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Georgia-Pacific is responsible for roughly 22.5% of the total PCBs dumped into the Fox River and Green Bay, primarily from PCB-contaminated wastepaper recycling operations of the former Fort Howard Corporation mill (now called the "Green Bay West Mill").  (See Sources) Clean Water Action Council is currently in federal court challenging the 2002 final PCB damage settlement between Georgia-Pacific and the federal/state/tribal governments. (See details.)

(for more Lahey cartoons, click here)

• Georgia-Pacific has potential environmental liabilities at 194 sites throughout its corporate territory, but states that:  "management believes that adequate [financial] reserves have been established for probable losses with respect thereto.  Management further believes that the ultimate outcome of such environmental matters and legal proceedings could be material to operating results in any given quarter or year,but will not have a material adverse effect on the long-term results of operations, liquidity or consolidated financial position of the Corporation."  (Emphasis added.  See Annual Report excerpt.)

• According to company reports to the SEC, Fort Howard Corporation and Fort James Corporation spent $500 million on restructuring following their merger to form Fort James Corporation (prior to Georgia-Pacific's purchase) in 1998 and 1999.  What did Wisconsin receive from this $500 million investment? The corporate headquarters were moved out of state (causing major losses in tax revenues), and two mills were closed in Menasha and Ashland.  Several hundred jobs were lost.  The merged company refused to allow employees to buy the mill in Ashland and keep operating.  (Meanwhile, the companies have invested heavily in other countries, after using Wisconsin workers to build up their assets.)  That $500 million could have been used to clean the Fox River and we would be farther ahead.   Just 2 years later, this costly restructuring was repeated when Georgia-Pacific purchased Fort James.

• Fort Howard Corporation was the last Fox River company to stop discharging significant PCBs into the Fox River --- approximately 50 pounds of PCBs per year in the late 1980s.

Though Fort Howard virtually stopped its river discharges of PCBs around 1990, this mill's wastewater treatment plant sludge is still contaminated with PCBs (at average levels of 3 to 5 ppm in the mid-1990s).  A portion of these sludges are burned at the company's new incinerator (contributing persistent and toxic chemcials such as dioxin to the air of Green Bay). Another major portion of sludge is dried and pelletized at nearby Grantek, Inc. to create kitty litter, a carrier for pharmaceuticals for livestock, and a carrier for pesticides and herbicides to be spread on our lawns and farmlands.  A major use of the Grantek pellets is for mosquito insecticides which are spread back into aquatic environments (Fort Howard sludge is the bulky "inert ingredient.")

Fort Howard Corporation's wastewater discharge into the Fox River at Ashwaubenon, circa 1980.  They use a  dispersal pipe across the river bottom to dilute the impact  of the discharge.  This also hides it from public view,  unless you fly overhead.

The Wisconsin DNR gave Grantek an air pollution permit to release 10 pounds of PCBs each year into the air of downtown Green Bay during the sludge drying process.  More than 1,000 pounds of PCBs may be distributed each year in Grantek's products.  (See Grantek company website.)

• Georgia-Pacific now owns the old Fort Howard Sludge Lagoons, near the Austin Straubel Airport in Brown County.  This is one of the largest dumps in Wisconsin, and was nominated for federal Superfund Status in the late 1980s, due to concerns about groundwater contamination with PCBs and numerous other toxic chemicals in the sludge and boiler ash from the company.  It is located within the reservation of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin.  It has no engineered liner underneath and had no watertight walls on the sides either.   Fort Howard avoided Superfund designation by quickly building a clay slurry wall around half the site (downgradient in the groundwater) and initiating groundwater pumping toward the center of the dump to prevent toxic chemicals from migrating outwards in the groundwater.  (Imagine a bathtub with a wall on one side only.)  The pumped water is then sent to the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District and is run through a sewage process not designed to detoxify PCBs. The EPA and DNR are satisfied so long as the company keeps pumping the site forever.

• Lee Thomas, who is now President of Georgia-Pacific, formerly served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Reagan/Bush (senior) years.  G-P paid him $1,022,637 in 2000.  This is a classic example of the revolving doors between our government and private corporations.  Who did Mr. Thomas serve as head of the EPA?  (See The Corporate Federal Takeover)

• Georgia-Pacific (and formerly Fort James Corporation) donated $33,500 to the 1998, 2000 and 2002 election campaigns of Congressman Mark Green, who represents Northeast Wisconsin.  Green has consistently defended the Fox River paper industry against enforcement of Superfund and Natural Resources Damage Assessment laws.

• Georgia-Pacific is currently involved in a similar PCB contamination case on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.  (See GP's Annual Report excerpt.)  See also the EPA Superfund description and the NRDA description by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Kalamazoo site. 

In February 2001, an insurance company filed a lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to declare that it is not obligated to defend Georgia-Pacific (Fort Howard) or pay any costs associated with the Fox River cleanup.  Fort Howard Corporation carried liability insurance with United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co. from 1975 through 1994, the suit says. The lawsuit alleges that Fort Howard did not notify USF&G of any potential pollution claims until 1994, even though the papermaker had been told by the DNR as early as 1959 that "its operations were contaminating the environment, including the waterways, of the state of Wisconsin." The suit says lawyers for Fort Howard notified USF&G in July 1994 that the insurer had "a duty to defend" pollution claims.  The insurer says they need a judge's decision so they can decide whether to join settlement negotiations. (See article: Insurer sues mill over river cleanup.)

• In 1997, Georgia-Pacific and nine other companies (including Wisconsin Tissue Mills and Fort James Corporation) were sued by the Florida Attorney General's Office for allegedly fixing prices of sanitary commercial paper products, such as towels and napkins.  Then, 55 similar suits were filed by various private entities and several other states' Attorney Generals.  All but a few cases have been settled out of court (as of the corporation's 2000 Annual Report) for unknown amounts of money. Georgia-Pacific denied any wrongdoing and claimed the amount of money paid was immaterial to the corporation.

• The Fort Howard Corporation (GP's Green Bay West) mill has a high-capacity well for drawing groundwater, and was a major contributor to the extreme lowering of groundwater levels under the City of Green Bay, which forced the City to send a pipeline to Lake Michigan for a new water supply starting in the 1950s and 1960s.  Now, surrounding communities may be forced to do the same, at a cost well over $150 million, plus financing.  Ordinarily, river communities should be able to draw domestic water supplies from ther local  river or bay, but the local water is too polluted.

• For years, the Port of Green Bay and Army Corps of Engineers have had to pay millions of dollars in extra disposal costs to contain PCB sediments dredged to maintain the 17 mile shipping channel (with sediments disposed of in Kidney Island and the Bayport Project).  Much of this cost has been shouldered by local, state and federal taxpayers.  The Georgia Pacific Green Bay West Mill is the major harbor beneficiary as the largest user, for coal shipments primarily.  Lime shipments (for caustic soda), another major bulk commodity, also benefit the paper industry.  None of the seven PCB polluting companies have been held accountable for these extra port maintenance costs.

• Georgia-Pacific's mills in Green Bay are still some of the worst toxic polluters in Wisconsin.  See the 1999 toxic release inventory for the Green Bay West Mill  and the Green Bay East, Consumer Products Mill. (both listed as Fort James Operating Company.)

• In 1999, an organization called Public Information Network assembled an unflattering profile of Georgia-Pacific Corporation, called "Global Timber Titan." Another group, called Multinational Monitor, assembled another unflattering profile in 1990, and an expose entitled "Defenders of Dioxin" in 1998.

Background Georgia-Pacific Description and Hierarchy Recent History Georgia-Pacific in Wisconsin Green Bay West Mill Green Bay East - Consumer Products Mill Oshkosh Corrugated Packaging Financial Information Environmental Statements by G-P References and Links

Fort Howard Corporation, circa 1979.   This is now Georgia-Pacific's Green Bay West Mill.

Georgia-Pacific began in 1927 at a lumber yard in Georgia.  Now, it is an enormous corporation, with more than 85,000 employees at nearly 600 facilities in the United States, Canada and 11 other countries, including several in Europe.  It is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of paper, pulp, building products, specialty chemicals, and consumer products, such as paper towels, paper napkins, bath and facial tissue, disposable plates, cups, utensils and other foodservice products, office printing and copying papers, and folding cartons.  Building products include plywood, oriented strand board, gypsum wallboard and related installation materials, lumber, particleboard, medium density fiberboard, hardboard and related chemicals. 

Major Brands include: Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Sparkle®, Vanity Fair®, Green Forest®, Pacific Garden®, Dixie®, Mardi Gras®, Soft 'n Gentle®, So-Dri®, Embo, Tenderly, KittenSoft, Colhogar and Demak'Up as well as Sturd-I-Floor®, ToughRock™ and Blue Ribbon® OSB. 

Georgia-Pacific Corporation is a holding company for two separate subsidiaries.  First, the Timber Company and, second, the Georgia-Pacific Group, which is the second largest forest products company in the world after International Paper.  These two companies have numerous subsidiaries. 

Unisource Worldwide, a G-P subsidiary, is one of the largest distributors of packaging systems, printing and imaging papers and maintenance supplies in North America, and is the sole national distributor of Xerox branded papers and supplies.

The Timber Company is being sold by G-P, partly to finance the purchase of Fort James Corporation last year.  The Timber Company controls 4.7 million acres of timberland, mainly in the southern U.S.   It's sale by G-P represents a shift in the company's emphasis from traditional forest and paper products to finished consumer products and brand-names (mostly from Fort James).

Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Parent Company

Georgia-Pacific Corporation - Headquarters
133 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone:   (404) 652-4000
Fax:   (404) 584-1470

Leaders

Alston D. (Pete) Correll, ,59, Chairman, President, CEO,  and Director  (Paid $3.1 million in 2000)
Danny W. Huff, 50, Exec. VP of Finance and CFO
Donald L. Glass, 52, Exec. VP of Timber, Pres. & CEO of the Timber Company  (Paid $1,097,590 in 2000)
Ronald L. Paul, 57, Exec. VP of Wood Products and Distribution  (Paid $884,479 in 2000)
James Kelley, 59, Exec. VP, Gen. Counsel  (Paid $806,224 in 2000)
Lee Thomas, 56, President of Consumer Products  (Paid $1,022,637 in 2000)
Patricia Barnard, 51, Exec. VP of Human Resources
James Bostic, Jr., 53, Exec. VP, Environmental, Gov. Affairs, and Communications
Stephen E. Macadam, 40, Exec. VP of Pulp and Paperboard
John F. Rasor, 57, Exec. VP of Wood Procurement for Gypsum and Industrial Wood Products
James E. Terrell, 51, VP and Controller
David J. Paterson, 46, President of Paper
Charles C. Tufano, 56, President of Unisource

Directors

Alston D. Correll, Chairman of the Board, President, CEO of G-P
James S. Balloun, Pres. and CEO, National Service Industries
Barbara L. Bowles, Pres. and CEO, Kenwood Group, Inc.
Worley H. Clark, Jr., Pres., W.H. Clark & Assoc.
Jane Evans, Pres. and CEO, CAMUT Interactive
Donald V. Fites, Retired Chair, Caterpillar, Inc.
Richard V. Giordano, Chair, BC Group plc
David R. Goode, Pres. and CEO, Norfolk Southern Corp.
Douglas M. Ivester, Retired Chair and CEO, Coca-Cola Company
James P. Kelly, Chair and CEO, United Parcel Service
Louis W. Sullivan, Pres., Morehouse School of Medicine
James B. Williams, Chair of Exec. Committee, SunTrust Banks
Robert Carswell, Counsel, Shearman & Sterling
Gary Coughlan, Senior VPof Finance, and CFO, Abbott Laboratories
Harvey Fruehauf, Jr., Pres., HCF Enterprises, Inc.
John D. Zeglis, Chair and CEO, AT&T Wireless Group

Subsidiaries (partial list)

Fordyce & Princeton Railroad
Georgia-Pacific Railroad
Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad
G-P Gypsum Corporation
Paper Plus
The Timber Company
Unisource Paper Corporation
Rollsource Paper
Columbia Packaging
CeCorr (corrugated sheet)

The Green Bay West Mill of GP has changed ownership twice in the last 4 years.   For more than 50 years, it was the headquarters of Fort Howard Corporation, the world's number one tissue-maker, and the lowest cost producer of tissue products in North America.  In 1998, James River Corporation and Fort Howard Corporation merged to form Fort James Corporation.  In 2000, Georgia-Pacific divested itself of its joint-venture with Wisconsin Tissue (in Neenah/Menasha), and bought Fort James Corporation. 

News releases

Georgia-Pacific Completes Acquisition Of Fort James, Becomes World’s Leading Tissue Producer 11/27/00
Georgia-Pacific Completes Exchange Offer For Fort James, Reaches 96.6 Percent of Shares Outstanding 11/24/00
Federal Court Clears Georgia-Pacific, Fort James Transaction  11/22/00
Georgia-Pacific To Divest Commercial Tissue Business Under Consent Decree With U.S. Dept. Of Justice 11/21/00
Georgia-Pacific Confirms Financing Agreements  11/20/00
Georgia-Pacific Extends Exchange Offer For Shares Of Fort James Corp. 11/14/00
Georgia-Pacific Extends Exchange Offer For Shares Of Fort James Corp. 11/7/00
Georgia-Pacific Launches Exchange Offer For Shares Of Fort James Corp.  10/13/00
Georgia-Pacific and Fort James Receive [Anti-trust] Request for Information   8/31/00
Georgia-Pacific To Acquire Fort James, Become World’s Largest Tissue Maker  7/17/00

In Wisconsin, the corporation operates six manufacturing facilities, a building products distribution center at Wausau, six paper distribution centers at Appleton (2), Janesville, La Crosse, New Berlin and Wisconsin Rapids, and a technical center at Neenah. 

More than 4,500 employees work for G-P in Wisconsin.

Fox Valley mills are described in detailed sections below.   Wisconsin GP manufacturers not located in the Fox River Valley are:

• Phillips Hardboard ---  Annual production capacity of 72 million square feet.  Produces hardboard, tileboard, and paneling.  87 employees. 

• Sheboygan Corrugated Packaging --- Annual production capacity of 1.4 billion square feet.  Produces corrugated board converted into a variety of customer specific packaging and custom designed corrugated products, or sold as sheets to other converters.  129 employees.

• Superior Hardboard, FiberSkin® --- Annual production capacity of 148 million square feet.  Superior hardboard is used for a wide variety of industrial applications including cabinets, furniture, automotive, garage doors, toys and television backs.  126 employees. 

3,187 employees

Leaders

Russel D. McCollister, Vice President, Mill Manager
Kirk A. Stallsmith, Manager, Operations
Randall L. Harbath, Manager, Manufacturing
George G. Semenak, Manager, Maintenance and Power, Plant Engineer
Kenneth Graves, Manager, Technical Operations
Christopher J. Gobris, Manager, Safety
Brenda A. Darrow, Manager, Reg. Proc.
Donald R. Girardi, Mill Controller

Pulp Mill --- Deinked pulp primarily from post-consumer wastepaper.

Paper Mill --- Paper Machines:  2 Yankee Fourdrinier 121” Trim, 2 Yankee tissue Twin-Wire Formers: 124” Trim.  1 Yankee tissue Twin-Wire Formers: 130” Trim. 2 Yankee tissue Twin-Wire Formers: 263” Trim. 1 Yankee Suction Breast Roll tissue former 128” Trim.  1 Yankee Suction Breast Roll tissue former 195” Trim. 2 dry formers.  Towel, napkin and tissue converting.

Steam and Power --- 7 power boilers fueled by coal and refuse-derived fuel.

Intake Water Treatment --- Primary treatment of Fox River water for industrial process use, and a high-capacity well drawing up groundwater.

Wastewater Treatment --- Primary, secondary and tertiary treatment.

Products:  Towel, napkin, place mat, table and tray covers, wipers, tissue papers, industrial and personal service papers.  Annual production capacity: 413,309 tons.  Consumer and private label tissue products are (West) Airlaid Paper manufactured at the Green Bay West mill, including Consumer Products Green Forest ® , Mardi Gras ® , So-Dri ® , Soft N’ Gentle ® , and a variety of private-label roll towels. 

500 Day Street
Green Bay, WI 54302         (P.O. Box 23790, Green Bay, WI 54305-3790)

Phone: 920-433-6200
Fax: 920-433-6352

Served by the Wisconsin Central Railroad.

Kelly L. Wolff, Mill Manager

796 employees

Paper Mill:  Stock Preparation: Pulpers: 7 Jones Liebeck. Refiners: 7 disc.  Paper Machines. 1 Yankee Fourdrinier 130” Trim.  2 Yankee Fourdrinier 162” Trim.  2 Yankee Fourdrinier 186” Trim. 1 airlaid dry former 105” Trim.  Tissue, towel and napkin converting.

Steam and Power:  Fuel: Gas/Oil.  Press: 650 psi.  Electricity: Freq. Phase: 4000/440v., 60, 3.

Intake Water Treatment:  primary.

Wastewater Treatment:  Primary and secondary treatment, then discharged to Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Products:  Sanitary tissue, towel and napkin converted products, 470 tons daily.  Total annual capacity: 152,514 tons   Private label tissue products are (East) Airlaid Paper manufactured at the Green Bay East Mill, including Consumer Products Quilted Northern ®, Brawny ® , Sparkle ® and Vanity Fair ® .

413 E. Murdock Avenue
Oshkosh, WI 54901                     (P.O. Box 199, Oshkosh, WI 54902)

Phone: 920-231-9910
Fax: 920-231-7295

Served by Central Pacific Railroad

John Arpin, Plant Manager

80 employees

Products:  Converts corrugated materials into a wide variety of customer specific corrugated packaging and custom designed corrugated products, such as shipping containers, rolls, sheets, and expendable pallets, for over 400 industrial customers in Wisconsin and Illinois.  28 tons per day.   Annual production capacity: 220 million square feet.

• Georgia-Pacific has annual sales of approximately $27 billion.

• In 2000, Georgia-Pacific acquired all outstanding shares of Fort James in a transaction valued at approximately $11 billion.

• For the six months ended 6/30/01, net sales rose 16% to $12.92 billion. Net loss before acct. change and extraordinary item totaled $107 million vs. an income of $400 million. Results reflect the Fort James acquisition, offset by higher interest expense.

• Fort James Corporation --- According to Standard & Poor's Stock Reports, Fort James' total 1996 assets were over $6.54 billion.   Hoover's Company Profile (online) listed Fort James with 1997 revenues of $7.259 billion.  At the time, Fort James Corporation was investing heavily in China, Turkey and Russia. 

• Between 1995 and 1998, Fort Howard/Fort James stock prices increased over 400% from $12.50 to over $50 per share. 

• Michael Riordan, former Fort Howard Corporation CEO, received over $14 million in a "golden parachute" separation agreement from the company. 

• According to Fort James' Annual SEC Report, "the company's accrued environmental liabilities, including remediation and landfill closure costs, totaled $55.4 million and $57.0 million as of December 28, 1997 and December 29, 1996, respectively."   In other words, the company was already preparing for major cleanup costs, yet they continued to operate profitably.

• In 1999, Georgia-Pacific and Fort James were the 3rd and 4th leading U.S. and Canadian Paper Companies in sales, according to the 2001 Lockwood Post’s Directory.  In that year, Georgia-Pacific had $9.618 billion in paper and allied product sales (and total sales of $17.977 billion), and Fort James had $6.827 billion in paper and allied product sales.

Top Institutional Share Holders of GP

FMR Corporation (Fidelity Management & Research Corp)
Capital Research and Management Company
AXA Financial, Inc.
Barclays Bank Plc
Seligman J.W.&Co Incorporated
State Street Corporation
Fund Asset Management Inc
Mellon Bank, N.A.
Vanguard Group, Inc. (The)
Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P.

Top Mutual Fund Share Holders of GP

Investment Company Of America
New Perspective Fund Inc
Prudential Series Fund Inc.-Equity Portfolio
Vanguard/Windsor II
Prudential Equity Fund, Inc.
Fidelity Equity-Income Fund
Vanguard Index 500 Fund
Aetna Variable Annuity-Aetna Growth & Income Fund Vp
College Retirement Equities Fund-Stock Account
Fidelity Puritan Fund Inc

From the Georgia-Pacific website:

"Protecting the environment is an integral part of Georgia-Pacific’s vision and commitment to be a responsible environmental steward. All G-P operations are committed to 100 percent compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state and local government guidelines for the protection of air and water quality and human health".

"The Corporation is party to various legal proceedings incidental to its business and is subject to a variety of environmental and pollution control laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which it operates.  As is the case with other companies in similar industries, the Corporation faces exposure from actions or potential claims and legal proceedings involving environmental matters.  Liability insurance in effect during the last several years provides only very limited coverage for environmental matters."

"The Corporation is involved in environmental remediation activities at approximately 194 sites, both owned by the Corporation and owned by others, where it has been notified that it is or may be a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act or similar state "Superfund" laws.  Of the known sites in which it is involved, the Corporation estimates that approximately 47% are being investigated, approximately 28% are being remediated and approximately 25% are being monitored (an activity that occurs after either site investigation or remediation has been completed).  The ultimate costs to the Corporation for the investigation, remediation and monitoring of many of these sites cannot be predicted with certainty, due to the often unknown magnitude of the pollution or the necessary cleanup, the varying costs of alternative cleanup methods, the amount of time necessary to accomplish such cleanups, the evolving nature of cleanup technologies and governmental regulations, and the inability to determine the Corporaion's share of multiparty cleanups or the extent to which contribution will be available from other parties.  The Corporation has established reserves for environmental remediation costs for these sites in amounts that it believes are probable and reasonably estimable.  Based on analysis of currently available information and previous experience with respect to the cleanup of hazardous substances, the Corporation believes it is reasonably possible that costs associated with these sites may exceed current reserves by amounts that may prove insignificant or that could range, in the aggregate, up to approximately $157.8 million.  This estimate of the range of reasonably possible outcomes were used.  In estimating both its current reserve for environmental remediation and the possible range of additional costs, the Corporation has not assumed it will bear the entire cost of remediation of every site to the exclusion of other known potentially responsible parties who may be jointly and severally liable.  The ability of other potentially responsible parties to participate has been taken into account, based generally on the parties' financial condition and probable contribution on a per site basis."

"The Corporation is implementing an Administrative Order on Consent entered into with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency regarding an investigation of the Kalamazoo River and two disposal areas which are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls.  Data regarding the extent of contamination at the two disposal areas has been evaluated.  The cost to remediate one of the disposal areas was estimated at $8 million and this site has been essentially closed.  It is anticipated that the cost of remediation of the second disposal area will be at least equal to that amount, however, the Corporation is still negotiating a final closing agreement with the State of Michigan.  Fort James is not a signatory to the Administrative Order on Consent."

"A draft Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study ("RI/FS") for the Kalamazoo River was submitted to the state of Michigan on October 30, 2000 by the Corporation and other potentially responsible parties ("PRPs"), including Fort James Corporation.  The PRPs' draft RI/FS evaluated five remedial options ranging from no action to total dredging of the river and off-site disposal of the dredged materials.  The cost for these remedial options ranges from $0 to $2.5 billion.  The PRPs' draft RI/FS recommends a remedy involving stabilization of over twenty miles of river bank and long-term monitoring of the river bed.  However, the State of Michigan has asked for additional possible remedies.  The total cost for the PRPs' recommended remedy is approximately $73 million."

"Fort James has been identified as a PRP for contamination of the Lower Fox River and Green Bay system in Wisconsin by hazardous substances.  Various state and federal agencies and tribal entities are seeking both sediment restoration and natural resources damages.  In February 1999, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ("WDNR") released for public comment a draft remedial investigation/feasibility study of the Fox River.  While the draft study did not advocate any specific restoration alternatives, it included estimated total costs ranging from zero for "no action" to approximately $720 million, depending on the alternative or combination of alternatives needed."

"In June 2000, Fort James voluntarily entered into an agreement with the WDNR and the EPA for the restoration of one sediment area on the Fox River.  The project began in August 2000 and was completed on December 15, 2000 at a cost of approximately $8 million."

"In October 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") released for public comment its Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan (the "Plan") for natural resources damages in connection with its Lower Fox River/Green Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment.  According to the Plan, claims for past damages range from $176 million to $333 million, depending on the sediment resotration alternative or combinations of alternatives selected.  The actual costs of projects to settle natural resource damage claims could be significantly lower."

"In November 2000, Fort James entered into a settlement with WDNR that resolves the State's natural resource damages claims against Fort James under CERCLA, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and state law.  Under the agreement, Fort James has agreed to spend approximately $7 million.  The agreement will be effective when entered by the federal court." [This agreement is on hold and may be abandoned, due to widespread public and agency opposition.]

"The final cleanup alternatives and the Corporations share of the related costs, for both the Fox River and Kalamazoo River matters, are unknown at this time."

[Several other environmental cases involving G-P are discussed, but not included here...]

"Although the ultimate outcome of these environmental matters and legal proceedings cannot be determined with certainty, based on presently available information, management believes that adequate reserves have been established for probable losses with respect thereto.  Management further believes that the ultimate outcome of such environmental matters and legal proceedings could be material to operating results in any given quarter or year, but will not have a material adverse effect on the long-term results of operations, liquidity or consolidated financial position of the Corporation."

• Georgia-Pacific's website
• Georgia-Pacific's state factsheets (see Wisconsin)
• Georgia-Pacific capsule - Hoover's Online, the Business Network
• Georgia-Pacific profile - Yahoo Finance
• Packaging Locations in Wisconsin
• The Timber Company website
• Unisource website
• Lockwood Post's Directory