Sites in Reuse in North Carolina
Click on the image above to see a larger map with site locations.
Aberdeen Pesticide Dump
The Aberdeen Pesticide Dump Superfund site, located near Aberdeen in Moore County, North Carolina, consists of five separate areas known as the Farm Chemicals Area, the Twin Sites Area, the Fairway Six Area, the McIver Dump Area and the Route 211 Area. The site includes an area where a pesticide formulation plant operated (the Farm Chemicals Area) and four areas where operations disposed of wastes from the formulation process. Site investigations found contamination in debris, ground water, soil, sediment and surface water that could potentially harm people in the area. Contamination resulted from pesticide formulation and related waste disposal practices at the site. Between 1985 and 1989, EPA and the responsible parties conducted cleanup activities at these five site areas including the removal of contaminated soil, the demolition of contaminated buildings and the creation of a ground water cleanup plan. In 1989, EPA listed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL). Soil cleanup is now complete and water treatment and monitoring is ongoing in order to ensure the effectiveness of the remedy and to protect human health and the environment. In 2004, a developer purchased one of the site properties and subdivided it into four parcels. The Farm Chemicals Area is now home to commercial development including an industrial/construction supply store, a gourmet coffee roaster and a commercial mini-storage warehouse facility. The Twin Sites Area now provides recreational opportunities to the local community, supporting a municipal walking trail and fishing in Pages Lake.
Updated 1/2013
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Benfield Industries
The Benfield Industries site occupied 6 acres in the floodplain of Richland Creek in Wyanesville, North Carolina. The site housed a furniture- and mattress-manufacturing facility from 1904 until the mid-1970s and a bulk chemical mixing and packaging plant from 1976 until a fire destroyed the facility in 1982. Products handled and stored at the Benfield facility included paint thinners, solvents, sealants, cleaners, de-icing solutions, and wood preservatives including creosote. High concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil and ground water led EPA to add the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1989. This contamination adversely impacted approximately 3.5 acres. Remedial actions initiated in 1996 included excavation, soil washing and landfarming of contaminated soils. Ground water extraction began in 2001 and ended in 2007. EPA issued the second Five-Year Review Report in 2008; the report suggested implementing in-situ chemical oxidation to address ground water contamination, as well as a transition to monitored natural attenuation. Haywood Vocational Opportunities (HVO), a local organization providing employment opportunities and vocational training to persons with disabilities, showed interest in expanding its facilities on to the vacant Benfield Industries, Inc. property. EPA worked closely with HVO to address the company’s concerns, leading to HVO’s acquisition of the site property at auction in 2002 for $250,000. The company built its new manufacturing and training facilities with required parking lots on 4 acres. The company designated the remaining 2 acres for green space. HVO completed the site’s redevelopment in 2004. No longer a neighborhood eyesore, the redevelopment of the property increased the value of the site and provides significant economic benefits including 90 new full-time jobs and significant increases in sales revenue for the company. The property is now valued at $3.4 million, and HVO reports paying $12.5 million in wages to employees during Fiscal Year 2011. This site’s compelling story illustrates how communities and EPA can work together nationwide to sustain healthy communities and advance environmental protection.
Updated 1/2013
For more information:
- Case Study - Reuse and Benefits to the Community at the Benfield Industries Site (PDF) (5 pp, 365K, About PDF)
- 2009 Return to Use Demonstration Project (PDF) (2 pp, 183K, About PDF)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
Celanese Corp. (Shelby Fiber Operations)
The Celanese Corporation Superfund site in Shelby, North Carolina, is a 450-acre facility where Ticona, an operating subsidiary of the Celanese Corporation, manufactures polyester resin and synthetic fibers. The site consists of a main plant production area, wastewater treatment area, former waste disposal areas and recreational/wooded areas. The plant opened in 1960 and, over a 20-year period, caused widespread contamination of area soil and ground water. Facility operators dumped chemical wastes into unlined ditches and creeks, burned plant wastes in open pits, and buried waste sludge on the site. In 1986, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List. EPA and the state worked with the Celanese Corporation to remove contaminated soil and build a system to clean the ground water. The ongoing cleanup and monitoring efforts at the site, connection of residents to the municipal water supply, and improved disposal practices at the plant protect the health and safety of nearby residents and the environment. The plant continues to operate a polyester and engineering plastics production facility and to produce polyester chip and filament thread, providing jobs and income for the community. CNA Holdings, Inc., also a subsidiary of Celanese, retains management of environmental matters for the corporation and is responsible for environmental work regarding the site.
Updated 1/2013
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FCX, Inc. (Washington Plant)
The Farmers Cooperative Exchange (FCX) operated a farm supply distribution center on the 12-acre FCX-Washington Superfund site, located in Washington, North Carolina, from 1945 to 1985. The distribution center repackaged and sold pesticides, herbicides, and tobacco-treating chemicals. In the early 1970s, the company filled a large trench with pesticide wastes and other agricultural chemicals and later filed for bankruptcy in 1985. During site operations, pesticide and insecticide handling and disposal practices resulted in soil and ground water contamination, leading to EPA’s placement of the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. Between January 1989 and January 1992, EPA excavated approximately 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. EPA’s 1993 site cleanup plan included the extraction and treatment of contaminated ground water. However, in 2005, the original cleanup plan was amended, changing the ground water remedy from pump-and-treat to monitored natural attenuation. Monitoring has shown that the concentrations of pesticides have generally decreased since 2004. A new highway bypass now runs across the western portion of the site.
Updated 1/2013
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Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc.
Since 1936, the Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. site has been home to various chemical dye manufacturing and specialty chemical production companies. The 1,500-acre site is located approximately ten miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina. A 1982 EPA investigation revealed organic contaminants in ground water and surface waters on the site and EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1982. Following the site’s listing on the NPL, EPA and its partners developed a comprehensive remedy that included capping some site contamination in place, disposing of waste materials and contaminated soil off site, and pumping and treating site ground water. There are now two industrial tenants operating on the site, CoaLogix and Monark Industrial Services. CoaLogix regenerates catalyst modules for pollution control systems at power plants, but it has outgrown the facility and might relocate elsewhere in the near future. Monark Industrial Services is a very small tenant that conducts waste stabilization. The site is currently fenced and requires a security clearance for access. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in February 2012 and has closely collaborated with a company beginning to implement a redevelopment plan for the site. Forsite Development is in the process of developing a 20-megawatt waste-to-energy biomass power plant on the site along the Catawba River. This project marks the initial phase of Forsite Development’s plan to transform the Superfund site into the region’s first eco-industrial area called ReVenture Park. The site’s planned redevelopment will breathe new life into the site by reusing the site’s extensive existing infrastructure – rail and interstate access, a wastewater treatment facility, 500,000 square feet of existing industrial space, utility substations and transmission lines, and a 360-million-gallon containment pond – to create a platform for large-scale renewable energy and alternative fuel projects. A few of the projects planned for the park include a 30 +/- megawatt biomass power plant, a 4 +/- megawatt photovoltaic solar field to be developed on a closed 25-acre landfill, a regional wastewater treatment facility that changes bio-solids into a renewable energy resource, a 300,000-square-foot business park focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmental technology, and office space for community organizations. Environmental stewardship is also an integral part of the site’s redevelopment plans. The site’s natural resources will be enhanced by a 185-acre conservation easement, wildlife habitat projects, stream restoration, and a trail system connecting the regional Carolina Thread Trail across the site to the nearby U.S. National Whitewater Center.
Updated 1/2013
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North Carolina State University (Lot 86, Farm Unit #1)
The 1.5-acre North Carolina State University (Lot 86, Farm Unit #1) Superfund site is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The site formerly served as a waste disposal area for North Carolina State University science laboratories and agricultural research facilities. From 1969 to 1980, the University disposed of solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, acids, and some low-level radioactive laboratory wastes in trenches located on the northwest portion of the site. The burial of wastes around the site resulted in soil and ground water contamination. EPA added the property to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. In 1996, EPA issued a cleanup plan. The plan included the treatment of contaminated soil and the extraction and treatment of contaminated ground water. The site’s potentially responsible party completed soil cleanup activities in 1999 and continues to treat and monitor contaminated ground water with oversight provided by EPA. Since 2007, Carolina Solar Energy LLC (CSE) has operated a 70 kW photovoltaic solar generation project on the site. The project has been designated a Solar "Brownfields to Brightfields" Technology Demonstration Project by the U.S. Department of Energy. CSE sells the electricity generated by the 12 solar arrays located on the capped mound back to Progress Energy. CSE will own and operate the solar energy system for 20 years under a lease from the State of North Carolina.
Updated 1/2013
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