NGOZI IBE - REMINGTON HOUSE, 1992

Ngozi Ibe

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Leaders met to discuss the 87-acre site that is contaminated with chemicals in Navassa. Representatives from the EPA, the state, as well as the owners of the former Kerr-McGee Chemical site organized the meeting.

They told neighbors that crews will begin the work to decontaminate the soil in January, and are expected to finish by May. The work will include testing as the cleanup progresses. There will be detours set up around the property and crews will also take precautions to ensure nearby areas will not be affected.

“We’re containing and backfilling the excavations as we remove the dirt so that way we’re not leaving it open for anything like rainwater or anything to collect. So there isn’t really a risk of runoff, but we will be putting erosion and sediment control measures in place all around the work area to contain anything that could possibly, you know, runoff”, says Ngozi Ibe, Senior Project Manager and Environmental Justice Specialist. Crews also sampled soil in ditches near the superfund site to check whether contaminants moved into other areas. The project manager said those results should be back within 21 days.

Two contractors have been chosen to clean up the soil: Carl and Sons Construction Company and SR&R Environmental Inc. They hosted a hiring outreach event on October 24 and are still accepting applications for the job.

The land has received one bid so far, but Multistate Trust Property is not satisfied with it. It doesn’t meet their minimum requirements, and so, they will revisit the property sale strategy. Ngozi Ibe is a Senior Project Manager & Environmental Justice Specialist at Multistate Trust site in Navassa, NC where she supposrts Multistate Trust’s environmental justice programs. Ngozi earned her BS in Geology from the University of Calabar, Nigeria and an MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Click below to watch Ngozi in the news!