Documents indicate shuttered Canton paper mill will soon be sold
Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill, which sits on a 185-acre parcel straddling the Pigeon River in Canton, has been closed for more than a year.
Max Cooper photo
The old paper mill in the heart of Canton will have a new owner by the end of the month — if everything remains on track — according to a three-page letter filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 30.
“We have become aware that there is a potential Oct. 1 closing date for Spirtas to purchase the mill site from Pactiv,” Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers told The Smoky Mountain News on Sept. 14. “We have had great conversations with Eric Spirtas. Many questions have been answered, but many remain.”
The purpose of the letter, signed by attorney William Clarke of Asheville-based law firm Roberts & Stevens on behalf of wholly-owned Pactiv Evergreen subsidiary Blue Ridge Paper Products, is to notify the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit belonging to Blue Ridge Paper is being transferred to a Missouri-based company called TBD Utilities LLC.
The permit authorizes the permittee to operate the wastewater treatment facility on the mill site. The facility treats the town of Canton’s municipal wastewater and discharges the treated waste into the Pigeon River.
Since the execution of a 1964 contract, the mill’s various owners have treated the town’s wastewater at almost no cost. When Pactiv announced it would close the 115-year-old mill in March 2023, the future of the town’s wastewater treatment became a grave concern.
North Carolina Secretary of State records show that TBD Utilities was incorporated on Sept. 9 and shares the same business address as Spirtas Worldwide, run by developer Eric Spirtas.
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Spirtas, who signed a letter of intent to purchase the 185-acre mill site back in May, is listed as a company official of TBD Utilities.
At that time, Spirtas told SMN regarding the wastewater treatment issue that "we're going to make sure it's town and county first in those types of decisions."
Spirtas seems to be a man of his word; according to the letter, Blue Ridge Paper Products will assign the wastewater treatment contract to TBD Utilities, effective Sept. 30. At that time, TBD Utilities “will be solely responsible for the operation, maintenance and repair of the Wastewater Treatment Plant at the Canton Mill including the obligation to treat wastewater collected by the Town of Canton.”
No mention of who will pay for the plant’s operation, or how much it might cost, was made in the letter, which goes on to state that TBD will assume all rights and obligations under the permit on Sept. 30 and will be solely responsible for compliance with the terms and conditions listed in the permit.
“Spirtas is aware of its obligations and our expectations and that this project will be judged by the people of Haywood County,” Smathers said, expressing cautious optimism.
TBD Utilities will also be responsible for any violations of the permit. Pactiv logged dozens of violations over the past few years, even after it had halted production, but hasn’t had any violations since March 14.
Most importantly, the letter concludes by saying that TBD “is acquiring the property formerly known as the Canton Mill including the Wastewater Treatment Plant from Blue Ridge.”
Canton is not a party to any potential transaction, which would be a deal between two private entities — Pactiv and Spirtas.
Over the past few months, the possibility of a sale of the mill parcel has given Canton, Haywood County and Western North Carolina plenty of reasons for optimism, but the letter doesn’t contain much in the way of specifics on other issues.
Outlying properties owned by Pactiv or Blue Ridge, including a landfill as well as Lake Logan and its aging dam, are not mentioned in the letter, nor are the terms of Spirtas’ deal with Pactiv.
An appeal by Pactiv over property taxes it doesn’t want to pay — Canton and Haywood County officials soundly rejected the company’s request for a tax break last year — remains pending with the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Additionally, a May 23 lawsuit filed by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Commerce alleging Pactiv violated the terms of a $12 million economic development grant awarded in 2014 looks to be on hold, for now.
Per the terms of the grant agreement, Pactiv was given $12 million in exchange for spending $51 million of its own money over 10 years to convert two of its coal-fired boilers to natural gas. One of the conditions of the agreement was that Pactiv maintain at least 800 jobs at the site through the end of 2024. Most workers were laid off in June 2023.
Pactiv subsequently rebutted the state’s claims in a motion to dismiss filed on July 29, arguing that the state’s quest to get that money back served “only to punish Pactiv” and that there is no factual basis for the claim.
However, a joint motion filed by attorneys for Pactiv and the state on Aug. 23 indicates that the state and Pactiv may be nearing a settlement and will seek mediation ahead of the property transfer.
“The parties seek a brief continuance of the September 18 hearing until the September 23-27, 2024 Weekly Civil Session so that they can focus on the upcoming September 17 mediation in the hopes of resolving this case without further court intervention,” the motion reads.
On Sept. 3, Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway issued an order granting that continuance.
“This in itself does not relieve Pactiv of their obligations, both environmental and economic, to the town and especially the state as it concerns JMAC,” Smathers said.
Spirtas, who wasn’t immediately available for comment, has been quiet on his plans for the parcel, which was recently rezoned.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates in the next issue of The Smoky Mountain News, online and on newsstands on Wednesday, Sept. 18. SMN News Editor Kyle Perrotti contributed to this story.
