On Tuesday August 19th, 2025, a public hearing was held on the renewal of the NPDES permit to Alcoa’s Badin Business Park. Among the 21 speakers, 14 spoke critically of the permit, including The Southern Environmental Law Center, Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, North Carolina Conservation Network and others.
Below is a public comment by our friend Jennifer Richmond-Bryant.
My name is Dr. Jennifer Richmond-Bryant. I am an Associate Professor of Forestry and
Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. The views that I am
expressing today are my own and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the
University.
I am here today to share my comments about the proposed National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System wastewater permit for the Badin Business Park LLC to
discharge into Badin Lake (NC0004308). Badin Business Park is the location of the
shuttered Alcoa aluminum smelting plant. This site has been contaminated with
cyanide, arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum, fluoride, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Effluent containing these
chemicals can easily reach Badin Lake through Outfalls 02, 05, 11, 12, and 13,
contaminating areas used by local residents for swimming and fishing. Exposure to
these chemicals can cause cancer, neurologic damage such as tremors, personality
changes, learning deficits, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and diminished IQ;
damage to the liver and kidneys; bone weakening and osteoporosis; skin irritation;
cardiovascular disease; and death. Children exposed to this site are at particular risk of
developmental deficits. For people who regularly recreate in contaminated waters,
including local residents, chronic exposure to even low levels of these pollutants can
have toxic effects.
The demolition and clearing of the Badin Business Park LLC has already taken over
four months, underscoring the massive scale of this facility and the risk posed by the
pollution that has leached into the ground over nearly a century during which the site
operated. Given the August 12, 2025 Notice of Violation of fluoride discharge limits
issued by the NCDEQ, it is not clear that the Badin Business Park is prepared to
prioritize the health and safety of the Badin community. The permit should not be
granted without safeguards to ensure that the discharge points near high traffic areas
are closed (not just monitored) to minimize adverse exposures.
Thank you.
