EHS Support was contracted to evaluate the site for closure options following a merger between the current client and the previous owner of the site. The client is a leading producer of pressure-treated wood products. The client supplies North America’s railroad operators with railway ties, timbers, and recycling services, and electrical utilities and telecommunications companies with utility poles. Following the merger, it was determined that many environmental concerns and contentious issues remained at the facility across several state and federal agencies.
The project site was evaluated for potential environmental impacts and possible future regulatory intervention by reviewing historical client and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) files. Known impacts were identified from site historical records, and evidence existed that impacts were likely in the subsurface from the wood treatment operations. The previous owner had been issued a Consent Order for environmental violations. These violations consisted of the following: unlawful treatment of hazardous waste without a permit following a fire at the facility, unsatisfactory secondary containment in the drip pad area, lack of maintenance to address cracks in the drip pad concrete, no curbing in the drip pad area to contain drippage and runoff of hazardous residual wood treatment products, unlawful disposal of hazardous waste on-site, unlawful storage of uncontainerized hazardous waste, failure to address tracking of hazardous wood preservation products by fork trucks onto the ground surface, and other violations related to inadequate construction and containment in the sumps in front of the pressure treatment vessels. The Consent Order required that the previous owner pay fines and comply with the requirements of the Consent Order. Following the signing of the Consent Order, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and WVDEP notified the facility that a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Site Investigation (SI) would be completed to evaluate the environmental impacts to the property from the previous owner’s violations and past practices. EHS Support concluded that the most cost-effective and viable closure strategy was to enter the site in the WVDEP VRP, thereby eliminating future enforcement actions as long as the facility maintained the schedule of deliverables and commitments under a signed Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act (VRRA) Agreement. By entering into the VRRA Agreement, this also satisfied specific regulations and addressed concerns by state and federal agencies. In the near term, EHS Support worked with client staff, internal and outside counsel, and WVDEP personnel to address project triggers brought on by the new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in an effort to identify a cost-effective approach to the best technical path for the project. Additionally, EHS Support has completed assessment work at the facility and delineation of impacted areas identified during several phases of assessment work. EHS Support identified unacceptable risks at the site, developed site–specific criteria for cleanup, and completed corrective actions, all under the WVDEP VRP. EHS Support and the client have worked to manage the risks through remediation efforts and engineering and institutional controls, while maintaining compliance with the VRP Agreement in an effort to move the project along the VRP path to closure.
The site has operated as a wood treatment facility since 1955 by the previous owner. Prior to that time frame, the site was a prison camp and a camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps. The previous owner used creosote, chromated copper arsenate, and borate in their wood treatment operations. The client merged with the previous owner in 2008 and since 2001 has not used creosote at the facility. EHS Support identified from files that an old refuse dump existed on the eastern, wooded portion of the property; site-related impacts were evident in incorrectly closed stormwater ponds to the west of the facility; and ditches exiting these ponds were also impacted. These ponds were identified as receiving process wood treatment waste from boiler blowdown tanks. Free product removal operations have historically occurred in this area. A boiler ash dump is another area of concern that was identified on portions of the property. All of these areas of concern have been identified as requiring further assessment under the WVDEP VRP. In June 2013, EHS Support prepared and submitted a Site Assessment Work Plan (SAWP) following elements of the VRP. In September 2013, following the submittal of a SAWP Addendum and agency approval, EHS Support began a phased approach to fully assess soil, groundwater, soil gas, and other potentially affected media at the site. Based on the results of the first phase of the assessment, EHS Support was able to confirm the presence of site-related constituents in groundwater and soil above acceptable WVDEP VRP De Minimis Standards. Additionally, dense non-aqueous phase liquids were encountered in the alluvium and bedrock aquifers. Following additional delineation efforts and site assessment activities to fully assess impacts to both aquifers, EHS Support completed a human health and ecological risk assessment that identified unacceptable risks at the site and worked with WVDEP and the client to develop a Remedial Action Work Plan that included excavation, removal, and consolidation of waste/soil; solidification of waste; implementation of engineering controls; and capping of former stormwater to address unacceptable risks. Remedial activities were completed between 2018 and 2020, along with the placement of engineering controls such as a land use covenant to further reduce risks. Once these activities were completed and engineering controls were in place, the site was brought into compliance. Post-closure groundwater monitoring is ongoing.
EHS Support conducted the following tasks:
- Requested a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) review of WVDEP files.
- Reviewed WVDEP FOIA and client files to develop a Conceptual Site Model to determine the environmental issues.
- Conducted discussions and negotiated VRP entry with the WVDEP VRP program director and project managers.
- Drafted and submitted a signed VRRA Agreement that dictates the list and schedule of deliverables to prevent potential enforcement actions against the client.
- Conducted on-site visits to evaluate site conditions, VRP assessment strategies, and potential human health and ecological risks associated with historical operations while the facility operated under the previous owner.
- Reviewed a previously completed CERCLA SI and negotiated the use of the SI data for future use in the VRP. This was done to evaluate data gaps for the VRP assessment and areas that were already sufficiently assessed during the SI to prevent additional expenditure for future VRP investigations.
- In addition to the VRP component of the project, EHS Support also evaluated stormwater outfall results and options to address reoccurring exceedances of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total suspended solids (TSS) in their four outfalls. EHS Support conducted pilot testing of specially impregnated, mulch-based absorbent booms in an effort to address the PAH and TSS exceedances. Pilot testing of this product type showed success, and installation of these booms at all outfalls has been employed.
- Completed several phases of VRP site assessment activities that identified elevated PAHs and metals near former operating structures, a former dump site, closed stormwater retention ponds, on-site ditches, and treated wood storage areas. EHS Support finalized a characterization of the alluvial and bedrock aquifer for flow direction, hydraulic characteristics, and groundwater quality.
- Implemented an agency–approved Remedial Action Work Plan to bring the site into compliance.
Project Result
EHS Support successfully negotiated entry into the WVDEP VRP for the client, despite an active Consent Order, and was allowed to enter into a VRRA Agreement between WVDEP and the client for risk-based closure for the site and surrounding properties. This will prevent possible future enforcement actions against the client.