The Altamaha Riverkeeper (ARK) intends to file suit against Rayonier for violations of the Federal Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act. The violations relate to ongoing effluent discharges into the Altamaha River from the Rayonier Performance Fibers plant located in Jesup, Georgia.
"They have just spent several hundred million dollars to update their mill, but they continue to discharge dark, chemical-laden water into the Altamaha," said Deborah Sheppard, executive director of ARK. "While most paper companies cleaned up their effluent discharges and modernized their water treatment processes, Rayonier continues to use 1970s technology in its effluent treatment. Water sampling and plenty of visual evidence show it isn't working."
Rayonier has been discharging polluted water into the Altamaha for decades, Sheppard said. ARK alleges this is in persistent violation of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, specifically Georgia's narrative water quality standards for color, turbidity and odor.
"Rayonier needs to comply with the law and stop treating Georgia's largest river as its private sewer," said Hutton Brown, a senior attorney with GreenLaw, which is representing ARK. "We believe the court will agree."
