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CITIZEN-TIMES
Official:
Mill can’t
meet EPA
standard
State, feds at odds
on Canton plant
By Nanci Bompey
NBOMPEY@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
CANTON — Evergreen Packag-
ing’s paper mill cannot meet col-
or limits proposed by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency, according to the state
official who wrote the mill’s
wastewater discharge permit.
The cost of installing tech-
nology at the Canton mill to
meet color limits proposed by
the EPA would be cost-prohibi-
tive, said the official, Sergei
Chernikov of the state Division
of Water Quality.
“The mill cannot meet what
the EPA interprets to be the stan-
dard,” he said. “Technologically,
it’s possible. Anything is pos-
sible, but the cost would be as-
tronomical. It is not feasible.”
The color limit is one of sev-
eral objections raised in a letter
sent to the state Monday in re-
sponse to the draft wastewater
discharge permit for the mill.
Such objections are rare: The
regional office of the EPA in At-
lanta reviews several hundred
wastewater discharge permits
each year and typically objects
to fewer than five, an official
there said.
The mill’s color output, or the
amount of effluent pumped into
the Pigeon River that results in
darker color, has been a sticking
point between federal officials,
the state agency and environ-
mental groups for decades.
Pollution controls installed
by the mill following demands
for a cleanup from environmen-
talists and regulators have re-
sulted in a river that supports a
variety of aquatic life and a
thriving rafting industry in Ten-
nessee.
But the Pigeon remains tea-
colored. Environmental advo-
cates believe standards aren’t
strict enough to protect water
quality.
The mill, along with local
leaders, claims stronger stan-
dards would cost the company
too much money.
There is no national standard
for color, leaving the decision on
the color limit up to individual
states. North Carolina has gen-
erally viewed color as an aes-
thetic issue.
“If there was a standard, there
would be no discussion,” Cher-
nikov said.
EPA’s objections
The agency doesn’t believe
the color limits in the draft
Please see MILL on A5
WEB EXTRA
Visit CITIZEN-TIMES.com to read
EPA’s letter to the N.C. Division of
Water Quality.
Forecast
A GANNETT NEWSPAPER | VOL. 141 |
NO. 57 | 36 pages | © 2010
QUESTIONS ABOUT CIRCULATION?
Call (800) 672-2472
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ASHEVILLE
VOICE OF THE MOUNTAINS • CITIZEN-TIMES.com
Friday
February 26, 2010
No accord
at health
summit
President: ‘I am not sure
we can bridge the gap’
By Charles Babington
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Giving no ground, President
Barack Obama and Republican leaders fought
forcefully for their competing visions of histor-
ic health care reform Thursday in an exhaust-
ing, often-testy live-on-TV debate.
Far from any accord, Obama signaled the
Democrats were prepared to push ahead for an
all-or-nothing congressional vote.
The marathon, 7 1/2-hour session did reveal
narrow areas of agreement on the topic that has
vexed Congress for months and defied U.S.
leaders for decades.
But larger ideological differences over-
whelmed any common ideas, all but cementing
the widely held view that a meaningful biparti-
san health care bill is not possible as time grows
short in this election year.
Obama rejected Republican preferences for
starting over, discussing the issue much longer
or dealing with it in a limited, step-by-step
fashion. “We cannot have another yearlong de-
bate about this,” Obama declared. “I’m not sure
we can bridge the gap.”
Please see DEBATE on A4
INSIDE
■ Politics and stagecraft trump policy. Page A3
BILL SANDERS/WSANDERS@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM ■ Summit lost TV’s interest. Page A3
Kimberly Dorlan, left, Sam Jones and Lindsey Briscoe, culinary students at Asheville-Bun-
combe Technical Community College, prepare lunch for a group meeting at the school Thurs-
day. Chef Robert Werth, founder of the culinary program at A-B Tech, died Monday.
Culinary program
founder left legacy
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP
A-B Tech’s Robert Werth dies at 80 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, left, walks past
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
By Carol Motsinger in such fine hotels as the Plaza and the
Waldorf Astoria in New York and the
House OKs
CMOTSINGER@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
ASHEVILLE — Food wasn’t just Robert Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.
Werth’s passion. It was his identity. In 1968, A-B Tech hired Werth, then
extension of
Those who knew him best called him in New York, to create the culinary cur-
“Chef Werth” or simply, “Chef.” riculum, the first such program in
It was a title of respect he earned North Carolina. It was intended to ad-
through countless hours teaching dress the lack of trained personnel to
Patriot Act
generations of chefs in the work in Western North Caro-
culinary program he found- lina’s tourism industry.
ed at the Asheville-Bun- Werth helped design and
combe Technical Communi- teach the seven-quarter pro-
ty College. gram, which in its first year By Larry Margasak
A service for Werth, 80, is taught four students, two of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
planned for Saturday at St. whom graduated. During the WASHINGTON — Key provisions of the nation’s
Eugene’s Roman Catholic 26 years he taught at the col- primary counterterrorism law would be ex-
Church. He died Monday at lege, around 120 students tended for a year under a bill passed by the
Grace Health Care in Ashe- graduated from the culinary House Thursday evening after Democrats re-
ville, after more than 40 program. Seventy-four stu- treated from adding new privacy protections.
years helping to create and dents are enrolled in the culi- The House voted 315 to 97 to extend the USA
shape Asheville’s now-cele- nary program, with 12 more in Patriot Act, sending the bill to President Barack
brated food scene. the baking and pastry arts Obama. Without the bill, the provisions would
“I really can’t imagine Robert Werth program. expire Sunday. The Senate approved the exten-
what Asheville would have He became chair of hospi- sion Wednesday.
been like without him,” said Sheila Till- tality education before he retired and The three sections that would stay in force:
man, a former student of Werth’s who left behind an award-winning culinary ■ Authorize court-approved roving wire-
took over as associate dean of hospitali- program. taps that permit surveillance on multiple
ty education when Werth retired from Reza Setayesh, now chef and owner phones.
the position in 1994. “We’ve all inheri- of Rezaz and Piazza, first spoke with ■ Allow court-approved seizure of records
ted a better place because of him.” Werth in 1986 while still living in Cali- and property in anti-terrorism operations.
Before coming to Asheville, the na- fornia. ■ Permit surveillance against a so-called
tive of France was trained in classic cul- lone wolf, a non-U.S. citizen engaged in terro-
inary techniques and worked as a chef Please see CHEF on A5 rism who may not be part of a recognized terro-
rist group.
Index MUDSLIDE AID: Maggie Valley WRESTLING WITH GRIEF: Owen
hopes the federal government will High’s Ryan Lewis competes to honor
CLASSIFIEDS C6-7 NATION/WORLD A2 pay to repair the mountain that gave the memory of his mother. Page C1.
COMICS B6-7 OBITUARIES B2-3 way Feb. 5. Page B1. OLYMPICS: Julia Mancuso falls short
LIVING B4-8 OPINION A8-9 WONG TRIAL: An attorney’s illness in the giant slalom. Page C2.
LOTTERIES A2 PUZZLES C6
may delay the trial of the accused MORE SNOW: Another big storm
Partly sunny killer of Trooper Blanton. Page B1. causes chaos at East Coast airports.
High 42, Low 23 MOUNTAINS B1-2 SPORTS C1-4, 8 Page A2.
Weather, C8 MOVIES TAKE 5 STOCKS A7
Product: ASH_Broad PubDate: 02-26-2010 Zone: Main
ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES • CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
MILL: Environmental advocates, Tenn. counties call for stricter limits
Continued from A1
permit capture the mill’s
current performance or
give the company an in-
centive to improve its col-
or output, said Davina
Marraccini, a spokeswom-
an for EPA’s Region 4.
The state must respond
to the EPA’s objections by
May 26. If the state does
not respond or the EPA
does not agree with the
state’s response, the feder-
al agency could take over
authority for the permit.
Chernikov said the
state may be able to com-
promise on objections
raised in the EPA letter
CHEF: Culinary program founder’s motto was ‘pass it on,’ he never stopped learning
Continued from A1
“I heard about this bril-
liant French man running
this brilliant program in
the mountains of North
Carolina,” Setayesh said.
“The softness of his voice
and his sincerity really
drew me in, and I … was
packing my bags and go-
ing.”
Setayesh found what he
was looking for in Ashe-
ville. “He was an inspira-
tion, and someone I
needed in my life to show
me the fundamentals,” Se-
tayesh explained. “Not ev-
erything is in the recipes
and in the books.”
Werth’s approach to his
work was more artistic
than scientific, more per-
sonal and excitable than
calculated and organized.
And he was not afraid
to tell his students if they
Edition: First Page: main_5 User: msyed Time: 02-25-2010 21:49 Color: K
that deal with temperature
and dioxin limits and
monitoring for some wa-
ter quality standards.
But he said the state
cannot agree to the color
limits proposed by EPA,
which he said are not sci-
entifically based. He said
the state will work with
the federal agency to see if
a solution can be found.
“I don’t know if we can
work something out,”
Chernikov said. “We have
discussed this issue since
I’ve been here, since at
least 1985, and we couldn’t
come up with a compro-
mise, so I’m not optimis-
tic.”
were doing something
wrong. Setayesh had a
habit of keeping tongs in
his back pocket. One day,
when he was serving food
at the school, Werth
leaned in close to his ear
and said, “Don’t ever let
me see a pair of tongs in
your back pocket again.
That’s not where they be-
long.”
“And that was the end of
it,” Setayesh said, noting
he has never kept a tool in
his back pocket since. “He
was strict enough to make
sure we learned. He would
not let us take shortcuts.”
Although he shared
many recipes, his former
students say the most im-
portant thing he taught
them was his three-word
motto: “Pass it on.”
“He believed in sharing
all his knowledge,” Till-
man said, and encouraged
NEWS
Differing opinions
Mill officials would not
comment on specifics of
the EPA letter, but said in a
statement that they are be-
lievers in the entire permit
process. They have previ-
ously said any color reduc-
tions beyond the limits in
the draft permit would be
cost-prohibitive.
Canton Mayor Pat
Smathers, along with
other officials and busi-
ness leaders in Haywood
County, have spoken out
in favor of renewing the
mill’s permit as it stands,
citing the economic im-
pact of the 101-year-old
his students to do the
same. “He came from that
old-school mentality
where chefs … withheld in-
formation. But as he
gained information, he al-
ways passed it on.”
And he never stopped
mill that employs about
1,000 people in Canton. He
said the mill has done a lot
to clean up the river, and
he believes it will continue
to do more.
“Are we at
the end? No,
I don’t think
so. But has it
been a suc-
cess story?
Pat Absolutely,”
Smathers Smathers
said. “If I
didn’t think they were go-
ing to continue to work to-
ward cleaning it up, I
wouldn’t be as big a sup-
porter as I’ve been.”
Hope Taylor, executive
learning himself. Werth
would call his former stu-
dents to see what new
things they were doing in
their restaurants so he
could teach these tech-
niques to his students.
“He was everywhere,”
Y
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C
director of Clean Water
for North Carolina, con-
tends the mill could install
further color reduction
technology at a reasonable
expense, and that the state
is protecting the mill.
Taylor and other envi-
ronmental advocates said
they are pleased the EPA is
challenging the state, but
the federal agency is still
not going far enough to
protect water quality.
They said the EPA could
have asked for tighter
limits on color, tempera-
ture and dioxin.
“If they (the EPA) are
bothering to object, they
could have done a better
said Charlie Widner, chef
and co-owner of Tomato
Jam Café.
“If you went to an
(Asheville Independent
Restaurant) meeting, he
was there. If you went to a
culinary meeting, he was
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010 A5
job,” she said. “It’s not
enough progress to begin
to take care of the prob-
lem.”
Communities down-
stream in Tennessee are
also calling for stronger
limits at the mill and have
passed resolutions oppos-
ing the draft permit. Cocke
County Mayor Iliff McMa-
han Jr., said he wants the
EPA to work with the state
to craft a stronger permit.
“It (pollution in the Pi-
geon River) has absolutely
hindered us from reaching
our full potential for being
a viable and sustainable
community,” McMahan
said.
“For Cocke County, the
pollution has been devas-
tating.”
there. If someone was do-
ing something charitable,
he was there. At some time
or another all of us who
went through culinary
school or worked in cafés,
restaurants and hotels, ran
into Chef Werth.”