Close your eyes and imagine starting your morning in your beautiful York County home near the state line of Charlotte (Catawba, SC) and as the sweet smells of breakfast bless the air your senses are all of a sudden hit with the curses of the New Indy paper mill. As topics such as climate control, environmental racism and ozone layer depletion lead the news headlines there is a direct war going on between the residents of York County and the evils of big business paper production. Highlighting the urgency of this matter U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican whose 5th District includes York County, recently contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a recent letter and noted that the agency should focus on expediting enforcement action against the New Indy paper mill.

The EPA took proactive action against the New Indy paper mill at the end of 2021, proposing a 1.1 million dollar fine and telling the controversial paper mill to clean up its business after years of citizen complaints about foul odors, pollution, and toxic air quality. Unfortunately, the enforcement injunction must be approved by a federal judge, and that has not come to fruition yet because the EPA has not provided all the data and paperwork necessary for the judge to sign off on the deal legally, say attorneys representing residents involved closely in the matter. According to locals impacted by this environmental disaster, the delays have slowed a state environmental case in South Carolina, in addition to distracting from a permanent solution to the odor pollution problem. Let’s take a look at a few steps needed to be taken to alleviate these residents from this environmental pain.

Step 1 To Healing From The New Indy Paper Mill Environmental Pain: Project Staffing

In U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman letter to the EPA, he asked the government agency to increase the number of employees dedicated to the environmental project tasked with reviewing over 600 public comments and complaints. The volume of the comments has contributed to a delay in fixing the problems and their messages must be heard sooner rather than later. It’s a shame to see that there are so many concerns the EPA is not even able to keep up with the amount of worried tax-paying citizens.

Step 2 To Healing From The New Indy Paper Mill Environmental Pain: Court Recommendation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed legal action can’t be enforced until the environmental agency and the U.S. Justice Department review the comments and decide what to tell the court. The agencies could ask the U.S. court system to toughen the enforcement order, keep it as proposed, recommend dropping it, or provide an alternative solution to the problem. Without a more formal directive for the more than 60-year-old paper mill that has employed thousands of people, there is no resolution in sight for the local communities reeling from the negative impact of this business.

As complaints of smells so strong, they sometimes cause nausea, headaches, and illnesses from York County residents pile in there are no immediate plans to offer relief to this struggling community. While it is no secret the government can be slow to act in regards to environmental injustices with over 30,000 complaints from residents upset about the New Indy paper mill pouring in since early 2021 there is no denying that the environmental pain being caused by this paper production plant must stop. With the promise of The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control being able to enforce its legal action once the EPA finalizes its federal case we all should be demanding an immediate decision on the current outstanding case. As kids dream of playing safely outside, adults yearn to exercise outdoors and neighbors wish to enjoy each other’s company in a healthy environment free of Dioxin (conduit of cancer), hydrogen sulfide (foul-smelling and sensory debilitating), and methyl mercaptan (skin and eye irritant) we all should begin to think about systems we can incorporate into our own lives that will reduce paper waste and in turn lessen environmental pain. Have you considered taking a more paperless and digital approach to your business or company yet?