Timeline: The latest on the awful smell along the N.C./S.C. line
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A map of every report S.C. has received of a smell in the area. Image: South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control
The notorious stench still lingers around the New Indy paper mill, but as of this week, the mill has shared its draft on how to reduce emissions and control the stank.
- ICYMI: The EPA filed an emergency order for New Indy to address concerns on Thursday. A final plan is due by May 24.
Located along the Catawba River in South Carolina, the New Indy Containerboard plant is about seven miles from the N.C. line. The root of the smell is believed to be the plant’s recent switch from producing bleached white paper to cardboard.
Why it matters: If you smelled it, you’d know. It’s an unmistakable blend of sewage and rotten eggs, caused by what environmental investigators say is an increased level of hydrogen sulfide emissions.
- On this Facebook page, concerned residents share complaints of nose bleeds, sore throats, migraines and other symptoms they say are caused by the smell.
- “This is no way to live,” one person wrote.
A quick timeline:
January: Residents begin noticing a foul smell in Lancaster, Union and York counties.
March 12: South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control creates an online form for residents to report the smell. The site has received over 13,000 complaints in the weeks since. (WBTV)
March 27: Locals create a Facebook group to discuss and document their experiences.
April 9: A preliminary investigation by S.C. officials narrows in on the New Indy paper mill as the source and identifies hydrogen sulfide as the likely cause. (WFAE)
April 16: New Indy says nope, not us.
April 24: The EPA gets involved. The team hasn’t shared findings yet.
May 4: The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation responded with concern over reports of foam forming atop local waterways near New Indy. (WCNC)
May 7: After 17,135 people formally complained about the smell, South Carolina’s department of health and environment control ordered the New-Indy Containerboard factory to decrease emissions of a “noxious air contaminant” by the middle of the month. (AP)
May 13: The EPA files an emergency order for New Indy to lower its emissions and fix the smell. A final plan is due May 24.
May 17: South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control shares New Indy’s draft plan with the public. The department will also share New Indy’s mandated weekly reports. (WCNC)
Today: The smell persists.
This article was last updated on May 18, 2021
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