Pactiv seeks to change environmental permit for Canton mill
Canton’s wastewater treatment plant isn’t processing the same volume as it did when Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill was operational. File photo
Pactiv Evergreen has filed a request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to make “major” modifications to the discharge permit for its wastewater treatment facility in Canton.
Since Pactiv shut down its Canton papermill in June of last year, the plant has been operational to treat the town’s sewage but was no longer involved in treating wastewater from the papermaking process. It has since been the subject of multiple NCDEQ notices of violation for exceeding fecal coliform limits in the plant’s effluent.
Fecal coliform is a group of bacteria that includes disease-causing species such as E.coli. While most coliform bacteria do not cause disease, some strains of E.coli cause serious illness. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, swimming, diving or wading in water contaminated with fecal bacteria can result in diarrhea, vomiting, respiratory illness and other health problems. Skin, ear, eye, sinus and wound infections can also be caused by contact with contaminated water. In the case of Canton, it has also created a noticeable odor that has been strong at times this summer.
In an email to The Smoky Mountain News, NCDEQ Spokesperson Laura Oleniacz said that DWR staff noted that when the mill was operational, the town treated its wastewater with chlorine before reaching the plant, but that municipal wastewater was also mixed with and diluted by the industrial wastewater.
“The high pH of the industrial waste likely played a role in treating the fecal coliform, Oleniacz said in the email. “The plant adjusted chlorination of the town’s untreated wastewater after the mill ceased operations, according to staff, and Pactiv Evergreen has not received additional fecal coliform limit violations since November. More specific questions should be directed to PactivEvergreen and the town.”
In a document filed late last month, the company sought to alter the permit to reflect the changes that came with the mill shutdown. The changes include the removal of monitoring for several compounds associated with paper mill operations and the associated flow reduction of the flow limit to 4.9 million gallons per day. Basically, it reduces the frequency and number of locations for testing the effluent while also eliminating certain special conditions.
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“The mill’s permit had a condition requiring a Best Management Plan related to leaks and spills of spent pulping, liquor, turpentine or soap from process areas,” Oleniacz said in the email. “The special condition was a federal requirement for pulp and paper production, but it is no longer necessary since production was discontinued. The permit included dioxin monitoring because pulp and paper plants can emit dioxin as a byproduct, but monitoring for dioxin is no longer necessary now that industrial operations have shut down.”
The wastewater treatment plant has been the subject of frequent news reports. Since at least 1964, Pactiv has treated the town’s wastewater for almost no cost while the mill was operational. An agreement in place since then stipulates that Pactiv must continue to treat Canton’s wastewater for two years after any shutdown scheduled to end in March of next year.
Although there have been negotiations between Pactiv and the town, it isn’t yet known what the wastewater treatment plant’s future is or what the town may do when it comes to treating its sewage.
There is a public comment period running through the end of August for the proposed permit changes. To make an appointment to review the document, call 828.296.4500. Public comments can be either mailed to Wastewater Permitting, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617 or emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please include “Canton Mill” in the email’s subject line.
