Press Releases

Congressman Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.) discussed the need for action on the Terry Creek/Hercules site in Brunswick with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler today. During the meeting, Carter requested that the administrator work with other federal partners, including the Department of Justice, to put forth a consent decree that is beneficial to all parties. Carter also relayed the information he received in his meeting earlier this week on the issue with local community members in Brunswick. 

"I had a productive conversation with Administrator Wheeler today regarding the Terry Creek site," said Carter. "I told the administrator that the EPA and their federal partners need to go back to the drawing board to develop a consent decree that is consistent with the needs of our local community. I told the administrator that we need action and that I will continue to follow up until we receive it." 


Carter also hand delivered his request in writing to Acting Administrator Wheeler. To view Carter's letter, please click here. 

Full text of Carter's letter to Acting Administrator Wheeler:

In your role as the Acting Administrator of the EPA, you have a number of responsibilities and programs to oversee, including the Superfund program. I have the honor of serving on the Energy & Commerce Committee and in that role, I have asked questions about the Superfund program's progress, especially as it relates to timeliness and remediation. One such site of interest is the Terry Creek/Hercules site in Brunswick, Georgia. This site, where chemicals were previously manufactured, is an important stretch of land and is extremely valuable to the local community's ability to develop. As such, I ask that you work with other federal partners, including the Department of Justice, to put forth a consent decree that is beneficial to all parties. 

Last week, the Glynn County Board of Commissioners and the City of Brunswick passed a resolution opposing the consent decree and the proposed remedial action. That consent decree proposed an action to clean up the contaminated materials and store them on site, rather than remove and dispose of them at a different location. It is a difficult task pursuing economic development opportunities, and to have to market a property with contaminated materials only makes it more difficult. While the Department of Justice has a leading role in the recently released consent decree, I urge you to work with them to consider the thoughts and needs of the local communities and to put forth a solution that accounts for those. 

The Superfund program plays an important role in cleaning up our communities and providing new opportunities where they weren't possible before remediation. Working with the local communities will help to further the role of the program while utilizing the input of those will be most impacted by those decisions. Thank you for your continued service to our country's environmental cleanup needs, especially as they relate to issues we're facing in the First Congressional District of Georgia. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office if you need any additional information.