►
Description
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department confirmed an intentional illegal dumping of toxic waste (including trichlorobenzene and PCBs) into the sewer system that impacted the Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant on U.S. 29 North.
Full news release: http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Newsroom/newsarchive/Pages/Illegal-dumping-and-impact-statement.aspx
A
It's
been
a
long
night
for
city
staff
as
we
pull
together
an
interagency
response
to
a
case
of
illegal
chemical
dumping
into
our
sanitary
sewer
system.
I
want
to
make
a
one
statement
very
clear
right
now
that
this
illegal
chemical
dumping
incident
that
we're
sharing
with
you
this
morning
does
not
does
not
affect
drinking
water.
It
is
a
dumping
into
our
sanitary
sewer
system
and
has
not
gone
into
our
water
supply
at
all.
A
In
fact,
the
chemical
that
was
dumped
was
actually
isolated
within
our
mallard
creek
wastewater
treatment
plant,
where
we
were
able
to
assess
what
the
chemical
was
his
properties,
the
chemical
was
contained
because
the
plant
was
actually
shut
down
by
alert
personnel
in
charlotte-mecklenburg
utility
department
until
a
full
assessment
could
be
made.
We
have
put
the
plant
back
online
this
morning
now
that
we
have
assurances
that
it
is
safe
to
do
so.
A
However,
we
do
want
to
caution
people
living
along
mount
mallard,
creek
south
of
the
plant,
particularly
in
Cabarrus
County,
to
avoid
human
or
animal
contact
with
water
in
the
creek.
Until
we
do
more
testing
from
all
the
research
and
analysis
that
we
have
done,
we
have
high
level
of
assurances
that
the
water
will
be
safe
as
it
leaves
the
plant,
but
we
do
want
to
engage
in
an
abundance
of
caution
and
as
people
again
to
avoid
water
contact.
Animals
and
human
I
have
with
me
this
morning.
Barry
gullet.
A
B
We
detected
an
unusual
substance
coming
into
the
mallard
creek
wastewater
treatment
plant
around
noon.
Yesterday
we
immediately
began
investigation.
We
took
the
plant
offline,
we
were
able
to
divert
waste
water
coming
into
the
plant
into
a
storage
tank
where
we
held
it.
We
contacted
Charlotte,
Fire
Department
hazmat
to
come,
help
us
figure
out
what
it
was.
We
were
able
to
trace
the
the
substance
upstream
and
we
found
the
point
where
we
believe
a
deliberate
and
illegal
discharge
was
made
into
the
sewer
system.
B
We
worked
through
the
night
to
make
adjustments
in
the
plant
to
be
sure
that
we
could
handle
the
the
product
and
that
we
could
produce
safe
and
clean
wastewater
from
the
plant.
So
the
plant,
like
mr.
Carly,
said
the
plant
is
back
online
and
is
functioning
this
morning.
I'll
turn
it
over
to
thank
you,
mister
Carly.
Thank.
A
C
D
B
A
Yeah
there
have
been
other
instances
of
this
and
other
communities
specifically
Greenville
South
Carolina.
They
were
helpful
in
providing
us
information
about
how
they
dealt
with
a
chemical
in
their
wastewater
plant.
We're
also
going
to
be
following
up
in
terms
of
their
criminal
case
as
well,
so
detective
Rob
class
here
from
charlotte-mecklenburg
Police
Department
will
share
some
information
on
that.
For
you.
E
I'm
here
to
ask
for
the
public's
help
in
this
matter
sometime
during
the
late
evening
of
wednesday,
februari
fifth
in
the
early
morning,
hours
of
februari.
Sixth,
we
believe
that's
the
time
period,
that
this
dumping
has
taken
place
and
what
we're
looking
for
is
the
area
around
West,
Sugar,
Creek
Road
in
harris
boulevard,
they're,
most
likely
suspect
vehicle
would
be
like
a
septic
pump
truck.
E
A
All
right,
thank
you
very
much
again.
If
you
see
anything
in
the
public,
that
appears
to
be
someone
dumping
something
into
the
sanitary
sewer
system,
and
it
is
not
a
charlotte-mecklenburg
utility
department
truck.
Please
call
911
and
saw
anything
in
the
area
of
sugar,
creek
and
WT
harris.
There
is
a
food
wine
store
in
that
area.
A
We
believe
a
sanitary
sewer
system
serving
part
of
that
store
was
the
place
where
this
illegal
dumping
a
court
occurred,
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
food
line
operations
that
someone
took
advantage
of
sanitary
sewer
access
at
that
store,
and
if
anybody
saw
anything
suspicious
in
that
area,
early
late,
Wednesday
night
or
early
thursday
morning,
please
call
crime.
Stoppers
also
with
me
is
Deputy
Fire
Chief,
Jeff
Doolin.
He
is
our
emergency
manager
he's
been
in
contact
with
our
other
federal
and
state
partners
who
have
we
all
engaged
into
this
investigation
as
well?
Yes,
ma'am.
We.
C
A
To
get
you
into
the
first
news
cycle,
when
we
actually
had
information
that
we
could
put
out,
we
really
have
worked
this
issue
throughout
the
entire
evening
to
understand
what
went
into
the
system,
what
impacts
that
may
have,
whether
or
not
there's
a
danger
to
the
public,
and
now
that
we
have
fairly
complete
information.
We
wanted
to
put
it
out
in
the
very
first
news
cycle
that
we
could.
C
A
D
A
We
think
we
have
nailed
that
down
based
on
fairly
exhaustive
work
during
the
day
yesterday,
that
we
will
be
double-checking
the
entire
line
over
the
course
of
this
morning
in
daylight
to
make
sure
that
we
have
not
missed
anything
but
based
on
what
was
a
very
comprehensive
research
again,
involving
both
the
utilities
department
and
the
fire
department.
We
feel
like
we've
been,
we
we
think
we
have
identified
the
actual
location
where
the
dumping
occurred.
B
We
may
never
know
exactly
what
the
entire
substance
was,
but
we
know
the
components
of
it.
One
of
the
components
as
I
said
earlier
is
PCBs
which
have
been
banned
since
the
late
70s,
but
but
still
turn
up
in
the
environment
from
time
to
time.
They're
very
hazardous
material,
the
other
material
that
we
found.
The
other
substance
we
found
in
this
material
was
try
chlorobenzene,
which
is
an
organic
chemical.
B
So
we've
been
monitoring
those
levels
and,
like
I,
said,
we've
isolated,
that
we
have
storage
tanks
at
the
mallard
creek
plant
and
we're
able
to
divert
that
that
contaminated
wastewater
into
those
storage
tanks.
We
believe
that
the
waste
water
that's
coming
into
the
plant
now
is
is
relatively
clear
of
that
material.
We
believe
that
it
is
all
flowed
down
the
pipe.
B
The
mallard
creek
wastewater
treatment
plant
is
located
near
the
mecklenburg
cabarrus
county
line
out
near
the
Charlotte
Motor
Speedway,
and
the
the
site
that
has
been
identified
as
the
dumping
site
is
near.
The
intersection
of
Sugar
Creek,
Road
and
Harris
Boulevard,
which
is
about
as
I
said.
It's
about
10
miles
away.
B
We
really
don't
know
we.
We
know
that
septic,
hauling
trucks
of
the
type
that
we
suspect
was
used
in
this.
This
incident
generally
can
hold
somewhere
between
three
and
five
thousand
gallons.
So
we
again,
we
don't
know
exactly
how
much
was
put
into
the
sewer
system,
but
we
know
it
was
a
significant
amount.
B
B
So
again,
we
would
ask
that
the
public
be
very
diligent.
This
may
not
be
a
one-time
incident
if
this
person
has
done
it
once
they
may
do
it
again,
and
so
we
we
really
do
need
the
public's
help
in
being
diligent
about
watching
for
people
who
are
putting
things
into
the
sewer
system.
That
should
not
be.
E
B
Yes,
it
is
a
very
big
concern.
This
is
this
is
a
very
risky
and
very
dangerous
thing.
We
were
fortunate
in
that
we
were
able
to
identify
the
material
coming
into
the
plant
and
and
our
workers
always
wear
protective
equipment,
but
there
are
substances
that
exist
in
the
world
that
could
be
very
harmful
to
our
workers
and
22
citizens.
So,
yes,
we're
very
concerned
about
this
and
hope
that
we
can
that
we
can
catch
the
police
department
and
the
officials
can
catch
the
person
who
did
this.
D
B
A
Once
again,
we
want
to
thank
you
very
much
for
turning
out
at
this
early
hour
and
letting
us
get
information
out
to
the
public
as
soon
as
we
possibly
were
able
to
do
so.
We
are
conducting
tests
currently
based
on
the
water
that
we
are
treating
once
we
have
those
tests
we
will
make
them
available
to
you.
I
should
also
say
that
I
have
been
in
contact
with
the
mayor
throughout
the
night
and
the
early
morning.
A
He
is
fully
apprised
of
the
situation
and
would
be
available
to
you
if
appropriate
later
in
the
day,
as
will
we
and
again,
we
will
share
our
testing
information
as
soon
as
it
is
available.
The
bottom
line
messages
that
we
do
want
to
leave
our
number
one.
This
incident
does
not
affect
our
drinking
water
number.
Two
indications
are
that
the
discharge
for
our
wastewater
treatment
plant
is
safe.
Now,
however,
until
we
do
testing,
we
want
people
on
on
mallard
creek
to
avoid
human
and
animal
contact
and
number
three.