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Management Side
EPA now involved with odor issue in South Carolina involving New Indy mill
CATAWBA, S.C. (From news reports) -- The Environmental Protection Agency is now involved with the odor investigation with South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), according to SCDHEC.

According to the agency, more than 5,000 complaints were reported from those in York and Lancaster counties, as well as from some North Carolinians, since March 12. Some residents have reported symptoms of nausea, headaches, and burning in their eyes, throat and lungs.

DHEC provided an update April 9 that named the New Indy Containerboard paper mill a "significant contributor" to the odors plaguing South Carolina residents.

Senator Johnson says he was heartened to hear the the EPA has joined the investigation. "The most important thing the EPA brings to the investigation is a deep source of knowledge in the area and specialized equipment," Johnson said.

Click here to read the full New Indy report.

The EPA was on the New Indy site last week and will continue to be there until the exact cause of the odor is determined. Johnson says many people have emailed him asking me to shut down New Indy.

Tuesday is the last day New Indy can give their recommendations on how to fix the problem. DHEC has presented them with a list of issues and they have until today to answer with how they intend to fix those problems.

"We need everyone to engage and report the smell every time. If it wakes you up in the middle of the night, report it," Johnson says.

DHEC has been working to trace the source of the smell, which has been described as rotten eggs, nail polish, sewage and more, by conducting research and investigating several facilities across the area.

DHEC created a form for residents to report the smell, time, and location.

They also worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Air Resources Laboratory to track wind speed and direction during these times and working backward, found a significant source of the smell to be the New Indy Plant.

Complaints of the smell started to pick up in March, but started coming in around the New Indy mill, located in Catawba, S.C., as early as February. This is the first month the mill had been operational since shutting down in September 2020 to make the change from producing bleached paper to brown paper.

This new process has a total reduced sulfide ("TRS") residual, often described as smelling like rotten eggs.

After three complaints had been lodged, DHEC launched an Environmental Affairs Bureau of Air Quality Inspection/Investigation Report on Feb. 22, 2021.

The report found the mill was in violation of a permit condition after it was found to exceed the annual capacity for burning fuels.
The mill had burned 11.54% of No. 6 fuel oil and 7.81% of natural gas, exceeding the maximum factor of 10% combined.

Since the switch, issues have been found relating to the mill's handling of wastewater.

The wastewater treatment process is lengthy and is supposed to go through the following steps and locations:

Influent bar screen

Primary clarifier

In-ground sanitary treatment system

Equalization basin

Aeration basin

Sludge dewatering

Sludge storage basin

Holding basin

Post-aeration basin

Multiple unapproved modifications were made to a 2017 construction permit regarding how the mill handles wastewater treatment, according to a DHEC report.

A letter from DHEC to Dan Mallett of New-Indy dating April 9 claims when the agency requested sludge management information from the mill, they were given materials from 2014 and 2017.

An aeration basin is currently being dredged and the sludge placed in geotubes in a sludge storage basin to be dewatered. The problem is, the report found they aren't.

The aeration basin also had a "significant blanket of foam" with some areas appearing to be several feet deep, according to the report.

The foam could be seen flaking into the wind. Other investigations found the foam had been seen on Highway 5, crossing the Catawba River.

Area residents first complained about the foam in September 2020. Mill staff said it came from an increase in organics from the treatment plant, and that it would dredge the basin and install sprinklers and add a "defoamer."

Another issue that was found lies with an equalization basin.

According to the report, the equalization basin is scheduled to also be dredged within the next three months. The sludge in this basin comes from some modifications that were approved in 2017 but not fully put into place. In this case, a pipe was put in for the sludge to go into the equalization basin, but it isn't being processed beyond that.

Inspectors found that the equalization basin was "nearly full" with sludge and had "significant vegetative growth."

The report noted there are no approved modifications submitted by the time the permit expired April 25, 2020.

The mill will be required to have a new construction permit approved before the new dredging and dewatering.

The letter sent from DHEC states the facility must update and submit manuals and plans reflecting its current operations, including the odor abatement plan, by April 20.

They also have advised the mill create a citizen advisory board, and to develop a portal citizens can use to submit odor concerns.

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