PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Cradock residents left a public meeting frustrated Wednesday night after learning about significant delays and funding issues complicating the cleanup of the Peck Iron and Metal superfund site.
The Environmental Protection Agency held a community update at Portsmouth City Hall to discuss the site's safety plan and background. EPA Remedial Project Manager Joel Mintzer explained that the discovery of World War-era explosives at the site in 2023 changed the entire remediation plan.
"What we do now when we dig is we have to create an exclusion zone around the area we will dig so that no one could wander within 160 feet of where we're digging," Mintzer said.
Because of the explosives, the original plan to remediate contaminated sediments may no longer be possible. Additionally, the death of the site's owner made accessing the property more difficult.
Beyond the physical challenges, the project faces a major financial hurdle.
"Previously, $42 million had been earmarked towards the remediation of the project. Since the new administration's taken over, now those funds have been redistributed, so they have to request funding before they can even start, even the small steps of cleaning up the site," Jessica Evans said.
Evans, a Cradock resident who attended the meeting to better understand the remediation efforts, expressed disappointment with the communication.
"As someone who asked questions, it really did feel, um, kind of dismissive," Evans said.
Neighbors also raised concerns about stormwater runoff potentially carrying toxins from the site into Paradise Creek. While Mintzer and his team are only responsible for the Peck Iron site, there are three other superfund sites nearby.
Mintzer noted the meeting was intended to address these community worries.
"We felt that folks deserved some transparency and some honesty about where we're at and why we are where we're at. So this was an attempt to be proactive and to get ahead of some of the concerns that folks have and make people feel that they're not being ignored," Mintzer said.
Evans hopes local and state officials will find a way to advance the cleanup.
"We're a community, we're supposed to be there for each other and I'd like to see more of that," Evans said.
Mintzer said the EPA is currently receiving collected samples. The agency will analyze the samples over the next few weeks to determine how to safely clean up the site, though any action will depend on federal funding.
You can find the full presentation here.
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