NAVASSA – The cleanup of contaminated surface soil in an area of the former Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. site is set to begin early this summer.
The work is to be discussed next week during a virtual and in-person community meeting and an in-person information session.
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The community meeting is 6-7 p.m. Thursday followed by the in-person-only drop-in session 7-8 p.m. at the Navassa Community Center, 338 Main St.
To join the meeting online, use this Zoom link or enter tinyurl.com/NavassaMeetings into a browser. To join by phone, call 301-715-8592, use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.
Other meeting topics include site investigations, redevelopment planning and the eventual sale of the Multistate Trust-owned property, the future donation of land for the planned Moze Heritage Center and Nature Park, and an update on natural resource restoration projects.
The Multistate Trust, the court-appointed trustee that is working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to investigate, remediate and plan the reuse of the roughly 100-acre Superfund Site, said its contractors would excavate the contaminated surface soil in Operable Unit 2.
Officials said that, following completion of the cleanup estimated to take two to three months, Operable Unit 2 will be suitable for any future land use, and the EPA will propose deleting Operable Unit 2 from the Superfund National Priorities List.
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In 2021, EPA issued a Record of Decision explaining that the selected remedy for the roughly 20-acre Operable Unit 1 is no action. Operable Unit 1’s subsequent deletion from EPA’s National Priorities List cleared the way for Operable Unit 1’s future return to productive reuse, officials said.
In September 2022, EPA signed the Operable Unit 2 Record of Decision selecting removal, on-site reuse/consolidation and off-site disposal as the Operable Unit 2 remedy.
The Multistate Trust contracted two area firms to perform the Operable Unit 2 work. Together, the companies will be responsible for grubbing and clearing, logging, excavation, hauling, and site security, among other tasks.
The site was used by Kerr-McGee and its predecessors to treat wood with creosote. Treated and untreated wood was stored in areas that included the roughly 16 acres that are now Operable Unit 2.
The Multistate Trust is preparing to excavate contaminated surface soil from Operable Unit 2 and store the soils in the Operable Unit 4 area of the site in temporary stockpiles that will be covered and managed. The soils are expected to be reused or consolidated into the future cleanup of Operable Unit 4. Material that cannot be stored on-site will be recycled or disposed at a landfill in accordance with state and federal laws, officials said.
