Judge OKs bid for Ecusta
By
Mark Barrett,
Citizen Times
What's left of RFS Ecusta will be sold to a South Carolina firm as soon as the end of this month following a ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge George Hodges in Charlotte Wednesday.
Without opposition, Hodges approved a $1.3 million bid for the Ecusta mill, surrounding property and other assets made by New Tech Environmental of Fort Mill, S.C. The company plans to turn the sprawling property into an industrial park and may reuse some of the paper mill equipment.
Many Transylvania County residents had at one time hoped a buyer could be found to resume paper production at the mill, long a mainstay of the local economy. Those hopes faded in recent weeks. Ecusta stopped making paper last August and filed for bankruptcy in October.
New Tech will at least handle waste still at the site, said an attorney for the union who represented the mill's hourly workers. There has been concern that a landfill and a liquid waste lagoon could fail if the property were abandoned.
"Anybody that'll come in and take care of that is a good deal for everybody," attorney Rick Mitchell said. "It's a sad situation, but it's better than nothing."
New Tech President Tom Bentley said the company is still considering whether to restart machinery that processed pulp that was later made into paper. In addition, he said, the company has had discussions with companies that would use some of the paper- making machinery in a limited fashion.
New Tech looks to sell or lease much of the property to other users, and Bentley said there have been several inquiries.
The deal could close as soon as June 30, although parties involved say there are still several matters to be worked out first. These include reaching agreements with state and federal environmental agencies that would limit New Tech's liability for existing environmental contamination on the property.
Discussions are continuing over the terms of an agreement, according to Don Reuter, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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