Environmentalists appeal mill permit
Posted on Monday, July 26, 2010 by By Vicki Hyatt
Environmental groups filed a petition Friday to contest a wastewater discharge permit issued to the paper mill in Canton by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Environmental groups in both North Carolina and Tennessee contend the state permit issued to Blue Ridge Paper Products (now operating as Evergreen Packaging, Inc.) in May to discharge wastewater into the Pigeon River fails to require adequate discharge reductions in both the color and temperature. A news released issued jointly by the eight groups that are a party to the action referred to a 2007 discharge from the mill with temperatures so high it lead to the death of at least
8,000 fish.
“Despite the threat that heated plant wastewater poses to fish and other aquatic life in the river, the permit only sets a monthly average temperature limit as measured nearly half a mile downstream,” the release stated,“but sets no limits on daily fluctuations and thus allows temperature spikes that can significantly exceed state temperature standards.”
DJ Gerken, an attorney in the Asheville office of the Southern Environmental Law Center, said filing a petition to be heard before N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings is the first step in airing the legal arguments environmental groups have against the permit as issued.
“We think the legal issues are significant and look forward to pursuing them,” Gerken said.
While there are numerous sub-issues, the bulk of the case involves two main issues — the tea-colored water that is released into the Pigeon River below the Canton mill after it has been used in the paper-making process and then treated and the lack of a temperature standard that will protect aquatic life.
The permit, as written, would allow future fish kills, Gerken said, and thus, it doesn’t meet the standard for a variance. While the most recently issued permit says nothing about the mill having leeway to meet discharge temperature standards, Gerken said such a variance was previously approved and there has been no formal action to revoke it.
“With a variance standard, the state must ensure fish kills don’t happen,” he said.
Secondly, Gerken said the parties spearheading the challenge are convinced there are cost-effective technologies and process changes available to the mill to reduce the amount of discoloration in the river. Gerken said both state and federal law require the technologies to be used if it can be demonstrated it is cost-effective.
“In general, we’re looking for a better permit,” Gerken said.
The petition filed will trigger the appointment of an administrative law judge with expertise in environmental issues. Both parties will make their case before the judge, Gerken said, and the ruling will be a recommendation to the state’s Environmental Management Commission. This is a 19-member Commission appointed by the Governor, the Senate pro tem and the speaker of the house that is responsible for adopting rules to protect, preserve and enhance the state’s air and water resources.
After considering the ruling of the administrative law judge, EMC can choose to leave the permit as is or make changes, Gerken said. That decision can be appealed to superior court.
There is no defined time limit in the process, he added.
Groups filing the challenge include Clean Water Expected for East Tennessee, Clean Water for North Carolina, Cocke County, Tennessee, Sierra Club, Tennessee Conservation Voters, Tennesse Scenic Rivers Association, Western North Carolina Alliance and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
A spokesman for the paper mill provided no comment by press deadline.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which holds ultimate authority over discharges into state waters and oversees the process that’s primarily handled by states, took issue with the initial permit proposed by the state. As a result, state regulators modified the draft permit so the mill would submit a plan to reduce the light brown-colored wastewater discharged into the river and make reductions within four years. The plan was to include a contingency for handling discharges during drought or low-river flow years and it required stricter limits on temperature variation within the river after the discharge, which releases water that is warmer than the river. Under the permit, the instream temperature can increase only 8.5 degrees Celsius over a monthly average. The previous fluctuation was 13.9 degrees.
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