Drax pellet mill wins appeal to raise pollution limits in small Mississippi town

In April 2025, the town of Gloster, Mississippi, population 858, won a significant battle against the giant global wood pellet maker Drax, when the permitting board of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sided with the small community and denied the company’s request to increase air pollution limits so it could increase its manufacturing output. Residents living near the Amite BioEnergy pellet mill breathed a sigh of relief then, thinking they had prevailed in proving their argument that Drax’s emissions were already harming their health and quality of life. The U.K.-based company had been fined three times by DEQ since 2016 for more than $2.75 million for exceeding toxic emissions limits at the plant. Then, on Oct. 15, DEQ reversed its previous decision. It agreed to