Milio Cursio has a neighbor problem. The Augusta County farm where he raises chickens, goats, and turkeys lies less than 1,000 feet from a massive Northrop Grumman plant that’s applied for a state operating permit to begin manufacturing.
“And all this with Northrop Grumman is absolutely a threat to not only the success of the homestead, but to the health of us, you know, our family, to our animals, to the soil that we’re trying to grow our food in,” said Cursio, who lives with his wife and young son and is an Augusta County first responder. “It’s really frightening. It keeps us up at night, for sure.”
The permit would allow the company to emit nearly 25 tons of hazardous air pollutants each year, including chemicals such as toluene, xylenes, and MIBK, once it starts building aerospace and defense machinery.
Northrop Grumman says it will capture much of its own pollution using charcoal filters, booths, and special spray guns. But many aren’t convinced.
Retired Naval officer Emily Harman lives in Staunton. Her wish?
“Ideally? Northrop Grumman doesn’t move down here, you know, and move into the building,” Harman said, "but at a bare minimum, they should not be allowed to do their own testing. We need to do, to get third-party testing.”
Waynesboro social worker Brittany Centeno points upstream. More than 70 years after the DuPont plant stopped dumping mercury into the South River, you still can’t eat the fish.
“The history here with our drinking water, and just the people that really rely on these resources that we cannot get back,” said Centeno, who lives in Stuart’s Draft. “And it just feels really scary when it’s like the longevity of this being our community is being traded for money, and it can’t be repaired once it’s done.”
Waynesboro vice mayor Lorie Jean Akanbi asked DEQ to require third-party monitoring as part of Northrop Grumman’s permit. Now, it’s up to DEQ to decide.
A final community meeting takes place tonight at the Waynesboro High School auditorium starting at 6 p.m.