Catawba paper mill
Paper factory in Catawba, South Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catawba paper mill is a paper factory in Catawba, South Carolina part owned by a subsidiary of Kraft Group.
- 5300 Cureton Ferry Rd, Catawba, SC 29704
- Catawba, York County, South Carolina
| Catawba paper mill | |
|---|---|
  Location within South Carolina | |
| Built | 1959 |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 34.84°N 80.89°W |
| Industry | Pulp and paper |
| Products | Pulp |
| Employees | 450 |
| Buildings | 94,000 square feet |
| Owners | Schwarz Partners and New Indy LLC (a subsidiary of Kraft Group) |
| Website | newindycatawba |
The mill's owners were fined $1.1 million by the Environmental Protection Agency in response to odours emitted from the plant.
Description
Catawba paper mill is a paper factory located on a 1,800-acre site[1] in Catawba,[2] York County, South Carolina[3] located approximately 5,000 feet[2] from the Catawba River[4] upstream of Chester, South Carolina.[4]
It is owned by Kraft Group subsidiary[5] New Indy LLC,[3] sometimes known as New Indy Containerboard.[4]
Wastewater from the mill flows through the mill's Aeration Stabilization Basin and an Equalization Basin, both designed to reduce the emission of hydrogen sulfide from the mill.[6]
The site 94,000 square foot factory employs 450 people.[1]
History
The mill was built in 1959.[7] Prior to New Indy buying the mill, it was owned by Bowater.[3] Schwarz Partners[1] and New Indy purchased the site from (Bowater's successor) Resolute Forest Products in 2019[8] and switched activities away from bleached paper towards unbleached pulp.[3]
In 2020, the mill's owners were the subject of litigation by residents suing for damages they linked to odors from the plant.[2] Local residents claimed that the mill's emission caused headaches, nose bleeds, and nausea.[9] By 2021, over 30,000 public complaints had been made about the smells from the mill.[8]
The Environmental Protection Agency fined the owners $1.1 million relating to emissions of fumes from the plant.[2] In 2022, mill manager Tony Hobson admitted that "We let the community down from an overall standpoint ...We started up. We ran into some issues at start-up and that ended up cascading into more than what we had hoped for."[6] In 2022, dioxins were identified in four 1960s-built[3] waste sludge lagoons at the mill.[2] An engineering report by S&ME Inc states that leaks from the lagoons seep into the adjacent river's embankment and that a repair was necessary.[3] Owners acknowledge the presence of dioxins in the lagoons, noting that this is a legacy of activities of prior owners.[3]
The mill is featured in the 2015 book The Slain Wood: Papermaking and Its Environmental Consequences in the American South written by UCLA law professor William Boyd [3] In the book, Boyd advocates for the mechanical removal of the sludge from the lagoons.[3] and encouraged the site's current owners to solve the problems they inherited with their purchase of the mill.[3]