Barber Orchard

Overview

A 438-acre apple orchard operated in Haywood County, North Carolina from 1908 until 1988. Pesticides were mixed on-site and pushed through a buried pipeline to treat the trees. When the property was foreclosed and split into residential parcels in 1988, testing in 1999 found organochlorine pesticides in a drinking water well. Further sampling confirmed pesticides, arsenic, and lead in both soil and groundwater. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2001.

Contaminants of concern span two operable units. Operable Unit 1 covers pesticides and metals in soil and groundwater, including aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, DDT compounds, arsenic, and lead. Operable Unit 2 addresses metals in groundwater such as aluminum, barium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, and vanadium, along with pesticides including lindane and alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane. In total, the EPA identified 23 chemicals that pose unacceptable risk and require cleanup action.

The main soil cleanup ran from 2004 to 2010. Workers excavated roughly 200,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris from about 117 acres of residential properties and orchard land. The underground pipeline was removed and clean soil was brought in to refill the excavated areas. For groundwater, the EPA chose a no-action remedy in 2011, relying on long-term monitoring instead. A 2024 review confirmed that the current groundwater remedy protects human health. Biennial groundwater sampling continues, with the next round scheduled for 2025. The site reached sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in March 2014, and six businesses now operate on-site.

Current assessments show human exposure to contaminants is under control across the entire site, with no unacceptable exposure pathways. Contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Zoning restrictions prevent incompatible land uses on contaminated parcels. Since 1988, new potable wells in the area have required a permit, and the Town of Waynesville extended its municipal water line through the site between 2004 and 2005. The most recent five-year review was completed in September 2021, and the next is expected between August and October 2026. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.

Community members can stay involved through public notices, public meetings, and interviews that the EPA holds about cleanup activities and site updates. Site documents are available at the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville and through the EPA electronically. For direct questions, the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator and Remedial Project Manager are listed in the site contacts.