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City Reports 2nd Case Of Illegal Chemical Dumping

There’s been another incident of illegal dumping into Charlotte’s waste water system. The city said in a statement at 4 o’clock this morningthat more of a potentially cancer-causing chemical called PCBs has been found, this time in the Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, off Tyvola Road.  The illegal dumping is in the wastewater treatment system, and officials say it does NOT affect drinking water.

The latest dumping was discovered Saturday night around 8:45, when employees detected an unusual odor at the Sugar Creek plant. Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities shut the plant down and diverted wastewater into a containment basin.  Officials also are warning that people and animals should stay away from the Sugar Creek until further notice.

The dumping is the second of its kind in recent days. On Thursday, authorities shut the Mallard Creek wastewater plant after a dumping traced to the rear of a grocery store on West Sugar Creek Road.  Two chemicals were found: trichlorobenzene, which is used in herbicides and as an industrial coolant and lubricant, and PCBs, which Congress banned  in 1979 but can still be found in older electrical equipment such as transformers.

City officials believe the chemicals were carried to the site by a septic truck.  Police are investigating both incidents. Anyone with information is asked to call CRIMESTOPPERS at 704-334-1600.

DAN RIVER SPILL HAD DANGEROUS ARSENIC LEVELS

Officials continue to monitor water quality near the site of a coal ash spill from a retired Duke Energy Plant on the Dan River in northern North Carolina. WFAE’s Duncan McFadyen reports arsenic levels exceeded a state standard earlier this week. Read or listen to his full report here.

'MORAL MARCH' IN RALEIGH

Thousands of people marched in downtown Raleigh Saturday in what organizers called a Mass Moral March. State N-double-A-C-P president William Barber led the rally, calling on legislators to provide more money for schools, new anti-poverty policies, affordable health care and expanded Medicaid. The Raleigh News & Observer reported the rally drew marchers from across the state who came to protest what they see as “immoral” legislation by the Republican-led General Assembly and Republican Governor Pat McCrory. 

GASTONIA MAN DIES AFTER SHOOTING

South Carolina authorities say a 21-year-old Gastonia man has died after he was found with a gunshot wound inside a car. The coroner in Oconee County said Rashean Parker 2nd of Gastonia was found Saturday morning. Parker is formerly from Pendleton, South Carolina, and had friends in the area.  Parker went into cardiac arrest where his car was found. He said Parker has family and friends in the Upstate. Police are investigating the case as a murder. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.