EPA Releases Proposed Cleanup Plan for Kerr McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund Site in Navassa, North Carolina

January 27, 2021

NAVASSA, N.C. (January 27, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a revised proposed plan for OU1 for the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund site. EPA will hold a virtual public meeting to explain the proposed plan and answer questions.

EPA released a proposed plan for Operable Unit 1 (OU1) in October 2019. It defined OU1 as 21.6 acres with an anticipated commercial/industrial land use. After receiving additional information from the town of Navassa, EPA and the state of North Carolina determined the reasonably anticipated land use for OU1 may include residential uses, not only commercial, industrial, or recreational uses. As a result of the change in anticipated land use, additional sampling was conducted in August 2020 to evaluate residential risk. Based on the sampling results, the 2021 proposed plan revises OU1 from 21.6 acres to 20.2 acres. The currently proposed 20.2-acre OU1 poses no current or potential threat to human health or the environment under the reasonably anticipated future land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, or recreational) and therefore, meets the EPA’s criterion for a No Action Remedy.

As part of the public comment period, EPA will hold a virtual public meeting on the proposed plan on Thursday, January 28, 2021 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. The fact sheet is available, along with instructions on how to participate in the virtual public meeting at: https://semspub.epa.gov/work/04/11145259.pdf

EPA is accepting comments on the proposed plan. Comments must be submitted no later than Friday, February 26, 2021. To view EPA’s revised proposed plan for the site, please visit https://semspub.epa.gov/work/04/11145248.pdf. A copy of the proposed plan and associated documents related to the site are available in the Administrative Record of the Information Repository housed at the Navassa Community Center, 338 Main Street, Navassa, NC 28451 and the Leland Library, 487 Village Road NE, Leland, NC 28451. The Administrative Record is available at https://semspub.epa.gov/src/collection/04/AR66131.

Written comments should be submitted by February 26, 2021, to Spalvins.Erik@epa.gov or via the U.S. Postal Service at:

Erik Spalvins, EPA Remedial Project Manager

U.S. EPA, Superfund Division

11^th Floor

61 Forsyth Street SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

For further information, please contact L’Tonya Spencer-Harvey, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator toll free (877) 718-3752, directly (404) 562-8463 or via email Spencer.LaTonya@epa.gov.

SITE BACKGROUND:

From 1936 to 1974, Kerr-McGee and other companies used the 246-acre site for creosote-based wood treating. By 1980, Kerr-McGee dismantled the wood-treatment buildings and facilities.

The soil, sediment and groundwater are contaminated by creosote-related chemicals. Site contamination does not currently pose a threat to people living or working near the site. The site is bounded by the Brunswick River, Sturgeon Creek, a residential area and a light industrial area. 

In 2005, the site was conveyed to Tronox, a Kerr-McGee spinoff that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. In 2011, the Multistate Trust acquired the site as a court-appointed trustee as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement. The Multistate Trust is working with its beneficiaries — EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality — on the site investigation, remediation and redevelopment planning.

For more information:

• Site profile page: www.epa.gov/superfund/kerr-mcgee-chemical-corp
• Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa Superfund site Administrative Record: https://semspub.epa.gov/src/collection/04/AR66131
• The Superfund cleanup process: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-cleanup-process