Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

On September 16, 2026, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in the lawsuit entitled United States of America and the State of North Carolina v. Domtar Paper Company, LLC, Civil Action No. 4:26-cv-00172.

The lawsuit was initiated by a complaint filed by the United States and the State of North Carolina (the “Trustees”) in their capacity as the legally designated trustees for natural resources in North Carolina. The complaint alleged, inter alia, that the Defendant was liable for damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources resulting from the release of hazardous substances at and from the Plymouth Mill Superfund Site (the “Site”) near the Town of Plymouth, North Carolina, pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980.

The Consent Decree resolves the claims of the Trustees against the Defendant for a total payment of $1,905,000. Of this amount, $1,750,000 will be paid into the United States' Damage Assessment and Restoration Revolving Fund (“DARR Fund”) managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, to fund future projects to restore injured natural resources near the Site. The remaining $155,000 will be paid to the U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Damages Assessment and Restoration Fund to be used to fund the Trustees' administrative costs to plan, oversee, and monitor restoration. In addition, the Defendant will record a conservation agreement on property adjoining the Roanoke River to preserve bottomland forest on the property to benefit water quality and fish nursery habitat, and complete several restoration projects to benefit fish in the Roanoke River such as reduced cooling water intake withdrawals and lighting improvements and improvements for the Town of Plymouth Waterfront Park. In return for these payments and restoration activities, the United States and the State will confer on the Defendant covenants not to sue for natural resource damages known as of the date of lodging of the Consent Decree.

In accordance with CERCLA and the National Environmental Policy Act, the Trustees have also written a Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Draft RP/EA) that described proposed alternatives for restoring the natural resources and natural resource services injured by the release of hazardous substances from the Site. The restoration alternatives evaluated in the Draft RP/EA are (1) No Action/Natural Recovery; (2) Additional Modifications to the Domtar Plymouth Mill Cooling Water Intake System and Seasonal Outages; (3) Lighting Modifications at the Plymouth Facility; (4) Waterfront Park Improvements; (5) Warren Neck Conservation; (6) Floodplain Reconnection, Wetland Protection, and Fish Passage Improvements; and (7) Mush Island Perpetual Conservation Easement..

The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the proposed Consent Decree and the Draft RP/EA.

Comments on the proposed Consent Decree should be addressed to the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Energy and Natural Resources Division, and should refer to United States of America and the State of North Carolina v. Domtar Paper Company, LLC, D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-07838/4. All comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:

During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: www.justice.gov/​enrd/​consent-decrees. If you require assistance accessing the proposed Consent Decree, you may request assistance by email or by mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.

Comments on the Draft RP/EA may be submitted to the Trustees either by email or by mail:

All comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. If emailing, please include “Draft RP/EA Weyerhaeuser Co. Plymouth Mill NRDAR” in the subject line. During the public comment period, a copy of the Draft RP/EA will be available electronically at: darrp.noaa.gov/​hazardous-waste/​trustees-seek-public-comment-plan-restore-lower-roanoke-river-resources.