"Alcoa - originally the Aluminum Company of America - purchased the town of Badin in 1916 and operated an aluminum smelter there until 2010. The smelting process generated hazardous waste that was buried in open pits on-site and throughout the nearby West Badin community. For decades, West Badin's predominantly African American residents have borne the brunt of this contamination. Because the site continues to discharge pollutants into surrounding water bodies, Alcoa is required to maintain an active NPDES permit governing wastewater and stormwater releases."
""The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DEQ) must strengthen the draft permit through several key improvements," the comment letter states. "Among their recommendations was the urgent call for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Department of Waste Management (DWM) to work together because pollution from the facility continues to spread into the community and local water bodies at an alarming rate. Strategizing and taking action are needed to solve the ongoing pollution issue.""
Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a joint public comment urging stronger protections in the NPDES permit renewal for the former Alcoa Badin Works. Alcoa operated an aluminum smelter in Badin until 2010, producing hazardous waste buried on-site and throughout West Badin, disproportionately impacting predominantly African American residents. The groups call for permit improvements, coordination between the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Waste Management, enhanced monitoring, and a publicly accessible dashboard integrating RCRA and NPDES data to provide real-time warnings, plain-language guidance, and verifiable evidence to local families.
Read at SCSJ
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