People invited to comment on proposed cleanup plan for manufacturing site in Brevard

PRESS RELEASE:

People are invited to provide their comments on a proposed cleanup plan for the former DuPont manufacturing facility in Brevard.

The 60-day public comment period for the plan started today and concludes July 25. A notice about the cleanup plan was published in today’s editions of the Transylvania Times.

DuPont made high purity silicon from 1957 to 1962 and X-ray films from 1962 to 2002 at the site. The plant was taken out of production and demolished in 2004. The manufacturing operations on the property resulted in soil and groundwater contamination at the site, which is surrounded by DuPont State Recreational Forest.

The state environmental agency is overseeing the assessment and cleanup of the property. DuPont is the responsible party for assessment and cleanup of this contamination and prepared the proposed cleanup plan in accordance with state law. Past cleanup actions included demolition and removal activities of the former plant, and removal, recycling and relocation of X-ray film waste, installation of covers on the former landfill disposal areas, and installation of a treatment system for the DuPont State Recreational Forest Visitor Center’s water supply well. The proposed cleanup plan describes additional excavation and remediation activities and allows the company to use site-specific remediation standards that will ensure that no unacceptable risk to human health and the environment remains. The proposed plan, including data gathered during the investigations of the site, is online at: uspioneer.com and is also available for review at the Transylvania County Library in Brevard.

Comments on the proposed cleanup plan can be emailed to Mark.Wilkins@ncdenr.gov or regular mail to Mark Wilkins, 1646 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699. Comments received by July 25 will be incorporated, as appropriate, in the cleanup plan. Once the state environmental agency approves the proposed cleanup plan, a second public notice will be issued providing for a 45-day public comment period. Also, a public meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. June 23 in the Rogow Room of the Transylvania County Library. Officials from DuPont and the state will be available to provide people with information about the proposed cleanup plan.

Information about the nature and extent of the contamination at the site is presented in the remedial investigation report, which is available electronically for review at: deq.nc.gov

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About Thomas Calder
Thomas Calder received his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. His writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, the Miracle Monocle, Juked and elsewhere. His debut novel, The Wind Under the Door, is now available.

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