u.s. environmental protection agency x-/epa
TRANSCRIPT
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Holtrachem Site Riegelwood, North Carolina X-/EPA
August 2016
Public meeting to discuss the
proposed Cleanup Plan
Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Riegelwood Comm Ctr 105 NC-87
Riegelwood, NC
Introduction The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to comment on a Proposed Plan to clean up the Holtrachem Superfund Site, located in Riegelwood, NC. This fact sheet discusses EPA's Cleanup Plan to reduce ecological and human health risks associated with contaminated soil, sediment and surface water. The public is encouraged to comment on the Cleanup Plan during the comment period. The Cleanup Plan and associated documents related to the Holtrachem Site activities are available in the Administrative Record of the Information Repository housed at the East Columbus Public Library located at 103 Church Road.
Background Allied Chemical Corporation developed the site as a chlor-alkali
manufacturing facility that made chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, liquid chlorine, hydrogen gas, liquid bleach and hydrochloric acid using a mercury cell process. Facility ownership changed several times over the decades, but the general manufacturing process remained the same. The current property owner is Honeywell. The facility transferred most of the products by pipeline, sold the remaining products to other companies, and shipped them by railcars and tanker trucks. The facility went out of business in 2000. The property has been vacant with the exception of a few people who perform site inspections, maintenance and storm water treatment. Currently, the plant treats and releases approximately 400,000 gallons of storm water each week.
EPA's Removal Actions Taken We want your comments! 1999 - As a result of Hurricane Floyd, an estimated 24 inches of rain caused a release of about 2 million gallons of storm water containing possibly 5 pounds of mercury into the Cape Fear River. EPA helped the facility with sandbagging the damaged retention basin and pumping storm water. 2003-2004 - Honeywell conducted a Removal Action to collect and dispose of mercury, containerized wastes, and taking apart and disposing of contaminated structures. They collected about 34,000 pounds of mercury. 2008 - Contractors excavated PCB-contamlnated sediments out of a former wastewater treatment lagoon. They put the sediments in temporary storage piles, which will be addressed in the 2016 Cleanup Plan.
The EPA relies on public input to ensure the concerns of the community are considered in selecting an effective remedy for each Superfund Site. The public is encouraged to comment on the documents from: August 15, 2016, to September 14, 2016
<i>
Remedial investigation In January 2002, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program referred the site to the Superfund program. Since 2002, the Superfund program conducted several investigations and cleanup actions. The Site is described in having three general areas: the Upland Process Area (about 11.8 acres), the Upland Non-Process Area (about 4.2 acres) and the Wooded Bottomland Area (about 8.4 acres). The main chemicals of concern are mercury and PCBs. Earlier removal actions in 2003 and 2008 addressed the immediate health threats. The contamination that remains is in the soil and sediment and can travel to other areas by rain (overland flow). This current cleanup plan will address the remaining risks and provide for a permanent solution for the temporary storage piles. EPA is addressing all of the contamination that poses risks to human health and/or the environment with this proposed cleanup plan.
ERA'S Preferred Cleanup Remedy The EPA's preferred cleanup plan consists of construction of an on-site landfill, excavation with disposal into the on-site landfill, stabilizing and solidifying in place, capping, ground water monitoring. Institutional Controls and Five-Year Reviews. This Cleanup Plan is protective of human health and the environment, and is effective in the short and long term.
Public Comment EPA relies on public input to ensure the concerns of the community are considered in selecting an effective remedy for each Superfund Site. The public comment period runs from August 15, 2016, through September 14, 2016. The Administrative Record and Information Repository for the Holtrachem Site is located at the East Columbus Public Library located at 103 Church Road in Rlegelwood.
EPA will host a public meeting on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rlegelwood Community Center located at 105 NC-87 in Rlegelwood. EPA will present the details of the Proposed Plan to address the environmental impacts at the Holtrachem Site, and answer any questions the public may have regarding the preferred cleanup remedy. You may email your comments to [email protected] or, if you prefer to submit written comments, please mail them, postmarked no later than September 14, 2016, to:
Samantha Urquhart-Foster Remedial Project Manager US EPA-11^" floor 61 Forsyth Street, SW Atlanta, GA 30303
After EPA has received comments and questions during the public comment period, EPA will summarize the comments and provide responses in the Responsiveness Summary which will be part of the Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD will select the final remedial action and will provide the rationale of EPA's selection.
FOR MORE INFORMATION EPA Remedial Project Manager
Samantha Urquhart-Foster (404) 562-8760
EPA Community Involvement Coordinator RonTolliver(404) 562-9591
www.epa.gov/superfund/holtra-chem
Information Repositories East Columbus Public Library
103 Church Road Riegelwood, North Carolina
U.S. EPA Region 4 Office Records Center
61 Forsyth St, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303