COLUMBIA, S.C. — State regulators are preparing to take enforcement action against a South Carolina paper mill that has generated tens of thousands of odor complaints during the past year and raised concerns about the plant’s potential to pollute the Catawba River.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said Friday it is pursuing a water pollution case against the New-Indy Catawba LLC mill, a York County facility that began releasing what area residents said were unusually noxious odors from the plant early in 2021.
State Sen. Michael Johnson, a York County Republican, said DHEC staff members told him during a meeting Thursday that the wastewater case is in its final stages.
“The sense I get with them is this is at the end,’’ Johnson said. “The only way we are ever going to get a resolution to the problem is for DHEC to enforce the water pollution laws that exist.’’
In addition to the water case, DHEC also is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “on potential air enforcement action,’’ the agency said in a statement Friday.
The department did not explain how or whether the air pollution effort relates to a recent EPA enforcement case against the company. The EPA fined New-Indy $1.1 million in December for environmental violations, ordering it to make improvements at the site in the Catawba area.
Johnson, who has previously criticized the December EPA enforcement action as not strong enough, said DHEC officials plan to meet with him again as early as next week to outline more about the pending state case.
“They understand that the EPA order does not cover everything that needs to be covered,’’ Johnson said of DHEC’s assessment of the December enforcement action.
The state’s pending wastewater case against New-Indy is looking at an array of alleged violations. Records show the case is a civil action that could result in fines.
New-Indy, which did not operate its wastewater treatment plant as required, failed to properly transport or treat waste sludge; did not update a plan to control odors; and allowed solid material and foam in the treatment plant, an enforcement document DHEC released Friday shows.
The company also made changes to the wastewater treatment plant without DHEC approval, according to a 2021 notice of violation, the first major step in an enforcement case that comes before the agency issues fines or levies other punishment.
New-Indy has a series of aging waste lagoons that lie close to the Catawba River, a drinking water source for Chester and some communities downstream. The big river, popular with anglers and boaters, runs from above Charlotte through central South Carolina to Lake Wateree just north of Columbia.
But some of the company’s waste lagoons contain mounds of poisoned sludge, and they have shown signs of leakage, The State reported in January.
Among the toxic materials in the lagoons is dioxin, a highly dangerous material that can cause cancer, The State reported.
New-Indy’s factory, a major employer in York County, is owned in part by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. New-Indy acquired the facility several years ago and began using different processes after it took over. The plant, built in 1959, was operated for years by Bowater.
The New-Indy company, in making container board, quit bleaching paper. But during the switch, waste began to build up as production continued, records show. That problem has been tied to the strong odors wafting across areas near Charlotte in South Carolina and North Carolina. Residents are still complaining about odors today, more than a year after the stench became noticeable.
Company officials and DHEC say New-Indy has made improvements, but a New-Indy spokesman declined comment Friday on possible state enforcement actions.
Meanwhile, as DHEC works on enforcement cases, the December EPA case continues to draw criticism from residents who live near the plant.
Many residents of the area, and attorneys who represent them, have said the federal action is not strong enough for a variety of reasons, including the size of the fine and a failure to require New-Indy to monitor for air pollution more thoroughly. Community frustration boiled over at a recent public meeting, in which a woman confronted Gov. Henry McMaster about the paper mill’s odors.
Attorneys who have filed lawsuits on behalf of local residents say New-Indy needs to be held fully accountable because missteps in its operation have affected thousands of people. All told, odors from the plant have generated as many as 30,000 complaints to state and federal agencies.
Friday was the deadline for people to comment on the December EPA enforcement action. Federal officials did not respond to questions seeking to determine how many people commented.
DHEC was among those commenting. The agency sent a letter to the federal government that suggested some improvements to the EPA enforcement action before it becomes final.
The DHEC letter said “considerable progress’’ had been made to address problems that have led to environmental concerns at New-Indy.
But pollution monitors need upgrading “so the community can be provided more meaningful data,’’ DHEC’s letter said. The agency encouraged continuing to provide the public with monitoring results daily.
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