Future Use of Kerr-McGee Navassa Superfund Site and EPA Proposed Plan for Soil Excavation to be Discussed at June 13 and 14 Public Meetings

NAVASSA, N.C. (June 8, 2022) – The Multistate Trust, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) are hosting on Monday, June 13 a drop-in information session and a community meeting about the Reuse Advisory Council’s recommendations for the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund Site’s (Site) future use and alternative scenarios for the land donation for the Moze Heritage Center.

On Tuesday, June 14, EPA is also holding a public meeting about the Proposed Plan for remediation of Operable Unit 2, where treated and untreated wood was stored during historic wood treatment operations at the Site. See the Proposed Plan on EPA’s website at https://semspub.epa.gov/work/04/11139277.pdf and the Proposed Plan fact sheet here.

The events will be held at the Navassa Community Center at 338 Main Street, Navassa. The meetings also can be joined by Zoom and phone. See the flyer attached and linked here for more information.

What:

Monday, June 13, 2022

  • Redevelopment planning drop-in information session, 4 – 5 p.m. In person only.

  • Redevelopment planning community meeting, 6 – 7:30 p.m. In person and virtual.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

  • EPA Operable Unit 2 Proposed Plan Public Meeting, 6 – 7:30 p.m. In person and virtual.

To join the meetings online:

To join the meetings by 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 operated a creosote-based wood treating facility 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 former Kerr-McGee property was conveyed to Tronox, a Kerr-McGee spinoff that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. In 2011, the Multistate Trust acquired approximately 152 acres of the former Kerr-McGee property as a court-appointed trustee 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 facilitating safe, beneficial future reuse of the approximately ±100-acre Superfund Site. In 2021, EPA issued a Record of Decision explaining that the selected remedy for the 20.2-acre Operable Unit 1 (OU1) area is no action. The deletion of OU1 from EPA’s National Priorities List on September 14, 2021 cleared the way for OU1’s return to productive reuse.

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

Christine Amrhine