ST. MARYS, Ga. -- A Durango-Georgia Paper Company official confirmed the mill is denying more than 500 workers of severance pay when it closes on Nov. 15.

Kenneth Bertram, executive vice president and general manager of the Durango, said in a conference call with city and state officials that only St. Marys Railroad employees and machinists' union workers are eligible for severance pay.

Bertram said the company is still negotiating with the mill's largest unions -- the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- but he declined to give details.

Larry Brooker, Sr., president of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International, said the union will pursue all options, including legal remedies.

Brooker said the company has been evasive about this issue of severance and accumulated vacation pay. He also said some union employees have been paid severance in the past, setting a precedent.

Most of the Camden County paper mill's 900 employees are already off the job since the mill shut down its last paper-producing machine on Oct. 11, but all workers will receive paychecks until the mill officially closes next month.

On the same conference call, state officials said the engineering study of the plant arranged by state and local officials that were due this week won't be completed until Oct. 31.

Also, News4Jax.com's news partner -- KBAY radio -- reports that Camden County officials expressed concern that Durango-Georgia owed $104,000 in tipping fees at the county's landfill, and that the company is liable for $1.8 million in taxes due next week. The mill has contested the county's tax bills in the past, and officials are concerned that they won't be able to collect what the company owes.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Labor scheduled a special event Saturday for employees of the Durango-Georgia.

Georgia Labor Department employees will assist employees whose paychecks will stop on Nov. 15 with filing unemployment claims. Dozens of other prospective employers and job-training services are expected to be on hand to talk with the former paper-company workers.

The event will be held Saturday from 1-6 p.m. at the Camden High School gymnasium.

Labor department officials said the unemployment rate in Camden and Charlton counties could double once the plant closes.