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Attorneys file lawsuit claiming New-Indy is releasing toxins in Catawba River

Attorneys who claimed that New-Indy Containerboard was releasing toxins into the Catawba River filed a lawsuit Monday.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court claims the company in Catawba is releasing dangerous chemicals called dioxins into the Catawba River.

Attorneys for residents in the area first made that claim in October 2022 in a letter sent to New-Indy Containerboard and South Carolina health officials.

At that time, a statement from New-Indy Containerboard said recent groundwater monitoring found no hazardous levels of dioxin on mill property.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said extensive data showed no indication of the release of dioxins into the Catawba River

New-Indy shared the following statement with Channel 9 in response to the lawsuit:

“Upon acquiring the property in 2018, the company did its own assessment and voluntarily agreed with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to locate, monitor and contain dioxins produced by previous owners. Since then, New-Indy’s substantial efforts to ensure that no dioxins migrate from its property have been affirmed by DHEC and its own environmental studies.

“The company maintains that accusations by the attorneys who filed the case are baseless and misleading, intended more to draw additional plaintiffs than serving the public good.”


VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes: New-Indy paper mill shows how it reduces foul order at state line