Violation notice: Canton mill denies illegally dumping chemicals into wastewater system
Pactiv Evergreen issued a denial of any wrongdoing after the Department of Environmental Quality sent a letter accusing their Canton paper mill of illegally dumping chemicals into the wastewater treatment system.
The company, which closed its Canton paper mill in early June, confirmed that it disposed of a cleaning solution containing 10%-15% sodium hydroxide and a sanitizer containing 12.5%-15.6% hypochlorite as part of its shutdown process but said the discharge did not violate water quality standards in the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit.
The DEQ’s Division of Water Resources issued a letter of violation to the mill on July 11, after receiving a complaint that staff at the Canton mill were disposing of sodium hydroxide solution and calcium hypochlorite directly into a wastewater treatment system. A photo accompanying the complaint shows a hose attached at one end to a chemical tote labelled sodium hydroxide and the other end appears to be positioned over a floor drain.
The company released a statement saying, “Pactiv Evergreen is committed to operating safely and responsibly across our organization.”
“As detailed in our response to the NC DEQ, we believe that the discharge of cleaning solution and sanitizer complied with the water quality standards in the NPDES permit,” the statement continues. “We will continue to work with the NC DEQ to meet our environmental obligations at the Canton mill site.”
The mill faces three violations of dumping chemicals into the wastewater system, including making outlets into waters of the state without permit, failure to mitigate and failure to comply.
More: Canton mill accused of illegally dumping chemicals into wastewater system
The company told the Citizen Times July 28 that the total amount of cleaning solution and sanitizer discharged to the wastewater treatment plant is estimated at 300-600 gallons and 6,028 gallons, respectively. During this time, the company also estimated that more than 18 million gallons of wastewater was treated per day, calling the flagged discharge “minimal” in comparison.
In the letter, Pactiv Evergreen details how the active ingredient in the sanitizer, NaOCI, reacts with and is consumed by organic matter, meaning whatever NaOCl present in the cleaning solution is likely consumed in the water treatment process and in the sewer system before it reaches the wastewater treatment plant.
Pactiv Evergreen stated in its response sent to the DEQ July 25 that the mill discharged and treated these materials at the wastewater treatment plant when used during normal operations. The company also admitted draining more than 6,000 gallons of the calcium hypochlorite sanitizer into the system over a 24-hour period at the end of May.
More: Canton paper mill closure: What happens next for former employees, the town?
The DEQ and Pactiv Evergreen disagree about whether the disposed chemicals are covered under the mill’s permits, but the mill was told twice before by the DEQ that these disposals are not allowed.
After the shutdown was announced, DEQ “specifically stated” in a meeting with facility staff that “the dumping, disposal or discharge of unused or virgin chemical products or materials into the NPDES permitted wastewater system is prohibited,” according to the notice of violation. Then again on June 7, DWR sent an email to facility staff stating, “the direct disposal of raw material or product is not covered under your NPDES permit as it is not a wastewater nor a by-product of an industrial process.”
In its response to the violation letter, in which it denies discharging any raw, unused or virgin materials, Pactiv Evergreen said, “While Blue Ridge Paper continues to believe that the discharge of both the cleaning solution remaining in open, partially emptied totes and the sanitizer remaining in the tank was permitted under the NPDES permit as part of the shutdown process, given the Division of Water Resource’s position, Blue Ridge Paper has not discharged cleaning solution or sanitizer since receipt of the Wednesday, July 7 email.”
"The Division of Water Resources is reviewing the letter from Pactiv Evergreen and is assessing next steps," Josh Kastrinsky, spokesperson for NC DEQ, told the Citizen Times Aug. 1. "A Civil Penalty Assessment is a potential outcome in cases on non-compliance, but nothing has been determined at this stage."
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Canton mill illegal dumping of chemicals denied by Pactiv Evergreen
