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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Superfund land in Navassa set to become Moze Heritage Center and Nature Park

Land in Navassa near the future Moze Heritage Center, part of the NC Gullah Geechee Greenway / Blueway Heritage Trail

The Superfund site in Navassa is about to see its first segment transfer to the Town for ownership.  The legacy of contamination left behind by a wood treatment plant is partially transforming into a Gullah Geechee Heritage site.

 

The wood treatment plant in Navassa operated for 44 years before closing in 1980. But the contamination it left behind is part of an 18-year cleanup and remediation effort by the EPA, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the Multistate Trust

 

Richard Elliott is the Trust’s project manager.  

"We will continue to work with the Town in conveying a piece of property to the Town for use as the Moze Heritage Center and Nature Park...

 

"In the not-too-distant future, we’ve told people that we wouldn’t start really marketing the property until we have an approved ROD for OU1, but if that happens in April, then soon thereafter we will actively start marketing the property."

A ROD is a Record of Decision.  Whomever winds up with that other piece – whether through sale or transfer – must be approved by stakeholders with plans for a positive contribution to the community.  

The Moze Heritage Center and Nature Park is the centerpiece of Navassa’s contribution to the North Carolina Greenway / Blueway Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail – part of the larger Heritage Corridor that stretches from Florida to North Carolina.

 

As work goes along, officials say they will continue to use local and minority contractors as much as possible. 

 

They are also examining the effect of sea level rise over time on contamination in the marsh, which, they say, is complicated.

 

 

 

There is another public meeting on the Superfund site process set for 6:30 PM, Tuesday, March 23rd.

 

 

When:

 

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

12 noon – 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

 

Where:

 

The public can join the meetings by phone or online (Zoom). To access either meeting:

 

  • PHONE: Call 1-301-715-8592, and enter meeting ID 946 584 8922# and passcode 664564#,

or

 
Both meetings will start with the same 30-minute presentation, and a question-and-answer period will follow.

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.