An environmental legal group is warning Horizon 30, LLC to stop polluting the Nolichucky River and its tributaries with sediment and toxic mining waste from an illegal site in Mitchell County. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing MountainTrue and the Center for Biological Diversity, says the pollution is “causing severe harm to the Nolichucky River.”
State officials discovered the unpermitted mine in early 2025 and issued a stop-work order, but the company continued operating and expanded the site. In August 2025, a Superior Court judge ordered all mining activity to cease immediately, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality later denied the company’s permit application.
The legal group says Horizon 30 largely abandoned the site without proper erosion controls and left ongoing pollution that continues to harm the river. “Horizon 30 came to North Carolina, destroyed a mountainside, took what they wanted and left a mess,” said SELC attorney Jamie Whitlock.
Attorneys have issued a 60-day notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act if the pollution continues. “The Nolichucky River is a national treasure, and we won’t let an illegal mine tarnish it,” said Will Harlan of the Center for Biological Diversity.