Proposed Settlement Regarding Cleanup of Superfund Site In Warren County, New Jersey

From EPA:

Proposed Settlement Regarding Cleanup of Superfund Site

In Warren County, New Jersey

Value of Cleanup Work Estimated at $92 Million

Underground Contaminated Plume to be Addressed

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – January 13, 2015) The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a proposed settlement with several companies to address the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in Warren County, New Jersey. The companies are Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Inc. (Pechiney), Albéa Americas, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Citigroup Inc., and Rexam Beverage Can Company. The Pohatcong site is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), which can have serious health effects.

Under the proposed settlement, Pechiney will have primary responsibility for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater at the site, connecting some residents to public water to avoid contaminated groundwater, and operating systems to capture vapors that are getting into a manufacturing facility. As a precaution, the company will continue to monitor for vapor intrusion into homes at the site. In addition, the EPA will receive an estimated $29.5 million for certain past costs and be paid for its future oversight costs at the site. Pechiney will also perform current and future cleanup work estimated to cost $62.5 million, and will pay EPA’s future oversight costs.

EPA added the Pohatcong site to the Superfund list in 1989 because of elevated levels of volatile organic contaminants including TCE and PCE in the groundwater. These contaminants, both of which can have serious health impacts (including liver damage and increased risk of cancer), were detected in public supply wells, which are now treated to meet drinking water standards before the water is distributed. The site includes a contaminated groundwater plume that is approximately ten miles long and approximately one and a half miles wide, nearly 9,800 acres. 

As part of the settlement, EPA will recover civil penalties from Pechiney to resolve allegations that Pechiney violated a previous EPA order by failing to make satisfactory progress on a portion of the cleanup at the site. Pechiney will pay a cash penalty of $282,000. Pechiney will also restore and preserve approximately 60 acres of land, valued at $1.1 million, in Warren County through a Supplemental Environmental Project. This land will be converted to native grassland and will become part of the Morris Canal Greenway. The land will be managed by Warren County through its existing relationship with the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg, a “second chance” program for young adults that provides opportunities to earn a GED while providing a valuable service to the community.

“This agreement will address a legacy of contaminated groundwater and soil in Warren County that exposed this community to dangerous health risks,” said John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The settlement will help ensure residents have access to clean drinking water, require Pechinery to restore and preserve valuable native grasslands, and pay for millions in past cleanup costs.”

“The settlement advances our cleanup and will help protect drinking water as well as safeguard people’s health,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “The remaining cleanup work at the Pohatcong Valley site will proceed and an area of open space that can be enjoyed by members of the public will be restored and preserved.”

Because of the size and complexity of the site, EPA divided the site into three parts. Today’s settlement covers work in all three portions of the site.

The first part is a large area of groundwater contamination located in Washington Borough. Residents of this area do not drink the groundwater because they receive drinking water from a public water supply that meets drinking water standards. For this part of the site, the EPA finalized a 2006 plan to pump out the contaminated groundwater and treat it using a technology that will strip out the pollutants by blowing air through the contaminated water to separate out the chemicals. The resulting clean water will be pumped back into the ground. An engineering design is underway to carry out this remedy. EPA is also performing a pump and treat remedy for a portion of the groundwater that is primarily contaminated with PCE. Some of the proceeds recovered through the settlement will fund this part of the site cleanup.

The second area of the site includes contaminated ground water in Franklin and Greenwich Townships. There is no public water supply currently available in most of this area and drinking water wells that are impacted by contamination have received individual treatment systems to provide clean drinking water. For this area, the EPA is requiring the construction of water lines to provide potable water. The engineering design for this part of the project in ongoing.

The third part of the site is the contaminated soil and sediment in and around the former American National Can facility in Washington Township. The EPA has determined that the primary source of TCE contamination in this area is the former American National Can facility, which was owned and operated by Pechiney in the 1990s and is currently owned and operated by Albéa Americas, Inc. EPA is continuing to investigate this contamination. Pechiney has agreed to perform the cleanup on Albéa’s property, and the parties have reserved the issue of who will be responsible for remaining cleanup activities in this area.

In 2013, the EPA’s indoor air sampling of the Albéa Americas facility showed unacceptable levels of TCE. The EPA worked with Albéa to take actions to protect workers from exposure to potentially cancer-causing gases by reducing the levels of toxic contaminants in the air in the facility to safe levels. These steps included building a system that removes harmful chemicals from soil by extracting them in vapor form with a vacuum and then filtering the vapors through carbon filters to remove contaminants. The EPA will be reimbursed for this work through the settlement.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. The EPA searches for parties legally responsible for the contamination at sites, and it seeks to hold those parties accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. Under today’s settlement, the parties responsible for the site are paying for or performing the cleanup work.

The proposed settlement will be subject to a 30-day public comment period upon the publication of a notice in the Federal Register.

Once it is published, a copy of the Federal Register notice with instructions about how to comment can be found at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

The settlement requires approval by the United States District Court before becoming final.

For more information on the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund site, go to: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/pohatcong/

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Responsible parties to pay $29.8 million in cleanup costs for Big John’s Salvage-Hoult Road Superfund Site

Press release:

Responsible parties to pay $29.8 million in cleanup costs for Big John’s Salvage-Hoult Road Superfund Site

PHILADELPHIA (August 20, 2012) -- In settlement papers filed in federal district court, three companies have agreed to pay about $29.8 million in cleanup costs for a Superfund site in Fairmont, Marion County, W. Va., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)announced today.

The three companies -- Exxon Mobil Corp., Vertellus Specialties Inc., and CBS Corp.-- will perform cleanup work and reimburse the EPA and the state of West Virginia $11 million for past cleanup costs at the Big John’s Salvage-Hoult Road Superfund Site. The companies have agreed to do the cleanup at the site at an estimated cost of $17.8 million. The companies will also reimburse EPA and the state for all future costs associated with overseeing the cleanup, and these are estimated to be $1 million.

The 38-acre Big John’s site, located near the east bank of the Monongahela River in Fairmont, was designated a Superfund site in 2000, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds. The site became contaminated with hazardous wastes from decades of industrial activity.

Under the federal Superfund law, landowners, waste generators and waste transporters that are responsible for the contamination of a Superfund site must either clean up the site, or reimburse the government or other parties for cleanup activities.

Cleanup actions will include constructing an impermeable cap to contain contaminated soil and enhancing an existing ground water containment system to help prevent contaminants from migrating. Additionally, about 5,500 cubic yards of tar wastes coating a one-acre area along the bottom of the Monongahela River will be removed and sent to a certified disposal facility. 

Between 1932 and 1973, the site was owned by a predecessor of Vertellus Specialities, including the Reilly Tar and Chemical Corp., which operated a tar processing and refining facility. Domestic Coke, a predecessor of ExxonMobil operated a coke production plant adjacent to the Big John’s site and sold and delivered crude coal tar to the Reilly facility for refining. From 1973 to 1984, Big John Salvage owned the property, and operated a metal, glass, and oil salvaging operation. During this period, Big John’s accepted hazardous waste materials from Westinghouse Electric Co., a predecessor of CBS Corp., including mercury-containing fluorescent light bulbs, lead dust and mercury-tainted waste oil.

Work is currently ongoing at the site to prevent the release of tar seeps to surface water and the Monongahela River. Since 2001, more than 11 million gallons of contaminated water have been captured in a collection system and cleansed in a series of water treatment systems before they could enter the river. Additional information on the site is available at: http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0302947.

Top EPA Regional Official to Tour Superfund Sites in Northern New Jersey with Congressmember Rodney Frelinghuysen

Press release:

Top EPA Regional Official to Tour Superfund Sites in Northern New Jersey with Congressmember Rodney Frelinghuysen 

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (732) 672-5520 cell, (212) 637-3664 office, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – July 12, 2012) Tomorrow, July 13, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck and Congressmember Rodney Frelinghuysen and State and local officials will announce the completion of a system to treat ground water contaminated by perchloroethylene at the Rockaway Borough Wellfield Superfund site in Rockaway Borough. They will also travel throughout Morris and Essex Counties to review and assess progress on Superfund cleanups at five other hazardous waste sites. The other sites on the tour are *Radiation Technology, Inc., Lake Denmark Road, Rockaway Township, *Rockaway Township Wells, Enterprise Road, Rockaway Township, *Dayco Corp./L.E. Carpenter Co., Main Street, Borough of Wharton, *Dover Municipal Well 4, Richards Avenue, Town of Dover and *Caldwell Trucking Co., Passaic Avenue/O'Connor Drive, Township of Fairfield, Essex County.

Superfund is the federal cleanup program established by Congress in 1980 to investigate and clean up the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The program was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal in the 1970s. It allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to compel parties responsible for the pollution to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.

What:              Announcement of cleanup milestone, tour of six Superfund sites  with EPA Regional Administrator, member of Congress, state and local officials and subject matter experts, photo opportunities and interviews.

Who:               Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator

                        Rodney Frelinghuysen, U.S. Congressman

                       

When:             10:15 a.m. Friday, July 13, 2012

Where:            Rockaway Borough Well Field, media are to meet at the treatment facility (aprox. 200 yards South of 25 Union St. - Community Center) at the intersection of Jackson Avenue, Union Street and Ogden Avenue. Rockaway Borough, 07866, Morris County

Note:               For the day’s full itinerary, please email: rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

                                               

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EPA to Hold Public Meeting on Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund Site in the Village of Farmingdale, New York

Press release:

EPA to Hold Public Meeting on

Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund Site in the Village of

Farmingdale, New York

 Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – July 12, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to change a portion of its plan to build two separate systems to treat contaminated ground water at the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund site in Farmingdale, New York. Between 1940 and 1978, various industrial operations took place at the site including aircraft parts and fiberglass products manufacturing and metal plating and finishing. Hazardous substances including cadmium, chromium and trichloroethene were disposed of in unlined basins and other areas on the site. One portion of the ground water under the site was contaminated by activities at the site itself, and another portion was believed to be contaminated by activities at the nearby Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners. The two separate areas of ground water at the 30-acre former industrial park were contaminated by volatile organic compounds, which can cause serious damage to people’s health and the environment. In 2002, the EPA issued a plan to install two separate systems to treat the portion of ground water contaminated by the manufacturing facility and the portion contaminated by the dry cleaner site. The system to treat contamination from the Liberty Industrial site was constructed and is currently operating. EPA is proposing to not build the second system because the dry cleaner site is being cleaned up by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and recent monitoring data shows that the contamination levels in the portion of ground water under the Liberty Industrial site that was contaminated by the dry cleaner site have dropped significantly. The EPA is also announcing a change in restrictions on the future use of a portion of the site to allow recreational use of that area.

The EPA will hold a public meeting on July 26, 2012 at 7:00pm to explain the proposed plan at the Farmingdale Library, 116 Merrits Road, Farmingdale. Comments will be accepted until August 20.

In December 2002, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began work to clean up the Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners site under the state’s Superfund program. At that time, the EPA requested that the state also cleanup the ground water contamination underneath the Liberty Industrial site that was caused by the dry cleaner site. Since 2002, monitoring data has found that ground water contamination levels from the dry cleaner site have declined to near drinking water standards. Based on the monitoring data and the state’s plan to address the ground water as part of its work to clean up the dry cleaner site, the EPA no longer plans to build the second ground water treatment system at the Liberty Industrial Finishing site. The EPA will require periodic ground water sampling to verify that the level and extent of contaminants are declining and that people’s health and the environment continue to be protected.

The EPA is also announcing a change in restrictions on use of a portion of the site that has already been cleaned up. The original 2002 cleanup plan stated that a 7.5-acre portion of the site known as the Central Sub-Parcel could be used only for commercial or industrial activities after the cleanup. The Town of Oyster Bay, however, has since then acquired the 7.5-acre portion of the site for further expansion of the Ellsworth Allen Park, and has undertaken additional cleanup at the Central Sub-Parcel. After assessing the cleanup that has been completed at the site, the EPA has concluded that the Central Sub-Parcel is suitable for redevelopment with clearance for recreational use.

EPA has overseen a comprehensive cleanup of the Liberty Industrial Finishing site including:

• Excavation and disposal off-site of 70,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil
• Removal of contaminated water and solid material from vaults and sumps under ground
• Removal of underground storage tanks
• Construction and ongoing operation of a system to treat the ground water contaminated by former industrial activities at the site
• Excavation and disposal off-site of 4,200 cubic yards of contaminated pond sediment at the Massapequa Preserve.

Superfund is the federal cleanup program established by Congress in1980 to investigate and clean up the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. When sites are placed on the Superfund list, the EPA looks for parties responsible for the pollution and requires them to pay for the cleanups. Cleanups are only funded by taxpayer dollars when those responsible for the pollution cannot be found or are not financially viable. The cleanup of the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund site is being conducted and paid for by the parties responsible for the pollution with oversight by the EPA.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:

Lorenzo Thantu, Remedial Project Manager

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway, 20th Floor

New York, New York 10007-1866

(212) 637-4240

thantu.lorenzo@epa.gov

For more information on the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/libertyindustrial.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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EPA Approves Additional Field Work at Fletcher’s Paint Superfund Site in Milford, N.H.

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
May 4, 2012

Contact: Kate Renahan, (617) 918-1491

EPA Approves Additional Field Work at Fletcher’s Paint Superfund Site in Milford, N.H.

 

(Boston, Mass. – May 4, 2012) – EPA has approved additional field investigations requested by the General Electric Co. (GE) at the Fletcher’s Paint Works and Storage Facility Superfund Site in Milford, New Hampshire.  GE’s contractor, Arcadis US Inc. began these investigations in April 2012. These activities will continue for approximately three months.
Implementation of these field investigations will result in additional data that will reduce uncertainties associated with three elements of the soil cleanup plan: (1) the dewatering rate for the deeper excavation cells at the Mill Street Area; (2) side-wall verification sampling along the proposed vertical excavation supports at the Elm Street Area; and (3) soil characterization to determine the appropriate off-site treatment and/or disposal of the excavated materials.   Reducing these uncertainties now could have a significant impact on the sequencing, implementation, schedule and cost of the soil cleanup plan. These investigations will utilize various types of drilling equipment to collect soil samples and to install 5 additional groundwater monitoring wells and two pumping wells.
The soil sampling activities will take place on both the Elm and Mill Street Areas of the Site.  The new groundwater monitoring wells will be installed at the end of the Keyes Drive, at the American Legion property and just north of the railroad track at Mill Street, while the pumping wells will be installed at the Mill Street Area. 
Information collected from soils will include PCB concentrations and waste characterization data for disposal analysis.  The data will be used to support the final location for the support walls needed to excavate the contaminated soils near the River at the Elm Street Area.  The pump test activities will allow for a determination of the rate at which groundwater needs to be extracted to enable the installation of support walls at the Mill Street Area, so that the soils being excavated can be dewatered to the extent possible, and  loaded into trucks for off-site disposal.

GE will submit the Final Remedial Design incorporating the results of these tests to EPA following these investigations and prior to contracting for the eventual soil cleanup work needed at the Site.  GE will also start certain Remedial Action activities in the fall of 2012 which are part of the site preparation efforts needed before soil cleanup can begin.  One of these critical activities includes construction of the alternative access road to Keyes Field while Keyes Drive is closed for soil excavation work.  EPA plans to present further details regarding these accelerated activities to the public this summer.
On June 15, 2009 EPA amended the 1998 cleanup plan to allow for the excavation and off-site treatment and/or disposal of the highly contaminated soils at the site.  EPA added the Site to the National Priority List of Superfund sites in March, 1989.   The Draft  Remedial Design for the cleanup of the contaminated soils  was approved by EPA on September 30, 2011.  The Final Design will incorporate modifications from the results of this field work and a change in the final cover of the Elm Street Area to a mixed use cap (engineered soil cover and a parking area).  
This 2-acre site consists of two neighboring lots owned by Fletcher's Paint Works; a former manufacturing plant/retail outlet on Elm Street and a storage area 700 feet south on Mill Street. Fletcher's Paint Works manufactured and sold paints and stains for residential use at its Milford plant from 1949 until 1991. Bulk paint pigments, drums and miscellaneous materials were stored at both the Elm Street facility and the Mill Street storage shed area. The primary contaminant of concern at the Site is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Hundreds of drums of scrap pyranol (containing PCBs and Trichloroethylene (TCE)) were brought to, stored at and released onto these properties during the 1950’s through the 1970’s.  The EPA investigation program identified soil, sediment and groundwater contamination at levels that present risks to human health from long term exposure.
More information:
The Administrative Record, which includes the Record of Decisions and other documents that formed the basis for EPA's selection of the cleanup remedy, is available for review at the Wadleigh Memorial Library, Nashua Street, Milford, N.H., and the U.S. EPA Records Center, 5 Post Office Square in Boston. 
The Record of Decisions and other keys documents are available on EPA's website (http://www.epa.gov/region1/superfund/sites/fletcher )

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EPA to Conduct First Five-Year Review of Hudson River PCB Cleanup

EPA to Conduct First Five-Year Review of Hudson River PCB Cleanup

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(Fort Edward, N.Y. – March 30, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a five-year review of the cleanup that has been conducted so far on the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site, which extends from Hudson Falls, New York, to New York City. The cleanup work is being performed in the Upper Hudson River north of Troy, New York. The purpose of this five-year review, which is legally required under the Superfund law within five years after the start of on-site construction, is to ensure that the cleanup is working as intended and continues to protect public health and the environment.

In conducting the five-year review, the EPA is reviewing site operation, maintenance and monitoring information. The plan for dredging underwent extensive review by the EPA and the General Electric Company at the end of the 2009 dredging program. The dredging was also reviewed by a panel of independent scientific experts at that time. The results of that evaluation will be summarized in this five-year review and will be supplemented with information gathered during the 2011 dredging season. The five-year review will also include a review of the 1984 cleanup plan for the areas of PCB-contaminated sediment upstream of the areas targeted for dredging. These areas, known as the remnant deposits, became exposed after the river water level dropped following removal of the Fort Edward Dam in 1973.

Between 1947 and 1977, an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs were discharged into the river from two General Electric capacitor manufacturing plants located in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, New York. The dredging of the Hudson River was designed to occur in two phases. The first phase of the dredging project was conducted in 2009 and the second and final phase began in June 2011. The cleanup is being conducted by General Electric Company under a legal agreement with the EPA.

Under the law, the ongoing five year review of the Hudson River dredging project must be completed by the end of April 2012. The results will be shared with the public and will be available on the EPA’s Hudson River website at www.epa.gov/hudson and in the local repositories established for the site: Edgewater Public Library, 49 Hudson Avenue, Edgewater, NJ 07020; Adriance Memorial Library, 93 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; NY State Library, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801; Saratoga County EMC, 50 W. High Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020; EPA Hudson River Field Office, 421 Lower Main Street, Hudson Falls, NY 12839; and at the EPA Region 2 Superfund Records Center, 290 Broadway – 18^th Floor, New York, NY 10007.

Project information can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/hudson and http://www.hudsondredgingdata.com.

For further information or to submit comments on the five year review of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site, please contact Gary Klawinski (Remedial Project Manager) at klawinski.gary@epa.gov

or Larisa Romanowski (Community Involvement Coordinator) at romanowski.larisa@epa.gov. They can also be reached at:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Hudson River Field Office

421 Lower Main Street

Hudson Falls, NY 12839

(518) 747-4389 or (866) 615-6490 (Toll Free)

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Local Meetings on Free Help for Superfund Communities: Apr 17, 18, 19

Interested in Superfund cleanup in the Coeur d’Alene Basin?
Would you like to better understand the cleanup process and provide input on community needs?

Free help is available. Come learn about independent educational and technical assistance for the community through Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC).

Everyone is invited.
The same material will be presented at each location.

WALLACE
Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m.
Wallace Inn, Gold Room
100 Front Street

POST FALLS
Wednesday, April 18, 10 a.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
408 N Spokane Street

KELLOGG
Thursday, April 19, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Silver Mountain Resort, Shoshone Room
610 Bunker Avenue

TASC is an EPA program that gives independent educational and technical assistance to communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). TASC also helps communities address other environmental problems, like air and water issues. The program can help communities better understand and become involved in the cleanup.  TASC representatives will explain the program, preview cleanup activities, and answer your questions. TASC representatives would like to identify people who wish to share input about what services they think could be useful to the community.

A SIGNUP SHEET WILL BE OFFERED FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PROVIDE INPUT ON ASSISTANCE NEEDS.

For information, contact:
Alison Frost, Technical Assistance Specialist
(719) 256-6708, afrost@skeo.com

This presentation is funded in whole or partly through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Technical Assistance Services for Communities program. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the policies, actions, or positions of the U.S. EPA. 

Congresswoman McCarthy and EPA to Tour Superfund Sites in New York

MEDIA ADVISORY

Congresswoman McCarthy and EPA to Tour Superfund Sites in New York

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov, 212-637-3664 (office) or 732-672-5520 (cell).

(New York, NY – March 30, 2012) On Monday, April 2, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy will tour two federal Superfund sites to mark the progress of cleanup work at the Old Roosevelt Field Contaminated Ground Water Area Site in Garden City and the Pasley Solvents and Chemicals Inc Site in Hempstead. Both Superfund Sites are on Long Island, N.Y. Superfund is the name given to the federal environmental program established to address the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Superfund was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal in the 1970s. It allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to compel responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.

What:        Site tour with VIPs and subject matter experts. Photo ops and interviews 

Who:         Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy

Donald T.Brudie, Mayor of the Village of Garden City

Wayne J. Hall, Sr., Mayor of the Village of Hempstead

When/Where:

                 11:00 a.m, Monday, April 2, 2012.

Tour begins at the Old Roosevelt Field Water Treatment Plant, Village of Garden City – located in the back of the Roosevelt Field Mall along the Clinton Rd. side of the property. The driveway for the Old Roosevelt Field Superfund Site is directly across the street from (near) 250 Clinton Road. See link: http://g.co/maps/6abe4.

From NYC * Take Long Island Expressway to Exit 39 for the Northern State Parkway. * Take Northern State Parkway approximately 2 miles south to Exit 31 that merges onto Glen Cove Road. * Take Glen Cove Road/Clinton Ave. approximately 1.5 miles south (note: Glen Cove Road changes to Clinton Ave. as you go through intersection with Old Country Road). * After intersection proceed about ½ mile and enter a driveway on the left just before Vanderbilt Court. * Proceed down driveway passing through chain link fence gate to the water treatment plant where the tour will start.

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National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - The National Cooperative Refinery Association (NCRA) has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties to the United States and the State of Kansas, and perform a series of injunctive relief actions, to settle violations of federal environmental laws and the Kansas State Implementation Plan at its petroleum refinery and underground storage facility in McPherson County, Kan.

As part of a consent decree lodged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., NCRA will pay $475,000 in penalties to the United States and $225,000 to the State of Kansas. As a part of the settlement, NCRA has agreed to spend approximately $745,000 on supplemental environmental projects involving the purchase of emergency response equipment and services for the benefit of citizens and emergency response agencies in McPherson County.

NCRA owns and operates an 85,000-barrel-per-day petroleum refinery on Iron Horse Road in the city of McPherson, Kan., and an associated underground product storage facility in the nearby unincorporated community of Conway, Kan.

According to a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, NCRA:

• Violated the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to maintain and operate the refinery’s Unicracker Unit and associated air pollution control equipment in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practices, resulting in a 20-day flaring event that caused significant emissions of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere.
• Violated the CAA and the Kansas State Implementation Plan by exceeding emission limits contained in a construction permit for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit heater and Hydrogen Unit heater.
• Violated the CAA by failing to fully implement a Risk Management Program at the refinery and the underground product storage facility.
• Violated the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) by failing to make timely reports of releases of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide during four separate flaring events at the refinery, including the previously mentioned 20-day flaring event.
• Violated the EPCRA by submitting incomplete Tier II reports, which are supposed to include the identity and inventory of on-site chemicals, to emergency responders.
• Violated the EPCRA by failing to submit an accurate and complete Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) form to EPA.

The consent decree requires NCRA to perform a series of injunctive relief actions to address its non-compliance issues and enhance future compliance through greater emphasis on the Risk Management Program. These include performing an applicability study at the refinery and underground storage facility, providing detailed tank inspection timelines and information, and documenting the resolution of process hazard analyses and compliance audit findings.

For the CAA violations, the relief involves training for start-up procedures and revision to applicable limits for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit Heater.

Relief associated with the EPCRA and CERCLA violations includes completion of a compliance review for Tier II, TRI and episodic release reports. It also includes the submission of an associated report to EPA, retroactive release reporting, and release report training.

NCRA’s supplemental environmental projects, totaling at least $745,000, are designed to further the goals of EPCRA and the Risk Management Program, which seek to prevent accidental chemical releases, minimize the consequences of accidents that do occur, and enable local emergency responders to plan and respond effectively to chemical accidents.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final approval by the court.

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News Release from EPA Region 6

EPA Proposes to Add Acadia Parish Facility

to National Priorities List of Superfund Sites

Nine hazardous waste sites added, 10 proposed

(DALLAS – March 13, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the EVR-Wood Treating/Evangeline Refining Company site, near Jennings, Louisiana, has been proposed to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites, a list of sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.

The site, off Highway 97 and one mile north of I-10 in Acadia Parish, was home to wood-treating operations as well as oil refining from the late 1930s until 1985. The refinery also received waste water from the wood-treating facility, which was held in retention lagoons. Soil samples have shown elevated concentrations of arsenic, chromium, and copper, as well as several types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The contamination threatens nearby wetlands and commercial and recreational fisheries.

“Today we’re taking an important step toward restoring contaminated property and protecting people’s health and our environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “Cleaning up hazardous waste in our communities and returning properties to environmental and economic vitality are EPA priorities.”

The EPA will seek public comment on adding the EVR-Wood Treating/Evangeline Refining Company site to the NPL for 60 days. Comments will be considered as the agency completes the final decision process.

Since 1983, 1,661 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 359 have been cleaned up resulting in 1,302 sites currently on the NPL (including the nine sites added today). There are 62 proposed sites (including the 10 announced today) awaiting final agency action.

With all NPL sites, the EPA works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and requires them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, the EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA cleanup funding is required for these sites.

More information on the Superfund NPL is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/mar2012.html

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News Release from EPA Region 6

EPA Proposes to Add Parker County Area

to National Priorities List of Superfund Sites

Nine hazardous waste sites added, 10 proposed

(DALLAS – March 13, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the Circle Court Ground Water site, in Willow Park, Texas, has been proposed to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites, a list of sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.

In 2006, routine sampling of a well in the city of Willow Park’s water system showed concentrations of trichloroethene (TCE) to be above health-based safety levels. Subsequent tests showed that public water supply and five private wells all had elevated TCE levels. These water sources are all within a one-mile radius of the site, which extends for a half-mile along Russell Road. The city of Willow Park shut down the wells and installed a carbon filter to provide safe drinking water for affected residents. The source of the contamination has not been identified.

“Today we’re taking an important step toward restoring contaminated property and protecting people’s health and our environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “Cleaning up hazardous waste in our communities and returning properties to environmental and economic vitality are EPA priorities.”

The EPA will seek public comment on adding the Circle Court Ground Water site to the NPL for 60 days. Comments will be considered as the agency completes the final decision process.

Since 1983, 1,661 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 359 have been cleaned up resulting in 1,302 sites currently on the NPL (including the nine sites added today). There are 62 proposed sites (including the 10 announced today) awaiting final agency action.

With all NPL sites, the EPA works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and requires them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, the EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA cleanup funding is required for these sites.

More information on the Superfund NPL is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/mar2012.html

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