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EPA seeks input on former septic site
Jim McNally photo
This property in Troutman formerly housed a septic tank service and is now a Superfund site.
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Published: July 8, 2009
The federal government is looking for input from a small number of Iredell County residents who have been dealing with the potentially hazardous aftermath of a former septic tank waste storage site.
The property, which has been designated a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is located on Eufola Road about five miles west of downtown Troutman.
It was the site of Sigmon Septic Tank Services from 1970 until 1992.
In 1995, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) conducted intense inspections of the property and found unhealthy conditions existed.
By 2004, the EPA had become involved with the property and subsequently labeled it a Superfund site.
"Part of the business involved receiving septic waste which was transported to the site," explained Beverly Hudson-Stepter, the site's remedial project manager. "There were stockpiles of the waste material stored there."
That waste material and the chemicals used to help break it down eventually made their way into the soil and finally to the water tables, from which folks living near it extracted their drinking and bathing water.
According to Hudson-Stepter, the two biggest water contaminants are the heavy metal arsenic and the volatile organic compound 1,4-dichlorobenzene.
She said higher levels of iron and manganese were also found at the site but pose less of a health risk.
Jamie and Kasey Vance and their two young children live in a trailer on Mustang Lane, which abuts the Sigmon site.
The moved into their home in July 2007 and were told at the time that the water was not safe.
"They said we could use it for a bath or shower," Jamie Vance recalled, "but that we shouldn't drink it."
The Vances said they did some research and discovered the situation may be more dangerous than they believed it to be.
"We found some things on the Internet that told us that some of those things aren't even safe to have on our skin," said Kasey Vance. "It said it could cause liver damage and kidney damage an other problems."
The Vances were told that one solution was to get one of the municipalities (most likely Troutman) to connect a water line to their house.
"But even if we could do that, we don't own the land," said Jamie Vance. "We own the trailer but not the land."
Carl Bills lives across Mustang Lane from the Vances.
He said his water comes from a deeper well than the one contaminated by the site.
"They said that I really didn't have to worry," Bills said. "But it's still scary."
The EPA wants those who have been or who could become impacted by the site to weigh in on the best way to tackle the problem.
A public meeting is slated for Thursday from 6:30 -7:30 at Celeste Henkel Elementary School, 1503 Old Mountain Raid.
Hudson-Stepter said options related to the project's cleanup will be discussed and folks can offer suggestions as well.
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