The company had pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count for negligent violation of the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor count for negligent violation of the Refuge Act.