JESUP, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Altamaha Riverkeeper (ARK) today filed suit against Rayonier Inc. and Rayonier Performance Fibers LLC ("Rayonier"), charging that the discharge into the Altamaha River from the company's Jesup-based pulp mill is violating clean water standards. The lawsuit alleges that dark and foul-smelling effluent is discharged at rates of up to 60 million gallons per day and renders fish inedible for many miles downstream. The view on Google Earth shows the color of the river changing from green upstream of the plant to brown for miles after passing the Rayonier wastewater discharge area.
The Clean Water Act empowers citizens to file suits when regulators are either unable to or refuse to step in to stop pollution problems.
Despite efforts to address the effluent issues with Rayonier and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), little progress has been made to clean up the river.
Said new ARK CEO & Riverkeeper Brian Lucy, "We are disappointed that we had to pursue litigation, but we are committed to protecting this vital river. We remain hopeful that this problem can be resolved outside of court, but we are prepared, if necessary, to see this through."
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, seeks an injunction from the court to stop the illegal discharge and penalties for Rayonier's ongoing violations.
Rayonier reports that its Jesup, Ga. and Fernandina, Fla. mills produce approximately 670,000 metric tons of cellulose absorbent materials per year, which are used in a variety of products. Nearly two-thirds of the current annual output is used for cigarette filters, according to Rayonier disclosures. The waste output from the manufacturing process is substantial. Most competitors to Rayonier have either installed, or are in the process of installing, Activated Sludge Treatment (AST) technology to treat their waste. Independent experts agree that AST and other pulp mill systems can reduce pollutants and color to approximately half the concentration of the archaic Aerated Stabilization Basins (ASB) systems that the Jesup facility currently employs.
"Despite repeated efforts to find a suitable resolution with Rayonier, our only option is to push for stronger pollution controls through the court system," said GreenLaw attorney, Hutton Brown.
"Georgians have asked Rayonier to clean up its pollution of the Altamaha River for years and it has failed to do so," said Nate Hunt with Southern Environmental Law Center. "We intend to get a federal court to require Rayonier to immediately stop polluting and restore the quality of this great river for the communities who enjoy it."
"Communities throughout Georgia are coming to the realization that you do not have to trade jobs for a clean environment. It is our hope that someday soon Rayonier will also come to this realization, " said Don Stack of Stack & Associates, one of the team of attorneys retained by ARK to bring Rayonier into compliance.
ARK is represented in this lawsuit by GreenLaw, Stack & Associates and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
People interested in following the issue can track it through Twitter via the hashtag#dobetterray or visit the Facebook page Do Better Rayonier.http://www.facebook.com/dobetterrayonier
