A retired marine biologist has filed a legal challenge against a Cantonment paper mill owner and the state Department of Environmental Protection over a consent order she says is insufficient to protect Perdido Bay against industrial pollution.
Jacqueline M. Lane brought the challenge against International Paper’s mill last summer and on Nov. 8 called on Administrative Law Judge E. Gary Early to dismiss the consent order. The Florida DEP issued that order this year to address continuing toxicity issues associated with wastewater that flows from the mill.
The industrial pollution from the facility does more than affect Ceriodaphnia dubia, a species of water flea that has been the focus of the legal proceedings, Lane said in an amended petition challenging the consent order. It also harms many other life forms in Perdido Bay along the Florida Panhandle, the petition states.
“This is harming my use and enjoyment of my waterfront property,” Lane said in the document. “It has caused the animals which I study to disappear. I do not swim because the pH is so high, it causes my skin to sting...In addition there may be unknown chemicals, usually found in the papermill sludges, flowing into the bay.”
A spokeswoman for International Paper declined to comment specifically on issues mentioned in the administrative challenge, but she did provide the company’s position on dealing with such environmental issues.
“International Paper is committed to protecting the environment as healthy, sustainable watersheds are essential to our community and our business,” Whitney Fike told the Florida Record in an email.
The Florida DEP maintains that the consent order worked out by the department and International Paper represents a reasonable way for the DEP to carry out its discretionary authority to reduce the level of toxicity in the mill’s effluent, according to a joint pre-hearing stipulation.
“The consent order reasonably and effectively establishes the reasons and resolutions for the exceedances, following science-based proposals supported by the department’s industry-leading experts along with technical experts retained by IP,” the pre-hearing stipulation says.
Specifically, the consent order would require toxicity studies on the treated effluent’s effects on the bay’s biology in the future, according to the court records. If those studies show elevated toxicity is not due to salinity of the mill’s effluent, then the department would examine the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s reclaimed water as a possible cause.
A 2010 permit required corrective actions to the mill’s discharges, but full compliance has yet to be achieved, according to DEP’s website.