NAVASSA, NC — A Brunswick County chemical processor has admitted to secretly dumping thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater into the Cape Fear River over multiple years, a practice federal prosecutors say placed downstream communities and subsistence fishers at risk.
American Distillation Inc., located at 1690 Royster Road NE in Brunswick County, which has operated beside the river in Navassa since 1992, pleaded guilty in federal court to knowingly discharging chemical pollutants in violation of the Clean Water Act. The company blends industrial‑grade alcohol and accepts chemical waste from other facilities. Investigators say the business routinely took in more waste than its permit allowed, then disposed of the excess illegally.
Rather than paying for proper disposal, production managers and company leadership hooked up hoses five to six times a year, dumping roughly 2,500 gallons of toxic wastewater at a time straight into a pipe leading to the river to cut costs and avoid shutting down operations. Federal prosecutors say the waste stream included tert‑butyl alcohol, tert‑butyl hydroperoxide, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, and water, all stored in a 250,000‑gallon tank before being illegally discharged.
Although some early reporting framed the case as occurring “outside Wilmington,” the facility sits entirely within Brunswick County, and the dumping occurred in Brunswick’s stretch of the Cape Fear River. The river flows past Navassa, Northwest, Leland, Sandy Creek, and Town Creek, and is used by many residents for fishing and recreation. Prosecutors noted that the discharges affected communities that rely on the river for subsistence fishing, including Gullah‑Geechee descendants in Navassa.
There are longstanding community concerns about industrial pollution along the Cape Fear River, but there is no documented evidence that American Distillation’s illegal discharges caused cancer or other illnesses in Brunswick County residents. No agency has reported contamination of the county’s treated drinking water related to this case, and federal investigators have not identified any confirmed health impacts tied to the dumping.
Three parties have pleaded guilty in connection with the case: American Distillation Inc. for violating the Clean Water Act, owner Andrew J. Simmons Jr. for failing to pay federal taxes, and former production manager Barry Darnell White for directing and carrying out the illegal dumping. Sentencing is pending, and the company’s attorney has argued that American Distillation cannot afford the penalties federal prosecutors are seeking.
The case has renewed attention on Brunswick County’s industrial corridor along the Cape Fear River and raised questions about long‑term oversight, environmental justice, and water quality impacts for downstream communities.
All individuals named in this report are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Charges and case statuses may change as investigations and court proceedings continue.
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