A recent decision by a North Caroline administrative law judge has denied Evergreen Packaging’s attempt to dismiss the case filed by Cocke County, Tenn., and seven Tennessee and North Carolina based groups against the wastewater permit for its Canton pulp and paper mill.

In addition to challenging the water discharge permit, the Southern Environmental Law Center also filed a challenge to a separate document, the mill’s color “variance.” The variance, say the environmental groups, has allowed the facility to continue to exceed the state’s narrative standard for dark color in the Pigeon River since the 1980s.

The ruling means that the case will now move forward. Clean Water Expected in Tennessee, Clean Water for North Carolina, Cocke County, Tenn., Tennessee Conservation Voters, Tennessee Scenic Rivers, Tennessee Chapter of Sierra Club and the Western North Carolina Alliance are represented by attorneys from the Southern Environmental Law Center in the case filed in July.