Haywood Waterways creates jobs to clean up Helene litter
After Tropical Storm Fred moved through Western North Carolina in 2021, litter cleanup throughout the East Fork and downstream along the Pigeon River was an unfunded effort, leaving local responsibility on the backs of property owners, volunteers and programs like Adopt-a-Stream.
Canton paper mill environmental report released: Findings offer few surprises
Almost a year after its internal publication, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has made public a report detailing the results of comprehensive ground and surface water sampling required at and around the site on which the now shut-down Pactiv Evergreen papermill sits.
DEQ provides funding for projects to reduce flood risks in North Carolina communities
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint is working with the North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) to implement flood reduction and floodplain protection projects. DEQ is allocating over $9 million to 15 NCLWF projects that will provide an estimated 465 acre-feet of flood water retention, or 152 million gallons, during flood events.
Developer still pursuing Pactiv parcel despite Helene damage
Hurricane Helene has dealt serious damage to Pactiv Evergreen’s shuttered Canton paper mill, but the St. Louis-based demolition and development company owner trying to buy the 185-acre parcel remains undeterred.
Snorkeling event offers river education opportunity
On Aug. 3, join Haywood Waterways Association on the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail to discover the fish and other wildlife that call the Pigeon River home.
Join HWA for a West Fork workshop
Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Community College invites the public to discover the amazing aquatic life living in the West Fork Pigeon River on July 19.
Canton mill parcel rezoned
A rezoning of the former paper mill parcel in Canton has replaced an expiring industrial development moratorium, maintaining the town’s limited control of the site despite the possibility of an impending sale to a developer with unknown intentions.
All lanes of I-40 in Pigeon River Gorge now open
Contract crews for the N.C. Department of Transportation have completed major operations at two locations of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, allowing all four lanes to open Tuesday for the summer travel season.
How the sale of Canton’s mill site may impact EPA efforts
In the hours following the announcement that Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill property in Canton may have a new owner in the coming months, news came and fast and furious.
Bringing in the feds: EPA agreement mandates elements of Canton mill cleanup
Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the shuttered papermill in Canton, has been working to clean up two separate seeps leaking toxic substances into the Pigeon River under an administrative order of consent (AOC) with the Environmental Protection Agency.
