Additional Cleanup of Contaminated Soil and Debris in OU2 Started Nov. 3. Updates To Be Shared at Community Meeting Nov. 18.
NAVASSA, N.C. (November 12, 2025) – Additional cleanup of contaminated soil and debris began November 3 in Operable Unit 2 (OU2) of the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund Site (Site) and is expected to take 4 to 6 weeks to finish.
The Multistate Environmental Response Trust (Multistate Trust), with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), will host a community meeting Tuesday, November 18 to discuss the additional OU2 remediation and other topics, including the OU3 Feasibility Study, the OU4 North Proposed Plan for cleanup, and the OU4 biosparging pilot study.
Contractors have mobilized and begun additional OU2 cleanup activities including surveying, clearing vegetation, and excavation of debris from work areas. The additional OU2 cleanup involves excavating contaminated soil and debris discovered during the 2024 remediation in OU2 (the former treated and untreated wood storage area).
WHEN: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
WHERE: Navassa Community Center, 338 Main Street, Navassa
Community Meeting: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., in-person and on Zoom
Drop-in Session: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., in-person only
Join meeting online: Use this Zoom link or enter tinyurl.com/NavassaMeetings into a browser.
Join meeting by phone: Call (301) 715-8592. Use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.
At the meeting, project representatives will share Site updates and provide an opportunity for questions, comments, and discussion.
At the drop-in session, the public can speak one-on-one to project representatives, ask questions, and provide feedback.
Topics will include:
• Additional OU2 cleanup involves excavating contaminated soil and debris found beyond planned excavation areas during the 2024 OU2 cleanup work. See the OU2 remedial action updates fact sheet linked here.
• Updates will be shared 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.
• EPA held a September 23 public 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 November 24. See the EPA OU4 North proposed plan fact sheet linked here.
• The OU4 biosparging pilot study has launched to evaluate whether injecting oxygen into the aquifer would effectively remediate contamination in subsurface soils and groundwater.
Caption for attached photos of additional OU2 cleanup work:
Additional cleanup of contaminated soil and debris in Operable Unit 2 (OU2) began November 3 at the Kerr-McGee Navassa Superfund Site. A contractor working for the Multistate Trust operates an excavator to remove contaminated debris from OU2 (the former treated and untreated wood storage area).
For More Information
November 18, 2025 Community Meeting and Drop-in Session flyer
July 10, 2025 Community Meeting presentation
Multistate Trust website https://navassa.greenfieldenvironmental.com
EPA website www.epa.gov/superfund/kerr-mcgee-chemical-corp
NCDEQ website https://deq.nc.gov
Site Background
From 1936 to 1974, Kerr-McGee and its predecessors used creosote and other chemicals to treat wood for railroad ties, utility poles, and pilings. The wood treating facility operated on ±70 acres along the Brunswick River at Sturgeon Creek. In 1980, Kerr-McGee decommissioned and dismantled the facility and wood-treatment buildings.
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. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living or working near the Site.
In 2011, the Multistate Trust was created as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement to own, manage, and remediate the Site and facilitate its safe, beneficial reuse. A private, independent trust, the Multistate Trust assumed ownership of ±152 acres of the ±246 acres formerly owned by Kerr-McGee. In 2016, the Multistate Trust purchased two more acres.
The Multistate Trust’s cleanup funds were provided entirely by Tronox through the Tronox bankruptcy settlement, not by public or taxpayer dollars. The Tronox funding includes amounts paid by certain Kerr-McGee-affiliated entities and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to settle a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit filed after Tronox’s bankruptcy.
The Multistate Trust works with its beneficiaries—EPA and NCDEQ—on investigation, remediation, and reuse planning of the Site. The Trustee of the Multistate Trust is Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC.