US Rep. Ralph Norman releases statement on ongoing trouble at New-Indy paper mill
United States Congressman Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC-5) has released a statement reacting to an ongoing factory odor crisis in York County, South Carolina.
Since February 2021, the state has received complaints of foul odors coming from the New-Indy Catawba LLC paper mill in Catawba, SC. The area is part of Norman’s district.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a consent decree that will force New-Indy to implement changes to curb emissions. Representatives from New-Indy say the mill will follow the instructions in the current version of the decree and have already started to make changes.
Last month, the EPA held a town hall meeting that brought out emotional testimony from residents in North and the South Carolina. During public comment, speakers who live as far as 30 miles from the plant tearfully talked about living near the plant and asked the EPA to make the consent decree stricter and more expansive.
Norman attended the meeting.
During her testimony, one woman said: “We asked our government, people that we have elected, to help us in the community, and they’re not protecting us from this one thing we are asking of them.
Norman weighs in
About a week after the Jan. 25 meeting, Norman released the following statement on his blog:
“Last week, I was pleased to meet personally with the Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I also was present at the EPA’s public hearing on January 25th, and had another in-person tour of the New Indy facility this past Friday.
It’s important to understand the EPA is primarily focused on the safety of emissions. With that said, I certainly understand that the odors from this facility have had a significant impact on those who live in proximity to, or downwind from, the New Indy facility, even if those odors have reached safety standards from a scientific and health standpoint. We cannot understate the impact of these odors.
I am grateful that the Regional Administrator and his team at the EPA, along with health officials from the Southeastern Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit took the time to brief our community last Tuesday. I want to thank all the citizens who participated in this hearing and made their voices heard.
With respect to the proposed consent decree order, I understand some may feel this order would not go far enough to hold New Indy accountable. However, I believe most can agree this is one step in the right direction, and indicates a public desire of New Indy to remedy this situation.
While the odor does persist during certain environmental conditions – particularly for those downwind of the plant – offsite monitors have fortunately shown emissions have been within normal limits for health-based standards since September.
I will continue to urge New Indy to act in good faith and comply with the actions set by the final order(s), as well as urge full transparency by the EPA. My expectation moving forward is responsible corporate stewardship. Every business should have the opportunity to succeed. However, action is required whenever any business’ activities have such a negative impact on the quality of life of those who live nearby.
As your representative in Congress, I will continue to stay heavily involved in this issue.”
Getting involved
The proposed EPA consent order can be read online at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Before the order is passed, the EPA will take public comment until Feb. 9.
If you would like to comment on the proposed consent agreement, you can either contact the EPA or the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division. To contact the Assistant Attorney general, you can email your comments to pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov or submit comments via mail to: Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ—ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611. To contact the EPA, you can go to www.epa.gov/aboutepa/forms/contact-epa.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 7:57 AM.
