Stauffer Chemical Co. (LeMoyne Plant)

Overview

The Stauffer Chemical Co. LeMoyne Plant is a 730-acre former chemical manufacturing facility in Axis, Alabama. Operations began in the 1950s, and waste disposal into an unlined landfill and an unlined pond ran from the 1960s through the 1970s. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984 after finding contaminated groundwater, sediment, and soil. Nouryon currently owns and operates the property, where chemical manufacturing continues. As of December 2024, the site supported 247 workers and generated roughly $199 million in annual sales.

Eleven contaminants of concern have been identified. Groundwater in the Cold Creek and LeMoyne area contains butylate, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, molinate, pebulate, and EPTC. Mercury has been found in soil, fish tissue, and sediment. Cyanide is present in soil and sediment in the solid waste management units area. Contamination has spread beneath the neighboring Stauffer Chemical Cold Creek Plant and into Cold Creek Swamp. The Alabama Department of Public Health has issued a fish advisory for Cold Creek Swamp, advising people not to eat fish caught there.

Cleanup is organized into three operable units (OUs). OU1 addresses groundwater, where pump-and-treat systems installed in the 1980s have been modified multiple times and have been in operation and maintenance since 1996. OU2 covers solid waste management units, with remedial design work estimated to wrap up between July and September 2026 and remedial action estimated between May and July 2027. OU3 covers the swamp area. A 17.5-acre engineered cap was completed in 2016 over contaminated sediment in Cold Creek Swamp, but a 2024 supplemental investigation found source areas outside the capped zone. A plan to extend the cap into the Upper Arm Swamp Zone has been approved. A feasibility study for OU3 began in August 2024, with a second remedial action phase estimated for completion between September and November 2027.

The most recent Five-Year Review, completed in September 2021, found that OU1 groundwater protection is only short-term and requires institutional controls and additional investigations. The Cold Creek Swamp remedy was found to be not protective, and additional investigations and targeted removals were recommended. The next Five-Year Review is estimated between August and October 2026. EPA has determined that human exposure to contamination is currently under control and that groundwater migration is stabilized, though cleanup construction is not yet complete.

Community members can stay informed through public notices and information meetings. In January 2020, Nouryon and the EPA presented site updates at a LeMoyne Community Advisory Panel meeting. Site documents are available at the Satsuma Public Library at Exit 5466 Old Highway 43 in Satsuma, Alabama. For questions, residents can contact Community Involvement Coordinator Brenda Bonner or Remedial Project Manager Connor Keisling.