Residents concerned about chosen dumping site

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — This summer, the town of Carolina Beach decided to move forward with dredging the lake. Now, months later, residents near the proposed dump site are saying ‘not in my backyard.’

In July, the goal was to restart the dredging project next month but, the town is still waiting on final approval from the Coast Guard. Now, some nearby residents are concerned.  If this waste contains hazardous material, this could impact their water supply.

One Cape resident Ken McMullen says he is concerned about the long term environmental impacts.

“Is dumping it in that area..  going to be a good idea?” said McMullen. “Let’s say 10 years down the line are we going to inherit some sort of toxic potential leaching.”

Dumping the lake’s spoils can have an impact on the local water supply.

“We’re really wanting to protect the local environment in that area, as well as, just make sure it doesn’t leach into the ground water and cause any problems with the shallow ground water table we have in this area,” said McMullen.

Carolina Beach Mayor Joe Benson told WWAY that samples of the waste have trace elements of arsenic but they could be naturally occurring. As for the residents’ concerns, Benson says the town is working on a reply.

There’s no timeline on when dredging will begin. The town owns the land behind the coast guard site but they will need to build a road to get to it.

Carolina Beach is still waiting for the coast guard’s approval to do so.

The Cape residents say they are planning to voice their concerns at the next council meeting scheduled for November 13th.