News Release from Town of Belmont can be found here.
On February 17, 2014, the City of Belmont’s Wastewater Treatment Plant staff discovered a suspected illegal substance had been dumped into a grease trap at 700 Park Street, which is connected to the City’s sanitary sewer system. Upon discovering this, the City’s utility staff immediately blocked all sewage flow from this location to attempt to keep this substance from reaching the sanitary sewer pipeline and the wastewater treatment plant. Others responding to the site at that time included the Belmont Fire Department, the City of Gastonia Hazmat Team, and staff from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Department who have recently dealt with two incidents of this nature.
Through assistance from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities and local testing labs, Belmont staff arranged to have the substance tested for any organic or chemical compounds that might be harmful to humans, the environment, or the wastewater treatment process. As an additional precautionary measure, Belmont staff also shut off all flow from the wastewater treatment plant to the Catawba River, its receiving stream, and is diverting all flow to a holding tank.
Testing results received this morning revealed that the dumped substance contained PCBs. It should be emphasized that this substance is in the sanitary sewer system and has no impact on Belmont’s public water system. There is no problem at all in the public’s use of water for drinking or any other purpose. The potential harm from this substance would be from direct physical contact, which would not occur with it in being contained in the sanitary sewer system.
