Pigeon River paper mill pollution fight postponed

<Blue Ridge Paper Products in Canton, North Carolina, announced Monday that it has reached a partial agreement with several environmental groups regarding the temperature of wastewater it dumps in the Pigeon River.The agreement also postpones what many in East Tennessee say is the real fight with the paper mill: how the plant changes the color of the river.The Southern Environmental Law Center <a target="_blank" href="http://www.southernenvironment.org/newsroom/press_releases/groups_reach_agreement_in_canton_paper_mill_controversy/"><strong>issued a release Monday saying the partial agreement will postpone litigation</strong></a><strong></strong> over the latest permit issued to the paper mill until January 2013. That postponement will allow scientists time to conduct a new study of color pollution levels."Inside North Carolina, the paper company always gets what it wants," said Gay Webb, a Cocke County resident and longtime activist who serves on the county's River Advisory Group. "It is a sham, really. They are violating Tennessee Laws. They're violating 1972 Clean Water Act."The paper mill has operated under several names throughout the last century. Much of its dispute with East Tennesseans took place when the company was known as Champion Paper. For decades, the company's cloud of pollution prevented fishing or recreation downstream in nearby Cocke County, Tennessee. In the 1990s the plant reduced pollution levels and the river has improved drastically. Today white water rafting is a thriving industry in Cocke County.Although the river has improved, environmental groups say permits issuedto Blue Ridge Paper Products still allow the company to violatestandards set under the 1972 Clean Water Act. "Anything entering Tennessee of objectionable color or odor is a violation of the law," said Webb. "The paper company has cost this county an untold amount of money. If they would keep the water as clean as it enters their facility, this would be the most pristine and crystal clear rivers east of the Mississippi River. We would have three or four times as much business as we do now. Almost all of the water that flows into the river comes from state and national parks and is not polluted. The pollution all comes from the paper mill.""They are just like a bad neighbor that has a rat-infested facility beside where youlive," said Cocke County Mayor Vaughn Moore. "Because they can get away with it, they get by with it. But it isnot being a good neighbor."Moore said the river is much better than the deplorable conditions observed in the 1990s. Yet, Moore said the company should increase its efforts to ensure the pigment of the Pigeon River does not change with each wave of wastewater."North Carolina continues to give a North Carolina company permission to pollute in Tennessee. If this river flowed downstream into Charlotte, North Carolina, you can bet they would have to meet standards set by the Clean Water Act," said Moore.Mike Cohen handles public relations for Blue Ridge Paper Products. Cohen says the company has become one of the cleanest in the world in order to drastically improve the condition of the Pigeon River over the last 20 years."We thought it [the May 2010 permit issued by North Carolina] was a good permit to begin with. Each permit has been tougher than the one before," said Cohen. "We were glad to make this agreement regarding water temperatures and we will continue to make sure the Pigeon River continues to improve. I think the fastestgrowing industry in Cocke County is rafting, so clearly the river hasmade huge progress. Every day it is a greater asset to CockeCounty."While the Southern Environmental Law Center has agreed to postpone litigation and allow Blue Ridge to operate under the 2010 permit, other lawsuits remain in the cue. In October a class action lawsuit by around 300 land-owners along the Pigeon River in Cocke County will go to trial.<