LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reached two settlement agreements with the current and past owners of a paper mill in White Pigeon.
The settlements allow funding to be used for response activities to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) released into the environment, and requires action to address sources of past and ongoing releases of PFAS into the White Pigeon River, according to a release.
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Nessel filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph County paper companies Ox Paperboard WP, LLC and White Pigeon Mills, LLC (collectively Ox Paperboard) in Oct. 2024 after violations of environmental laws, according to her office.
Under the settlement, Ox Paperboard must address the following contamination sources at the mill by:
- Properly closing a former wastewater lagoon on the property that allowed contamination to seep into the groundwater
- Conducting an engineering evaluation of its wastewater treatment system
- Addressing PFAS in stormwater on the property
- Preventing any unauthorized discharges to surface waters or groundwater
Ox Paperboard will also pay $95,200 in civil penalties, and will pay EGLE’s past costs and attorney fees.
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Another settlement was reached in April 2025 with Artistic Carton, now known as Grove 1935, the mill’s former owner from 1979 to 2019…