NEWSLETTERGRAND CALUMET RIVER SEDIMENT REMEDIATION PROJECT

GCR Issue 2- May 2003

U. S. STEEL GARY WORKS

GRAND CALUMET RIVER SEDIMENT REMEDIATION PROJECTUnited States Steel Corporation(U. S. Steel) continues to removenon-native sediment to create acleaner Grand Calumet River (GCR)through the Sediment RemediationProject at the Gary Works Facility.U. S. Steel is conducting this workpursuant to an agreement with theU.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (U.S. EPA), which is con-tained in a 1999 Clean Water ActConsent Decree (Decree) and a1998 Resource Conservation andRecovery Act (RCRA) CorrectiveAction Order (Order).

The Grand Calumet SedimentRemediation Project is the largest ofits kind to be undertaken in theUnited States. It involves dredgingapproximately 750,000 cubic yardsof sediment from a 5-mile stretch ofthe GCR. The area being dredgedbegins at the headwaters of theGCR, approximately 1 mileupstream of Tennessee Street. Thedredging project area ends approxi-mately 1 mile below Bridge Street.The project also involves construc-tion and operation of an on-site dis-posal area, designat-ed as a CorrectiveAction ManagementUnit (CAMU), forplacement of the sed-iments.

To date, approximate-ly 1.5 miles of the 5-mile stretch of theGCR encompassed inthe SedimentRemediation Projecthave been dredged.

The map on the inside of thisnewsletter shows the location of the5 miles included in the project andthe areas where dredging is com-plete. The Sediment RemediationProject continues ahead of schedule,and dredges are currently operating24 hours a day, 6 days a week attwo separate areas along the GCR.

U. S. Steel recognizes the impor-tance of working with members ofthe Gary community to make theGrand Calumet River SedimentRemediation Project a success. Weinvite you to look through thisnewsletter to learn more about theprogress of the SedimentRemediation Project, as well as howto find further information or getinvolved in the project through theTOPICS INCLUDED IN THIS

NEWSLETTER…

• First phase of GrandCalumet River dredgingsuccessfully completed

• Cleaning of HeadwatersCulvert completed

• Operations begin at theWater Treatment Plant

• Community InvolvementTeam Effort (CITE) meeting, May 21, 2003

U.S. Steel Gary Works1 North BroadwayGary, IN 46402

description of each of these monitor-ing programs along with the associ-ated data results can be found onthe U. S. Steel web site referenced inthis newsletter. The monitoring infor-mation is also located in the projectpublic information repository in theIndiana Room of the Gary PublicLibrary - Main Branch, which islocated at 220 West 5th Avenue.

GARY WORKS ONLINEU. S. Steel has set up a web sitespecifically to provide informationabout the Grand Calumet SedimentRemediation project. The web sitecan be accessed through the U. S.Steel Gary Works home page, ordirectly through the address below.The web site offers informationabout the Sediment Remediationprogram and other activities beingconducted at Gary Works. It alsoprovides access to meeting minutesand announcements for CommunityInvolvement Team Effort (CITE).

The local Gary Public Library Systemhas computers available for publicuse. Your librarian will be happy toassist you in accessing the Grand

Calumet Sediment RemediationProject web site.

PROJECT HOTLINEIf you have a concern about theimpacts of the dredging project toyour neighborhood, please callU. S. Steel at (219) 888-1094.

CITECITE is a community group whosegoal is to facilitate a dynamic, openforum to communicate, educate,involve and interact with the publicon issues related to RCRA CorrectiveAction activities and the GrandCalumet River SedimentRemediation Project.

CITE meetings are advertised on theGary Works web site and in the localnewspapers. The next CITE meetingis scheduled for Wednesday, May,21, 2003, from 5:30 PM to 7:30PM. The meeting will be held in theauditorium of the Gary PublicLibrary - Main Branch, which islocated at 220 West 5th Avenue. Thepublic is invited to attend. The fol-lowing CITE meeting is scheduledfor Wednesday, July 23, 2003 from

5:30 PM to 7:30 PM in the auditori-um of the Gary Public Library - MainBranch.

NEWSLETTERSU. S. Steel will issue newsletters likethis one to keep the Gary communi-ty informed of the GCR SedimentRemediation Project, and other relat-ed activities at Gary Works. To beadded or removed from the mailinglist for future newsletters, please callone of the contact numbers listed onthis page.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:Tamara OhlProject ManagerU. S. EPA(312) 886-0991Ohl.Tamara@epa.gov

Mark RupnowRCRA Project Coordinator U. S. Steel Gary Works(219) 888-1094mrupnow@uss.com

Visit the new U. S. Steel Grand Calumet Dredging Project Website:http://www.ussteel.com/corp/rcra/grand_calumet_river_remediation_index.htm Dredge

C o m m u n i t yInvolvement TeamEffort (CITE) group.

UPDATE ON DREDGING ACTIVITIESU. S. Steel begandredging the sedimentin the GCR onDecember 4, 2002 in asection of the GCRdownstream ofBroadway. This phaseof work was completedon December 18,2002. Approximately11,000 cubic yards ofP o l y c h l o r i n a t e dBiphenyl (PCB)-impact-ed sediment wereremoved from this sec-tion of the river. U. S.Steel has confirmedthat, in this portion ofthe GCR, PCBs havebeen removed to withinU.S. EPA accepted con-centrations.

On February 25, 2003,U. S. Steel resumed dredging, againin the open waters of the lower 3.5miles of the GCR project area. Thephotograph on page 1 shows the12” dredge being used in the open-water dredging. Since February, thedredging operation has advanced toa point approximately 3,000 feetdownstream of Broadway or throughapproximately 1.4 miles of the GCR.In this portion of the river, an esti-mated 104,000 cubic yards of sedi-ments have been removed.

On March 20, 2003, and concurrentwith the open-water dredging opera-tions downstream, dredging beganin the upper 1.5 miles of the projectarea. Dredging in this area is beingconducted within CofferdamContainment Cell A. Cofferdam

Containment Cells are structures thathave been constructed in the river toisolate areas that will be dredgedand to allow the flow of the river tobe temporarily diverted around theseareas during dredging. Dredging inContainment Cell A was completedon April 26, 2003. Approximately18,500 cubic yards of PCB-impactedsediment was removed from thisportion of the river.

U. S. Steel conducted post-dredgingPCB sampling and analysis inContainment Cell A, as required bythe Decree and Order. The analyti-cal results are currently being evalu-ated to confirm that, withinContainment Cell A, PCBs havebeen removed to within U.S. EPAaccepted concentrations.

U. S. Steel is pursuing an aggressiveschedule for the dredging project.U. S. Steel plans to complete thedredging of hazardous sediments,those sediments from within theContainment Cells, by July 2003,one month prior to the compliancecompletion date of August 2003.The dredging of non-hazardoussediments is expected to be complet-ed by September 2003, nearly a fullyear ahead of the complianceschedule.

CLEANING OF THE HEADWATERS CULVERTThe Headwaters Culvert connectsthe Grand Calumet River with itsheadwaters lagoons (see map).Project stakeholders, including theCITE group, raised concerns about

contaminated sediments within theheadwaters culvert. In response tothese concerns, U. S. Steel devel-oped a plan to remove these sedi-ments as part of RCRA CorrectiveAction and in conjunction with theGCR dredging project. FollowingEPA approval of the plan, U. S. Steelbegan cleaning the culvert. OnMarch 22, 2003, U.S. Steel complet-ed this work after verifying removalof approximately 500 cubic yards ofsediments.

THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTThe water treatment component ofthe Grand Calumet SedimentRemediation Project utilizes two (2)separate water treatment processesto treat the dredged water andreturn it back to the river through an

existing U. S. Steel National PollutantDischarge Elimination System(NPDES) permitted outfall. Bothprocesses are housed in a newlyconstructed Water Treatment Plantbuilt on U. S. Steel property to theeast of the CAMU. The quality of thedischarge water is monitored toassure compliance with the condi-tions of the NPDES permit.

The first water treatment system isthe Chemically Assisted Clarification(CAC) system that treats waterdredged from the lower 3.5 miles ofthe project area and stored in Unit2 of the CAMU. This system drawsthe water from just below the surfaceof the CAMU to minimize the intro-duction of floating oil and sedimentinto the CAC process equipment.

The CAC system utilizesa clarifier and polymersto enhance the settle-ment of the suspendedsolids. This treatedwater is then returned tothe river through thepermitted outfall.

The second water treat-ment system is theProject Specific WaterTreatment Plant(PSWTP). This system isinitially being utilized forwater dredged from theContainment Cells in theupper 1.5 miles of theproject area and storedin Unit 1 of the CAMU.This system also drawsthe water from justbelow the surface of theCAMU. The PSWTP uti-lizes a clarifier, sand fil-ter and activated carbonprocess equipment toremove suspendedsolids and contaminantsfrom the dredge water.

The treated water is then returned tothe river through the permitted out-fall.

Once the dredging and subsequentdewatering at the CAMU is com-plete, the PSWTP will be convertedinto the Leachate Treatment Plant.The Leachate Treatment Plant willprocess the leachate, or waters thatare in contact with the disposed sed-iments, prior to final closure of theCAMU. The PSWTP will also processthe leak detection waters from theCAMU for the life of the CAMU.

MONITORINGU. S. Steel continues to implementthose measures necessary to ensureair and water quality is protectedduring the dredging project. A