Community Invited to July 27 Town Hall and Drop-In Session about Kerr-McGee Superfund Site in Columbus, Miss.

COLUMBUS, MS, JULY 20, 2023 – Multistate Trust representatives, together with federal and state officials, will update the community about cleanup work, studies and reuse planning at the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Columbus Superfund Site during a Town Hall Meeting and a Drop-In Session on Thursday, July 27.

The events will give community members the opportunity to learn, ask questions and offer input on: Site activities, assessing risks to health and the environment, local contracting, and potential redevelopment opportunities.

The events will not cover the Proposed Plan for Operable Unit 3 (Southern Former Main Plant Area Soils [former process area]) and Operable Unit 5 (Northern Former Main Plant Area Soils [outside of former process area]) at the Site; that topic will be covered at a Proposed Plan meeting to be scheduled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Town Hall Meeting: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. In person and virtual. A presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer segment.
Drop-In Session: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. In person only. Talk one-on-one with and ask questions of representatives of the Multistate Trust, EPA, and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

Location: The Dream Center, 1820 North 23rd Street, Columbus, Mississippi

  • Join meeting online: Use this Zoom link or enter tinyurl.com/ColumbusMeetings in your browser. 

  • Join meeting by phone: Call (301) 715-8592. Use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.

See the flyer for more information.

Topics:

  • Assessing risks to health and the environment at Superfund sites: A toxicologist will share information and answer questions about how potential risks to health and the environment are assessed and managed under EPA’s Superfund program. 

  • Local contracting overview: The Multistate Trust will share an update on local contracting.

  • Potential redevelopment opportunities: The Multistate Trust and its community partners will provide an update on potential, community-supported, safe, beneficial, and economically sustainable future uses for the Site.

Host:
The Town Hall Meeting and Drop-in Session are hosted by the Multistate Environmental Response Trust (Multistate Trust), whichassumed responsibility for the Site as part of a bankruptcy settlement. The Multistate Trust works with its beneficiaries – EPA and MDEQ – to clean up Site-related contamination and facilitate safe, community-supported, beneficial reuse of the Site. The court-appointed trustee of the Multistate Trust is Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC, a subsidiary of Greenfield Environmental Trust Group, Inc.

Site Background:

From 1928 to 2003, Kerr-McGee and its predecessors operated a wood treating facility at the ±91-acre Site in the Memphistown neighborhood of Columbus. Most wood treating occurred on the ±47-acre Former Main Plant Area, located south of 14th Avenue North. The ±44-acre Pine Yard, located north of 14th Avenue North, was used mostly to store lumber, but some treatment and unauthorized disposal occurred in limited areas. The wood treating used creosote and other chemicals. Kerr-McGee and its predecessors released contaminants into the soil and groundwater. 

For More Information:

Media Contact: Christine Amrhine (Multistate Trust), (540) 846-3163, ca@g-etg.com

Anna Novikova