Additional cleanup of contaminated soil and debris began earlier this month at part of the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. site in Navassa, a federal Superfund site.
The work, which began Nov. 3 in what officials call Operable Unit 2, or OU2, and is expected to take four to six weeks to finish, is one of the topics for discussion when the Multistate Environmental Response Trust, the Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality host a community meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18.
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The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m., in-person at the Navassa Community Center, 338 Main St., and on Zoom. During the meeting, project representatives will share updates and provide an opportunity for questions, comments and discussion. To join the meeting by phone, dial 301-715-8592. Use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.
A drop-in session is planned for 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., in-person only. During the drop-in session, people can speak directly with project representatives, ask questions, and provide feedback.
Officials said the additional OU2 cleanup involves excavating contaminated soil and debris found beyond planned excavation areas during the 2024 OU2 cleanup. That work, which took place in December 2024, found extensive, unexpected debris, including a 40-gallon tank, oily bricks, treated wood and visibly contaminated asphalt material.
The work this fall will include clearing vegetation and placing sediment and erosion controls around the work area. Then, debris and contaminated soil will be removed from excavation areas and disposed off-site. Excavated soils will be managed in the existing staging piles in OU4 and are expected to be reused or consolidated into the future OU4 cleanup. Excavated areas will be backfilled with clean soil.
Officials expect to share updates on the OU3 feasibility study and its evaluation of remedial technologies to mitigate unacceptable contamination risks to ecological receptors. OU3 is the tidally influenced marsh along Sturgeon Creek.
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The EPA in September hosted a meeting in Navassa to explain the proposed plan for cleanup of the 12-acre OU4 North portion of the 35-acre OU4, the former pond and process area.
The proposed cleanup would involve removing contaminated surface soil and developing appropriate controls to manage risk associated with remaining subsurface soil. The public comment period for the OU4 North proposed plan runs through Nov. 24.
A pilot study to evaluate whether injecting oxygen into the aquifer would effectively remediate contamination in subsurface soils and groundwater has begun.
Kerr-McGee and its predecessors operated at the site from 1936 to 1974 and used creosote and other chemicals to treat wood for railroad ties, utility poles, and pilings. Kerr-McGee decommissioned and dismantled the operation in 1980.
In 2010, groundwater, soil, and sediment contamination by creosote-related chemicals led EPA to add the former Kerr-McGee property to the National Priorities List. Officials have said site contamination does not currently threaten people living or working nearby.
