At Brenntag Mid-South, our goal and top priority is to be the safest chemical distributor. This commitment encompasses the health and safety of our employees as well as product safety and the protection of the environment. Our safety record speaks for itself, and we can confidently say that recent samplings demonstrate the present issues are not directly related to our operations. Still, Brenntag Mid-South is committed to being part of a future solution.
Since 2023, Brenntag Mid-South has been collecting all process water generated at the facility into large basins on the property and has hired companies to haul this process water off the property on a regular basis. The volume of process water removed by Brenntag to date has been significant. Brenntag also completed a creek cleanup project in February 2023 for the area of Third Fork Creek between its facility outfall and a nearby culvert. This involved digging down approximately one foot into the creek bottom and removing any black material encountered, as well as the installation of new rocks along the creek bank for extra erosion control. Brenntag Mid-South is also moving forward with further evaluation efforts, including historical information review and additional groundwater and surface water sampling events to narrow down the source of impacts. Brenntag Mid-South is also planning to undergo significant and costly stormwater conveyance system upgrades to help prevent contamination from entering its stormwater conveyance system. These efforts are being undertaken at significant cost to Brenntag Mid-South even though the data indicates the source of the problem is likely historical impacts and not Brenntag Mid-South’s operations.
In 2001, Southchem, Inc., Brenntag’s predecessor at the property, installed a remediation system to treat impacted groundwater at the property through the operation of a groundwater extraction and treatment system with a permitted effluent discharge outfall to Third Fork Creek after Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) were identified in stormwater runoff. Brenntag has continued to pay for the operation of this remediation system, which is monitored and regulated by NCDEQ. The system has been operating to treat groundwater at the property for more than 20 years with a permit from NCDEQ.