Beginning in 2006, Stanly County officials raised concerns that there may be additional waste sites not previously identified by Alcoa. On April 19, 2007, County Manager Jerry Myers submitted a letter to N.C. DENR that listed 15 possible waste sites.
Dexter Matthews, Director of the Division of Waste Management, reviewed the sites and responded to Mr. Myers on May 18, 2007. Mr. Matthews noted that 10 of the waste sites were currently “being addressed or have already been addressed by the Division’s Hazardous Waste Section as part of the RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) corrective action process.” Another two sites were old landfills that are included on the state’s inventory of old landfills identified for future action.
The three additional sites included:
(1) The former Yadkin Brick plant, which has a well-documented history of environmental issues associated with its historic operations. The State has not indicated that Alcoa has any responsibility for the remediation of this site.
(2) A lime disposal area that Alcoa had reported to the N.C. Division of Waste Management in February 2007. Alcoa investigated the lime disposal area (also called the former Ravine area), collecting soil and groundwater samples, and hired an outside environmental firm to conduct an independent risk assessment. Results show that chemicals found there are contained, have not impacted soil, groundwater or surface water and are unlikely to pose unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Those results are being shared with the State and County officials.
(3) A site near Mountain View Church Road where steel drums containing hazardous waste were believed to be buried. This location has never been owned by Alcoa or used for waste disposal by the company. Three representatives from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources investigated the site on November 16, 2007. A ground penetrating radar was used to search for metal drums and did not indicate any burial of wastes or any disturbance.
Suspected Dump Site: Stanly County raised concerns about another potential waste site, known as the Chivington Site near Little Mountain Creek, in a June 2007 filing with FERC. Alcoa visited the suspected dump site with the resident who reported witnessing suspicious activity to pinpoint the exact location. In December 2007, Alcoa investigated the site using a ground penetrating radar that searched for metal drums to a depth of 30 feet. The study did not indicate the presence of any metal drums or hazardous waste.
Badin Sediment Assessment: Stanly County filed a “Badin Sediment Assessment” report with FERC in February 2008, claiming that this study raises significant environmental and safety concerns about the sediment in the Badin Lake boat access and public swim area. In fact, Alcoa had conducted its own study of Badin Lake sediments in the mid-to-late 1990s and again in 2005, finding similar results to the Stanly County report. At that time, State health officials indicated the sediments did not pose a significant health risk. When previous study results were reported to Stanly County, officials said they were not concerned with the results of the study.
