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Site Setting

Ground-Water Treatment

VOC Removal

Final Processes

Biological
Filter/Phyto Bed

Long-Term
Monitoring

Cleanup Objectives: Remediate soil, sediment, and ground water contaminated by waste oils, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, and other hazardous materials involved in past chemical reclamations

Green Remediation Strategy:

• Excavated 36,000 yd³ of PCB-contaminated soil above the water table, treated soil through onsite rather than offsite low-temperature desorption, backfilled with treated soil, and covered with 18 inches of gravel cap
• Excavated 3,000 yd³ of PCB-contaminated sediment from one acre of wetlands, treated excavated sediment through onsite low-temperature desorption, and restored the wetlands to natural conditions
• Formed a partnership among the potentially responsible party, U.S. EPA, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service several years later to voluntarily implement an ecological restoration plan for the capped area
• Employed a state-of-the-art pump and treatment (P&T) system employing metals separation, air stripping, and catalytic oxidation to treat contaminated ground water
• Permitted an innovative, pilot-scale biological filter/phyto bed in a constructed wetland trench (relying on sorption, biological degradation, and evapotranspiration) to evaluate its potential treatment of a small portion of the extracted ground water
• Solicited community participation in the site's long-term environmental monitoring through sponsorship of a fishing derby in adjacent surface water, where American eel, brown bullhead, and yellow perch tissue showed high PCB concentrations

Results:

• Treated over 200 million gallons of water over 10 years of P&T operations, removing more than 1,675 pounds of contaminants
• Reduced contaminant concentrations in P&T influent sufficiently over the same period to allow disconnection of the catalytic oxidizer, resulting in a 16,000-gallon annual reduction in propane consumption
• Reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 104 tons each year due to reduced propane consumption
• Reconfigured the ground-water treatment system to subsequently reuse the catalytic oxidizer's blower for operation of the air stripping and ventilation system
• Converted the gravel-capped area to a four-acre native upland meadow that enhances local habitat and re-established native species
• Avoided significant fossil fuel consumption for offsite transport and disposal of untreated soil or sediment through onsite treatment
• Continuing to evaluate the biological filter/phyto bed on a small-scale test basis
• Achieves ground water treatment levels exceeding federal and state requirements
• Gains community involvement in long-term environmental monitoring through sponsorship of the annual fishing competition, while providing an opportunity to emphasize state strategies for aquatic species management; latest derby results indicate PCB concentrations in American eel tissue have decreased from 20 parts per million (ppm) prior to site remediation to below 1.0 ppm

Anticipated Property Use: Natural resource conservation and restricted public use

Point of Contact: Joseph LeMay, U.S. EPA Region 1

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