Appeal of City of Berlin

This case presents an appeal by the City of Berlin from an administrative decision made by the State Air Resources Council (the agency) that certain facilities and real estate owned by the James River Corporation qualified for tax exemption under RSA 72:12-a (Supp. 1988). For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

The James River Corporation (the company), successor company to the Brown Paper Company, has manufacturing facilities located in Berlin. In 1978, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested the air quality in the Berlin area and found that it did…