South Carolina Paper Mill Pollutes Local Area, Causes Rotten Egg Smell All for Profits, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

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A former South Carolina paper mill that has been converted into a virgin containerboard producer by New-Indy Containerboard pollutes neighboring properties with noxious and harmful hydrogen sulfide emissions, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit was filed in South Carolina on May 18 by lead Plaintiff Kenny White, who alleges that the company is breaking the law by sending all “foul condensate” to open-air lagoons rather than an incinerator, as the former owner did. According to the claim, those living or working within a 30-mile radius of the mill are afflicted by a strong, foul odor characteristic of hydrogen sulfide — comparable to rotten eggs.

The claim says that hundreds of residents have complained of nausea, headaches, migraines, nose or throat irritation, eye irritation, coughing, difficulty breathing, asthma “flare ups,” and dizziness caused by the odor.

It adds that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control received more than 17,000 complaints from residents about the smell when it set up an online database. By comparison, in all of 2020, DHEC received approximately five complaints about the facility, the claim states.

Following a three-month investigation, the agency told New-Indy to reduce its emissions. Then in May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order under the Clean Air Act, also ordering New-Indy to take actions to remedy the unlawful air pollution released from the mill. 

 In the order, EPA stated that an emergency order was needed because New-Indy’s actions were so harmful to public health and welfare that it was “not practicable to wait for the commencement of a civil action in the United States District Court,” the claim states.

Residents have also documented on DHEC’s online database a wide range of impacts to quality of life, personal comfort, and wellbeing. This includes hundreds of complaints of lost sleep, a desire to stay indoors to avoid odors, and stress and anxiety. 

“Specific quality of life impacts include: ‘It [the odor] is preventing our ability to enjoy our home and community,’ ‘We basically cannot enjoy our life,’ and ‘We are prisoners in our own smelly home’,” the claim says.

“There’s times when I just want to come home and walk my dog and I can’t walk the dog because I can’t breathe it, it irritates my lungs because the stench is so strong and sometimes it will just make me choke,” Lancaster resident Michelle Stein told WCNC Charlotte.

The company said it was reviewing both orders and intended to comply with both in good faith as soon as it was reasonably and safely able. New Indy’s corporate owners include Robert Kraft of the NFL New England Patriots, and Schwarz Partners.

White wants to represent anyone who had any beneficial interest in property within 30 miles of the mill. He is suing for violations of the Clean Air Act and seeks certification of the Class, damages, interest, legal fees, and a jury trial.

Last month, a Delaware chicken farm agreed to pay $205 million to settle claims that its poultry processing plant contaminated air and the groundwater around it, including leaching chicken parts into neighboring properties. The original claims filed in 2018 alleged  Mountaire Corp. plant and other subsidiaries generate more than 2 million gallons of sludge and wastewater each day, which contains blood, fecal matter, feathers, animal fat, and other contaminants — then allegedly enters the plaintiffs’ properties.

The lawsuit also said the company was spraying wastewater with elevated levels of nitrogen, and that air and water pollution caused health problems, and brought property prices down.

Have you ever lived near a facility that was letting off a foul smell? Let us know in the comments section!

White is represented by Richard A. Harpootlian, Christopher P. Kenney, and Phillip D. Barber of Richard A. Harpootlian P.A. and Gary V. Mauney of Mauney PLLC. The New-Indy Pollution Class ActionLawsuit is White v. New-Indy Catawba LLC, Case No. 0:21-cv-01480-SAL in the United States District Court District of South Carolina Rock Hill Division.

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