City Manager McCartt addresses Domtar odor

"All of our conversations, all of the information [Domtar] provided, research we've done, nothing said ever that there was going to be an odor like what we've been smelling."That's what City Manager Chris McCartt said about a phone call he made to the company in the early days of odor downtown after the Domtar paper mill went from manufacturing sheet paper to recycling containerboard in 2023.When the mill restarted with a recycling process, the odor prompted McCartt to call the mill manager at the time and ask if there were problems. And if there were problems, what was being done to solve them?"What has made this path easy, is that immediately upon my phone call to Domtar, they raised their hand and said, 'yes, it is us,'" McCartt said.The path for any community in Tennessee that wants to address odor will likely pass through local government — the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal environmental regulatory agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the state regulatory agency, do not regulate odor.Each agency regulates air pollutants that can cause odor, but they do not regulate odor itself."Although environmental odors are not nationally regulated in the United States, many cities and local governments have established nuisance odor regulations," reads an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry webpage about environmental odors.Kingsport's current city code regulates nuisances, and establishes what constitutes a nuisance. That includes odor:"Creating or causing disagreeable or obnoxious odors and stenches, as well as causing or maintaining the conditions, substances or other causes which give rise to the emission or generation of such odors and stenches."When a property violates city code, McCartt said Kingsport historically asks the owner first if they will take steps to be in compliance and fix the violation. That's a practice the city still uses today."With Domtar, they demonstrated from day one and have repeated to demonstrate their efforts to voluntarily comply, and that was a big deal for us," said McCartt. "Had they not demonstrated that, then yes, we would have sought the enforcement of the code.""[It's] taking longer than what anybody would anticipate, absolutely, and [Domtar would] probably be the first to tell you that. But yes, definitely working towards voluntary compliance."In December 2024, Domtar secured funding to build its long-term solution for the odor, an anaerobic digester. The digester will provide a new system for the mill to treat its wastewater. They broke ground on the project in August and expect to finish it by the fall of next year.In the meantime, the mill is trying other treatment methods to mitigate wastewater odor.Over the last two years, McCartt said city employees and others have personally noted when odor was present and relayed that information to Domtar."We felt a responsibility to provide them with that. They may have been collecting that data on their own, but again, I felt it was a responsibility for us, on behalf of the citizens, to say we smell it," McCartt said.Domtar has since launched a website with a feedback form where residents can submit odor complaints.In the last two years, residents have filed odor complaints to TDEC, posted on Facebook, written to the Times News and contacted city employees and officials. They've also submitted complaints through the online city form ConnectKingsport.McCartt said the city evaluates all complaints sent to the ConnectKingsport system. If an evaluation is made with no issues, and they suspect the odor is Domtar-related, they ask the individuals they may come in contact with regarding the complaint to share that information in Domtar's feedback form.McCartt said he and Kingsport Economic Development Board Chair Craig Denison have worked together to workshop how Domtar can communicate with the city and community about the odor."We were the ones behind saying 'You need to start coming to the [KEDB] meetings and making regular presentations about what is going on,'" he said.The KEDB is appointed by the city's Board of Mayor and Alderman. The board serves as an entity to help manage local economic development.Through requests from the city and the KEDB, Domtar started giving updates on its odor mitigation efforts at the board's monthly meetings in July 2024.At those meetings, Domtar has shared that hot, humid weather exacerbates the severity of the odor, meaning residents may have some reprieve over the next few months.But one more summer remains before Domtar is expected to finish construction on the anaerobic digester."We're going to be leaning in hard in our questions and asking that they demonstrate at the Economic Development Board the things they are doing in anticipation of the spring and the turnover of the [wastewater] lagoon," said McCartt.He met with other city managers across the state in September. In the role of city manager, he believes Domtar is a "willing and strong partner" with the city, who he's been able to have "direct and demanding" conversations with."That to me, is big, because I know other managers in other cities across the country that do not have the relationships that we have, with their industry," he said.McCartt described the working relationship, where he can pick up the phone instead of calling a press conference when there's an issue, "refreshing.""I have the ability to walk right over and knock on the front door and say, 'You got a problem. What are we going to do to fix it?" he said.Domtar's next KEDB presentation is scheduled for January's meeting at the Kingsport Chamber.This is part of a reporting series about odor in Kingsport after the Domtar mill conversion from manufacturing paper to recycling containerboard. To see the rest of the reporting, go to the "Environment" tab at timesnews.net.Jorgelina Manna-Rea is an environmental reporter at Six Rivers Media through Report for America.More InformationKingsport city code didn't always directly address odor. In the indices of Kingsport's 1939 code of ordinances, the words "odor," "pollution," "industry" and "manufacturing" are not included. In 1966, the updated code of ordinances established a department of air pollution control, which also addresses nuisances. The Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation was established in 1991. Another thirty years later in 1998, air pollution and nuisance are still mentioned in the code but without a department. Between 1966 and 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation were established.