The now-shuttered paper mill in Canton has received a new violation for exceeding permit limits on toxicity for water released from the plant, continuing a pattern established over the last two years of averaging more than one notice of violation every two months.
In nearly identical language to a separate notice of violation issued Aug. 2, a Sept. 19 letter from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality notifies Pactiv-Evergreen that the toxicity levels it measured in June violate the limits in its wastewater discharge permit.
June 2023 was a pivotal month for the mill and for the region surrounding it. Workers left their last shift at the 115-year-old plant on June 8. The mill now sits idle save for its wastewater treatment plant, which under an agreement dating back to the 1960s must continue to treat the Town of Canton’s waste for two years after the closure . The wastewater treatment plant also treats leachate from the mill’s landfill and stormwater flows on the mill site.
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