EPA Tells Families they Can Return Home, Some Feel it’s Unsafe
45 views · Published 28 January 2015 · 2:55 · Indexed 3 October 2026
Channel: WLOS News 13 · 2015 · News & Politics
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. -- Five months after toxic vapors near the CTS site in south Asheville prompted the EPA to evacuate three families, EPA officials tell them they can return home. However, residents tell News 13 they're not convinced it's safe enough to move back in for two reasons. Residents say they haven't been given a copy of the EPA's test results showing the vapors are now safe, and they say they haven't been getting the money they were promised to help pay for their expenses. Since June, three families were relocated to hotels after testing found high levels of the toxic chemical TCE inside their homes. Although the EPA has been working for months, resident Terry Rice isn't convinced. "I feel like all this is just a coverup and just a quick response to make some kind of showing that they are trying to do something," Rice said. Rice and his family own the property adjacent to the CTS Superfund site, and they also rent homes to two families. Over the past couple of months, the EPA has filled in their springs and installed a maze of PVC pipes to transport vapors to a trailer meant to serve as a filter and turn toxic chemicals into healthy air. Rice said he became suspicious a couple of weeks ago when he found several cameras in the trees and no one asked his permission to place them there. He also has questions about the timing. He and his tenants were just told they can move back into their homes and they say the Army Corps of Engineers has admitted they ran out of money and can no longer afford to pay for their hotel rooms. News 13 spoke with the family of six who rents a trailer from Rice. They say more than a week ago they went to the Army Corps of Engineers to get their bi-monthly stipend of $3,500. They were told they couldn't get it because the money's gone. Late Tuesday afternoon, the EPA sent News 13 an email admitting there was a delay in paying families. They say they'll be paid by the corps of engineers in the "very near future." The EPA budgeted $625,000 for temporary relocation expenses for the three households and say they've already spent about $230,000. _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/News13/ WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1 Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anchormoms-the-podcast Watch more top local news stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8Ge6UXHJs&list=PLkVbaoT-aYbIvnEpR0Ct5QQQqYaORUSUH For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
