Paper mill with troubled past fined again for violating pollution rules in SC
A South Carolina paper mill has been fined again for failing to follow environment rules, this time for releasing a pollutant that can irritate people’s lungs and contribute to smog.
State regulators recently levied a $7,000 penalty against New Indy Catawba LLC for not meeting sulfur dioxide standards, as well as failing to document and submit certain information to the state. The problems occurred in 2024, but the S.C. Department of Environmental Services did not issue the fine until this fall.
Overall, New Indy has been fined more than $1 million since 2021.
According to enforcement records, the sulfur dioxide problems were found when the company conducted a pollution test on plant equipment. Elevated sulfur dioxide pollution levels showed up during the test. When the company tested again, the pollution was within safe limits, according to a Sept. 8 Environmental Services Department enforcement order.
The enforcement documents also show that New Indy did not submit certain plans in a timely manner and that it could not locate records that would verify whether required semiannual inspections took place.
Sulfur dioxide is a pollutant associated with combustion and from making paper. Exposure can cause irritation to the nose, eyes, throat and lungs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sulfur dioxide also can contribute to smog.
New Indy’ latest fine follows several years of unrest in communities near Charlotte and Rock Hill, where many people complained of powerful odors that sometimes made them feel ill. At one point, the state’s environmental agency had received nearly 50,000 odor complaints from area residents.
The odors soaked the community after New Indy acquired the mill and changed some of the manufacturing processes, as it maintained full production. Key pollution control equipment was not used, as it had been, according to records obtained by The State in 2022. And odors rose to levels that many people said were worse than what is normally found at a paper mill.
As a result of New Indy’s troubles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the then-S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control collectively fined the company $1.2 million.
In addition, the New Indy plant releases more mercury into the air than any other major paper plant in the country, according to a report last spring.
Separately, the company and residents — who had sued New Indy — agreed to settle the case for $103 million in 2024, with part of the money going to residents affected by odors and part to plant improvements.
New Indy has since worked to make improvements and some of the odor complaints have subsided.
Officials with New Indy were not available for an interview, but in an email Wednesday , the company said an operational problem caused the sulfur dioxide to be released at levels exceeding government limits. This happened during an initial test at the plant but was resolved on follow-up testing, according to New Indy and the SC environmental department. The other violations were documentation problems that have been fixed, the email said.
“The mill does not have any outstanding environmental issues,’’ the email said.
But the recent enforcement action and fine have put the spotlight on the plant again, and not in a good way, one critic said.
Betty Rankin, a York County resident, said she’s glad the state agency flagged New Indy for the environmental violation, but said the $7,000 fine is a paltry amount for a huge national company. Rankin, 80, said she still picks up odors from the plant and has health problems.
“The only thing they understand is that bottom line and $7,000 is nothing to them,’’ Rankin said.
State fines are often based on the severity of a violation. South Carolina’s environmental agency has previously fined New Indy $129,000 for environmental violations, separate from the $1 million the EPA , levied.
The Department of Environmental Services and New Indy said the health threat to the public was minimal.
‘’We don’t believe there was risk of any impacts to the public.,’’ spokeswoman Laura Renwick said in an email. “The facility shut down the recovery furnace once it discovered the violation, and when the furnace was retested the next day, it was well below the limit. ‘’
The New Indy plant is a nearly 60-year-old mill operated for years by Bowater. It is in the Catawba community of York County south of Charlotte and near Rock Hill. About 400 people are employed at the mill. The New Indy company is partially owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Paper mill with troubled past fined again for violating pollution rules in SC."
