Bringing in the feds: EPA agreement mandates elements of Canton mill cleanup

Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the shuttered papermill in Canton, has been working to clean up two separate seeps leaking toxic substances into the Pigeon River under an administrative order of consent (AOC) with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Learn all about septic systems

Haywood Waterways Association and the Haywood County Environmental Health Department are hosting a workshop about septic systems. 

Clean up the Pigeon River

Come clean up the Pigeon River in Haywood County.

On Saturday, May 18, volunteers will gather at Pigeon River Outfitters in Canton from 9-10 a.m. The cleanup is expected to finish by noon. 

Canton mill notches another violation

Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton has been hit with its fifth-straight notice of an environmental violation following the failure of a quarterly discharge toxicity test. 

Weigh in on NC river quality

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources is now accepting public comment on the proposed list of streams, rivers, reservoirs and other water bodies in North Carolina considered to be “impaired,” or that do not meet water quality standards, in 2024.   

Become a water quality watcher

Help keep tabs on water quality in Western North Carolina by joining the Volunteer Water Information Network. 

High bacterial concentrations prompt two new violations for Canton mill

A pair of new environmental violations issued this month brings the total for Canton’s shuttered paper mill up to seven since it closed last June and 22 since May 2021 — an average of 1.3 violations every two months. 

Canton mill earns two new water quality violations

Despite being closed for months, the Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton continues to rack up environmental violations, with two recently issued violations for exceeding fecal coliform limits bringing its total number of violation notices since May 2021 up to 22.

Landfill pond overflow, failed water quality test prompt new violations at Canton mill

While mountain residents were busy preparing for Christmas, the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton that until May 2023 employed more than 1,000 of them was racking up a pair of new environmental violations.

Canton reveals plan for waste water treatment plant

While there are still plenty of unknowns regarding Canton’s new waste water treatment plant, including where it will go and when groundbreaking will take place, a project budget ordinance passed by the town’s governing board on Nov. 9 eliminates one of them — how the massive appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly will be spent. 

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