Navassa residents and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend a workshop Oct. 16 to discuss options for securing property for the proposed Navassa Cultural Center and Park.
The workshop is from 6:30-8 p.m. at Navassa Community Center, 338 Main St. A light dinner will be provided at 6 p.m.
Sponsor Spotlight
The Multistate Environmental Response Trust, Navassa leaders, residents and other stakeholders will address the following topics:
- Discuss options for securing property for the proposed Navassa cultural center and park.
- Collaborate on the amount of land envisioned for the proposed project.
- Explore potential locations for the proposed center and park.
- Discuss possible organizations able to assume responsibility for and long-term stewardship of the proposed project.
- Review Multistate Trust property conveyance examples.
- Local government agencies.
- Environmental land trusts.
- Other private entities.
- Review the pros and cons of property conveyance approaches.
From 1936 to 1974, Kerr-McGee Corp. and other companies used the 246-acre site, which is bordered by Brunswick River, Sturgeon Creek, a residential area and a light industrial area, for creosote-based wood treating. Kerr-McGee dismantled the wood-treatment buildings and facilities by 1980. The soil, sediment and groundwater are contaminated by creosote-related chemicals but sampling results indicate the contamination does not currently threaten people living or working near the site.
In 2005, the site was conveyed to Tronox, a Kerr-McGee spinoff that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. In 2011, the Multistate Trust acquired the site as a court-appointed trustee as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement. The Multistate Trust is working with the Environmental Protection Agency and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on site investigation, remediation and redevelopment planning.
