Navassa community meeting to focus on Superfund cleanup progress and soil removal

NAVASSA, NC (WWAY) — Residents will have an opportunity next week to learn about the latest cleanup efforts at the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. Superfund Site, including plans to remove a contaminated soil staging pile from the property by the fall.

The Multistate Environmental Response Trust, in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), will host a community meeting on Tuesday, July 28, at the Navassa Community Center, located at 338 Main St.

The meeting will run from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and will be offered both in person and virtually through Zoom. An in-person drop-in session will follow from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., giving residents the opportunity to speak directly with project representatives.

One of the meeting’s primary topics will be the planned removal of a contaminated soil staging pile located in Operable Unit 4 (OU4). Officials say the soil, which was temporarily stockpiled during previous cleanup work, will be transported to an EPA-approved landfill by fall 2026 because it has the potential to impact groundwater.

Other soil in the staging pile that does not pose a groundwater risk will remain on-site and be consolidated into the site’s Former Fire Protection Pond disposal unit.

Officials will also provide updates on several other cleanup projects, including:

• EPA’s proposed cleanup plan for Operable Unit 3 (OU3), the site’s 32-acre southern marsh. The agency is finalizing the proposal and plans to open a public comment period once it is released.
• Upcoming cleanup work in the northern section of OU4, where contaminated surface soil will be removed and long-term controls will be implemented to reduce exposure risks.
• Progress on the Moze Center land donation and a planned conservation easement.
• Local contracting opportunities and additional site updates.

Site history

The Kerr-McGee site was used as a wood treatment facility from 1936 through 1974, where creosote and other chemicals were used to treat railroad ties, utility poles and pilings along the Brunswick River near Sturgeon Creek.

Following the facility’s closure and dismantling in 1980, groundwater, soil and sediment contamination led the EPA to place the property on the National Priorities List in 2010 as a Superfund site.

According to the EPA, the contamination does not currently pose a threat to people living or working near the site.

The Multistate Environmental Response Trust was established in 2011 through the Tronox bankruptcy settlement to oversee the investigation, cleanup and future reuse of the property. Cleanup efforts are funded through the settlement and not by taxpayer dollars.

Additional project information is available through the EPA, NCDEQ and the Multistate Environmental Response Trust.