ND Paper Faces Class Action Over ‘Noxious Odors’ Coming from Old Town, Maine Paper Pulp Mill

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A proposed class action claims that “noxious odors” emanating from Old Town, Maine’s ND Paper facility have negatively impacted roughly 5,900 nearby private residences.

The 15-page case alleges a “harsh rotten-egg” smell originating from the paper pulp manufacturing mill has invaded nearby private properties on “frequent, recurrent, and intermittent occasions too numerous to list individually.”

Per the complaint, more than 120 neighboring residents have contacted the plaintiff’s counsel to report that the offensive odor emissions have interfered with their ability “to use and enjoy their homes and property.” According to one resident’s account, the odor is so strong that they can no longer open the windows or go for walks. Another citizen stated that the smell makes having guests over “embarrassing,” the suit relays.

The lawsuit contends that ND Paper, who bought the Old Town paper pulp mill in 2018 and resumed operations after the facility had been idle since 2015, is liable for the “objectionable” odor due to its failure to adequately maintain its facilities.

ND Paper’s pulp production process, which involves breaking down wood chips into wood pulp using heat, chemical treatment and water, creates as a byproduct a waste sludge that gets treated in an aerated lagoon, the case relays. Per the suit, the “rotten egg” smell comes from the chemicals used to break down wood fibers, a process that produces gas emissions in the form of total rotten egg-smelling total reduced sulfur and sulfur dioxide.

“If the lagoon is not properly maintained,” the complaint explains, “the waste sludge can produce noxious odor emissions.”

The filing states that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Non-Compliance Board has received a high volume of complaints from community members concerning the odor diffusing from the facility. The DEP Bureau of Air Quality has also received at least 50 similar complaints since 2020, the suit asserts. ND Paper now has a link on its website for submitting grievances due to the influx of complaints received by the DEP.

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