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. 

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. 

Help stock the Pigeon River with trout

TU-Cataloochee’s next trout stocking event is coming up Monday, May 6, along the delayed harvest section of the West Fork of the Pigeon River. 

Continuing the cleanup: Pigeon River slowly bounces back as mill environmental violations mount

Once Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill shut down for good, people wondered how the Pigeon River and the aquatic life it supports would change. 

Help fill the West Fork with trout

Volunteers are wanted to help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stock trout into the West Fork Pigeon River in Haywood County beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 4. 

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. 

2023 A Look Back: ‘That’s so Metal’ Award

This one goes to the Pigeon River, due both to the actual metals found in a sampling site along its bank and to the very metal way its fish populations have rebounded after the Canton paper mill shut down in June. 

WNC's watershed moment: Regional leaders discuss French Broad’s past, present and future

More than 100 people came together to discuss the future of one of the region’s most important resources during the fifth annual French Broad River Partnership  meeting Wednesday, Nov. 8. 

Siren warning system will alert Haywood residents to flooding

More than two years after deadly flooding killed six people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to public and private property from Bethel to Cruso to Canton to Clyde, Haywood County will purchase an early warning siren system to keep residents better informed for when — not if — it happens again. 

Research to test for contamination near Canton mill property

A research project aiming to understand contamination levels outside the fence line of the now-shuttered Canton paper mill is likely to draw more than a quarter-million dollars in state funding to test soil, water and air samples nearby. 

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