Advocate l Educate l Protect

PCB contamination poses a serious threat to wildlife and humans.  The purpose of this website is to increase public awareness of the issues surrounding PCB contamination, as well as the status and ongoing needs of the PCB clean up associated with the Ward Transformer Superfund Site.

Interested in getting involved?

The Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation is forming a group of local residents to help monitor and advocate for the elimination of PCB contamination in the Upper Neuse water bodies.  We hope you will join us: please click here for information about the Crabtree Committee

Status Updates:

• Clean Up is currently underway at the Ward Transformer Superfund Site itself; a tentative completion date has been set for sometime this summer.  A dam has been created at the outfall of this project so no water is currently leaving the site; in order to avoid additional downstream contamination this dam will not be removed until clean up at the immediate site location is complete.
• PCB levels high enough to warrant the issuance of a public health advisory have been found in fish all the way to the Neuse River; the contamination found in fish has now spread over 20 miles downstream of the initial site and includes Briar Creek Reservoir, Lake Crabtree, Crabtree Creek and the Neuse River from Crabtree Creek to Auburn/Knightdale Road
• No additional testing has been done since the issuance of the Record of Decision; the concentration and extent of PCB contamination in sediment downstream of the site itself is still unknown.  Fish consumption advisories will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
• Currently, no plans exist for active remediation of the contamination downstream of the site; monitored natural recovery (MNR), or the wait-and-see approach, has been proposed for all areas downstream of Little Brier Creek

On February 26, 2009 NRF hosted a public meeting to help the community learn more about how PCB contamination affects our communities, what actions are currently underway to address the contamination, and alternative methods for eliminating the pollutant in our water. During the meeting the public had an opportunity to view relevant maps and images, learn about PCBs, hear about plans for the clean up of the Ward Transformer Superfund Site, and ask questions of a panel of experts.

On this page you can access video of the meeting, a 10-minute issue overview film produced by UNC, and other bits of video footage related to this issue.