From 1936 until 1974, the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation operated a wood treatment facility on the banks of the Brunswick River in the historic African-American community of Navassa. When the plant ceased operation, the plant was dismantled, but years of operations prior to meaningful environmental regulation left behind a legacy of creosote contamination on the 245 acre site. Following the bankruptcy of a holding company created by Kerr-McGee, the Multistate Environmental Response Trust was appointed to oversee the remediation and redevelopment of the now designated Superfund site in partnership with EPA, the State of North Carolina, the Town of Navassa, and other local, state, and federal stakeholders.
With a mandate from EPA to secure community support for the remediation and redevelopment of the site, the Multistate Trust engaged Benchmark in 2017 as part of a multi-faceted planning process with extensive public input that brought together a wide range of experts to engage the Town and its residents as a plan was developed for the site. With the planning process now successfully completed, the Trust is now moving forward with the remediation process and marketing the site for redevelopment in accordance with the community based vision.