Cleanup Work to Start Early Summer of 2023 in OU2 of Kerr-McGee Superfund Site, To Be Discussed at March 23 Community Meeting

NAVASSA, N.C. (March 16, 2023) – The Multistate Trust expects to begin cleanup of contaminated surface soil in Operable Unit 2 (OU2) early summer at the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund Site (Site). The Multistate Trust, together with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), will hold a virtual and in-person community meeting and an in-person information session on Thursday, March 23 to discuss the upcoming cleanup work.

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 ±16 acres that are now OU2. The Multistate Trust is preparing to excavate contaminated surface soil from OU2 and store the soils in the OU4 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 OU4. Material that cannot be stored on-site will be recycled or disposed at a landfill in accordance with state and federal laws. The OU2 work is scheduled to start in mid-2023 and take 2–3 months to complete. The Multistate Trust has selected two local firms to perform the OU2 work. The OU2 fact sheet provides more information.

Other meeting topics will 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.

What: Thursday, March 23, 2023

  • Community Meeting: 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. In person and virtual.

  • Drop-in Session: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. In person only.

Where:  Navassa Community Center, 338 Main Street, Navassa

Join the meeting online or by phone:

  • Phone: Call (301) 715-8592. Use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.

For More Information:

Site Background:

From 1936 to 1974, Kerr-McGee and its predecessors used creosote to treat wood for railroad ties, utility poles, and pilings. The wood treating facility operated on approximately 70 acres of the ±246-acre former Kerr-McGee property on the Brunswick River at Sturgeon Creek. In 1980, Kerr-McGee decommissioned and dismantled the wood-treatment buildings and facilities.

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 of federal Superfund sites. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living or working near the Superfund Site.

In 2005, the property was conveyed to Tronox, a Kerr-McGee spinoff that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. In 2011, the Multistate Trust acquired ±152 acres of the former Kerr-McGee property as a court-appointed trustee selected to own, manage, remediate and facilitate safe, beneficial Site reuse as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement. In 2016, the Multistate Trust purchased an additional two acres.

The Multistate Trust is working with its beneficiaries—EPA and NCDEQ—on Site investigation, remediation and reuse planning of the ±100-acre Superfund Site. In 2021, EPA issued a Record of Decision explaining that the selected remedy for the ±20-acre OU1 is no action. OU1’s subsequent deletion from EPA’s National Priorities List cleared the way for OU1’s future return to productive reuse.

In September 2022, EPA signed the OU2 Record of Decision (linked here) selecting removal, on-site reuse/consolidation and off-site disposal as the OU2 remedy. As part of the Multistate Trust’s effort to invest cleanup funds in the local economy wherever possible, a robust search and bid process resulted in the approval of two local firms to perform the OU2 work. Together, the companies will be responsible for grubbing and clearing, logging, excavation, hauling, and Site security, among other tasks. Both firms are committed to supporting the local economy in Navassa. Following completion of the cleanup work, OU2 will be suitable for any future land use, and EPA will propose deleting OU2 from the National Priorities List.

Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC is trustee of the Multistate Trust.

Christine Amrhine