Purpose: This is to notify the public of the issuance by the North Carolina Division of Waste Management’s Hazardous Waste Section of a draft Operational Permit for the LIVENT USA CORPORATION facility located at 1115 Kings Mountain Highway, in Bessemer City, North Carolina.
All data submitted by the applicant is part of the administrative record and available at https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/laserfiche . Documents may be located by using the EPA ID# NCD000771964. The draft Permit and fact sheet can also be found online at the following location: https://deq.nc.gov/news/events/public-notices-hearings .
Public Hearing: This hearing will be held Friday October 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM at the Bessemer City Public Library located at 207 North 12th Street in Bessemer City, North Carolina. All attendees will have the opportunity to present five (5) minute oral statements regarding the draft Permit and/or to submit written comments and data.
Comment Period Duration: September 17, 2025 to November 3, 2025
Public Comments: Written comments can also be sent during the public comment period of September 17, 2025 through November 3, 2025 to the following address:
Ms. Heather Standish, Hazardous Waste Section Chief
A summary of the draft Operational Permit follows:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has authorized North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality to issue Hazardous Waste Management Permits under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act including the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984.
The Livent USA Corporation site comprises approximately 900 acres in Gaston County bisected by Highway 161. The main plant is located on 68 Acres south and east of Highway 161. The specialty organics plant occupies approximately 20 acres.
Livent manufactures and produces inorganic and organic lithium chemicals, lithium metals, intermediates, and derivatives. Products include, but are not limited to, pharmaceutical grade lithium carbonate, LiOH, lithium metal, battery quality lithium metal products (e.g. ingots, rods), and lithium phosphate. Other organic lithium chemicals including butyllithium and lithium methoxide are produced primarily at the Specialty Organics Plant and shipped from the main plant. Since the past permit application renewal, several products have been eliminated which include, lithium chloride, lithium bromide, lithium hypochlorite, and lithium acetate. The plant is considered a large quantity Generator (LQG) of hazardous waste and the permit is exclusively for the storage of hazardous waste.
The manufacturing plant began operations in 1955 as Lithium Corporation of America (LCA). Around 1965, LCA merged with Gulf Sulphur Corporation to form Gulf Resources & Chemicals Corporation. LCA was a subsidiary of Gulf Resources & Chemicals Corporation from the formation of that company until July 19, 1985. On July 19, 1985 the assets of LCA and its subsidiaries were purchased by FMC Corporation, a publicly traded corporation with executive offices located in Chicago, Illinois. In December of 2001, the FMC Corporations executive offices relocated to 1735 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Following the acquisition by FMC Corporation – Lithium Division (FMC), the Bessemer City manufacturing plant operated as “Lithium Corporation Of America”, a subsidiary of FMC corporation and Lithco, a subsidiary of FMC Corporation to provide for smooth customer transition. In 2019 the Lithium Division of FMC was spun off from the FMC parent company to form FMC Lithium USA Corporation in Charlotte, North Carolina. On or about October 26, 2021 FMC Lithium USA Corporation changed its legal name to Livent USA Corporation as part of the separation agreement with FMC Corporation. Livent merged with Allchem during 2023 completing the transaction during 1st Quarter 2024, but still legally identified as Livent USA Corporation dba Arcadium Lithium.
The Bessemer City manufacturing facility is Livent USA Corporation’s largest manufacturing plant. Other similar facilities are operated by Livent USA Corporation in England, Argentina, China, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The facility contact for hazardous wastes and environmental permitting questions is the Environmental and Sustainability Engineer, located at the Livent USA Corporation’s Bessemer City facility.
The facility has confirmed the presence of hazardous constituents detected in the groundwater since 1984. There are currently 74 monitoring wells onsite and a total of 38 groundwater monitoring events have been conducted since completion of the Phase I RFI conducted in 1994. Annual site-wide groundwater and surface water monitoring events have been conducted from July 2008 through May 2024 as part of the (Corrective Measures Plan (CMP) implementation activities. Data from these events were used and are continually used to evaluate the distribution of and trends of the contaminants of Concern (COC’s).
The existing groundwater monitoring system meets the monitoring objectives of compliance, effectiveness determination, and assessment of groundwater conditions in the area of the closed surface impoundment. The groundwater at the Site has previously been analyzed for VOC’s, SVOC’s, metals, and wet chemistry parameters.
All comments received during the public comment period or at the hearing will be considered in the decision regarding this Permit. Comments received after the public comment period ends will not be considered. The statutory authority for calling the permit hearing is G.S. 130A‑294(f). Applicable State rules are found in the North Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Rules 15A NCAC 13A .0105, .0109, and .0113. These rules adopt the requirements of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. Anyone desiring additional information may contact Mike Babuin at (919) 707-8211 or michael.babuin@deq.nc.gov or, at the address listed above.
