Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Outreach Information for ERP Compliant Coke, LLC

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Community Engagement Outreach

Administrative Order with Sloss Industries presently Walter Coke, Inc. (1989): Note that the environmental law RCRA's legal authority 3008(h) allows EPA to take enforcement action to require corrective action or another response necessary to protect human health and the environment when a release is identified at an interim status hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility.
Results of Community Environmental Sampling: In the Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont Neighborhoods, North Birmingham, AL
Frequently Asked Questions. Results of Community Environmental Sampling: Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont Neighborhoods, North Birmingham, AL
Community Sampling Maps conducted by Walter Coke, Inc. . Birmingham, Alabama. October 2010. Sampling Data Compared to Screening Levels(Arsenic and BaP TEQ). Note: These maps covered the results for 70 non-school properties; which included 65 residential yards, Public Housing, rights-of-way, a church, drainage ditches, and off-site Walter Coke property.
Letter to Birmingham School District. October 2010. This letter conveyed information on sampling results for Riggins Alternative School, former (now demolished) Hudson School, and Calloway Head Start School, former Carver High School.
Information Sheet on Riggins Alternative School. May 15, 2010. These EPA Fact Sheets were issued to the School District for distribution to faculty, students and parents. It is in English and Spanish.
Hudson K-8 School to Parent Letter. April 5, 2011. and Opportunity Academy at Riggins Letter to Parents. April 6, 2011. These letters, written by the school district with the assistance of the EPA RCRA program, explain the soil cleanup work being undertaken on the school yards.
Residential Sampling Report. Walter Coke, Inc. December 2009, Revised May 2011. This report documents the field activities and presents the results of the investigation performed in three residential neighborhoods - Collegeville, Fairmont, and Harriman Park - located near the Walter Coke Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, facility.
Final Cleanup Values Birmingham Alabama Correspondence (April 13, 2011) This letter communicates the following: a) Final Residential Soil Cleanup Values; b) Residential Sampling Report- Conditional Approval; c) Requirement for Remediation Work Plan to Address Benzo(a)pyrene and Arsenic in Soils in Fairmont, Harriman Park and Collegeville neighborhoods; d) RCRA Section 3008(h) Administrative Order. Walter Coke 4-13-11 RSR Cleanup RWP letter.
Results of Community Environmental Sampling and Path Forward: In the Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont Neighborhoods, North Birmingham, AL. April 2011. Corrected - July 2011.
Frequently Asked Questions. Presents a list of questions and answers about results of Community Environmental Sampling: Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont Neighborhoods, North Birmingham, AL
Sampling Data Compared to Cleanup Levels: Arsenic and Sampling Data Compared to Cleanup Levels: BaP TEQ. Note: These maps cover the results for school and non-school properties; which included 65 residential yards, Public Housing, rights-of-way, a church, drainage ditches, and off-site Walter Coke property.
Arsenic Frequently Asked Questions by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), August 2007, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Frequently Asked Questions by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), September 1996. These 2 fact sheets contain information about health effects of the 2 contaminants of concern found in the North Birmingham neighborhoods; Arsenic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (related to Benzo(a)pyrene).
Urban Gardening:This fact sheet provides communities and individuals with general urban gardening information about: a) Common contaminants that can be found in urban soil; b) Ways to identify contaminants and reduce exposure; c) Improving soils and growing plants in mildly contaminated soil; d) Additional resources and technical assistance. Due to the 12-page length, only pages 8/9 were distributed at EPA’s April 28 public meeting.
Neighborhood Environmental News: Collegeville, Harriman Park, & Fairmont Communities in Northern Birmingham Area, May 19th, 2011. Contains announcement for presentation & Q&A for residual school soil sampling results.

EPA Public Availability Session Rescheduled to Discuss Soil Sampling Results in North Birmingham. May 19, 2011.
Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Report for Hudson School (June 17, 2011): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed its review of the Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Report for Hudson School, dated June 17, 2011, (Report), submitted from Walter Coke Inc., Birmingham, Alabama.
Update on Community Environmental Sampling and Next Steps. In Collegeville, Harriman Park, and Fairmont Neighborhoods, North Birmingham, Alabama. EPA Powerpoint Presentation. May 19, 2011.
Environmental Basics and Community Empowerment Workshop (July 9, 2011): This workshop was coordinated by the Technical Assistance Services for Communities program, a contractor to EPA. Refer to Agenda, Presentation and Workbook.
Hudson School September 2010 Sampling Report and Map: This report shows sampling data for the new Hudson School (as submitted by Walter Coke, Inc, prepared by its contractors).
Walter Coke Residential Soil Remedial Action Work Plan ("RAWP", Final, June 2011): As this work plan describes, "The overall purpose of this project is to cooperate with EPA to eliminate potential residential exposure in 31 yards (including garden and drip line location) within 23 properties where surface soil concentrations were found to exceed EPA’s established cleanup levels of 37 ppm for arsenic and 1.5 ppm for BaP TEQ during the 2009 sampling event. "
Walter Coke Residential Soil Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) Progress Reports: Report #1, July 15, 2011 and Report #2, August 19, 2011. These reports outlines progress being made under the residential soil remedial work plan (RAWP).
Health and Safety Plan Walter Coke Resdiential Sampling: This health and safety plan was submitted to the EPA RCRA program on July 15, 2011 by Walter Coke.
Moore Safety Manual Policy and Procedure: This safety manual was submitted to the EPA RCRA program on July 15, 2011 by Walter Coke.
EPA Assessment of Walter Coke Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Report for Hudson School. June 17, 2011.
Hudson School (Collegeville) Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Report. This letter shares EPA assessment on the voluntary investigation and cleanup of the Hudson K-8 School by Walter Coke, Inc.
EPA Press Release on Hudson K-8 School (August 5, 2011): EPA announced its completion of its review of the voluntary investigation and cleanup report for the Hudson K-8 School submitted by Walter Coke Inc.
Birmingham City School Superintendant letter to Hudson K-8 Parents (August 15, 2011): This letter, written by the school district with the assistance of the EPA RCRA program, explains the soil cleanup work that was completed on the school yard.
Facility Cleanup. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Program. Corrective Action Program. Announcement of RCRA Corrective Action Program negotiating an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with Walter Coke, Birmingham, AL. January 2012.
EPA Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with Walter Coke, Inc. (Effective Date: September 24, 2012): The Environmental Protection Agency issued a new Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Section 3008(h) Administrative Order on Consent (Order) to the Walter Coke facility located in North Birmingham, Alabama. The 50-page Order is posted here, as well as the accompanying Attachment B, Maps of the Proposed Solid Waste Management Areas (SMAs) (6 pages) which detail the areas of focus for this Order.

For additional information regarding the North Birmingham Environmental Collaboration Project:
https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/north-birmingham-project
Facility Cleanup, Walter Coke, Number 4 (October 2012) Announcement of RCRA Corrective Action Program finalizing an Agreement with Walter Coke, Birmingham, AL
Walter Coke Groundwater Interim Measures Work Plan at the Former Chemical Plant (FCP) (May 2012) Part 1 and Part 2:This is the Final Groundwater Interim Measures Work Plan for the Former Chemical Plant. This document contains EPA approval of the Work Plan and the respective Addendum (see Item #32 below) as Appendix A, dated April 16, 2012. The objective is to provide hydraulic containment and to reverse the migration of groundwater from the Former Chemical Plant beyond the property boundary. Hydraulic containment is a means to isolate a contaminant plume from normal groundwater flow and requires above-ground treatment of extracted water (commonly known as pump-and-treat).
Groundwater Interim Measures Work Plan Addendum for the Former Chemical Plant (February 11, 2011): This Addendum presents minor modification to the well locations proposed in the original Interim Measures Work Plan and proposes performance monitoring. This Addendum also addressed EPA’s comments.
Final Groundwater Interim Measures Sampling and Analysis Plan (Revision 1.0; October 9, 2012):This document will serve as the quality assurance and quality control document for the groundwater sampling performed during the Interim Measure, both for the area of the Former Chemical Plant located on the site and for the off-site area east.
Final Vapor Intrusion Characterization Work Plan (Revision 1.0; November 2, 2012) Part 1 and Part 2. The work plan for the area east of the Former Chemical Plant is designed to evaluate the potential vapor intrusion pathway. Vapor intrusion is a process by which chemicals in soil or groundwater migrate to indoor air. Work activities will include the installation of vapor monitoring points, the collection of vapor samples, ambient air sampling and crawl space vapor sampling. Indoor air samples in homes may be collected if vapor samples collected in the residential home crawl space exceed the screening levels. Note that due to the fact that some homeowners that may need potential sampling in the future have not been notified yet by Walter Coke or EPA, two select pages are temporarily redacted. If sampling at these properties is determined to be necessary, these households will be contacted and EPA will then post the un-redacted version.
Site Specific Health and Safety Plan (Revision 1.0; dated November 9, 2012): This document is a plan to ensure that all on-site work on the project is performed in accordance with approved safety and health provisions.
EPA Approval of Groundwater Interim Measures Plans and Commencement of Work (December 4, 2012): This EPA letter cites that the final reports (Interim Measures Groundwater Sampling and Analysis Plan, Vapor Intrusion Characterization Work Plan and Site-Specific Health and Safety Plan) are approved by EPA.
Mineral Wool Piles – Sample Analysis Report (Revision 5), Sample Collection and Analysis at the Walter Coke Facility, Birmingham, Alabama (January 23, 2013): An EPA contractor (Booz Allen Hamilton) was tasked to conduct a limited sampling event at the Walter Coke facility of materials within the Mineral Wool Piles (MWPs) at four locations, at two depths. The report shows that sample results were screened against several different U.S. EPA and Alabama Dept. of Environment Management screening levels. Included in the report are: a project description, sampling activities, summary of sample results, tables of results, figures showing the sampling locations, and many attachments such as logbooks. The sample collection activities were performed on May 17, 2012.
Community Involvement:
1. Final Community Involvement Plan (Revision 1.0; December 21, 2012): The CIP, which outlines community engagement activities by Walter Coke, is a requirement of the signed AOC in September of 2012.
2. EPA Approval of Community Involvement Plan (January 25, 2013): This EPA letter cites the approval of the Walter Coke Community Involvement Plan.
3. Community Involvement Plan (Revision 2.0, March 30, 2016): With the purchase of the Walter Coke facility by ERP Compliant Coke, LLC in February 2016 out of bankruptcy proceedings, the Community Involvement Plan has been updated to reflect the new facility owner.
Risk Assessment at Solid Waste Management Areas:
1. Final Risk Assessment Work Plan (Revision 1.1; March 6, 2013): This document presents a summary of the approach and methodology proposed for the development of Baseline Human Health Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessments for the Walter Coke Facility. The objective of the risk assessments is to analyze the potential adverse effects on humans and the environment that may result, either now or in the future, from the presence of hazardous chemicals at the Site or released from the Site, in the absence of remediation.
2. EPA Approval of Risk Assessment Work Plan (March 15, 2013): This EPA letter cites the approval of the Risk Assessment Work Plan.
Vapor Intrusion Characterization Report (Revision 1) - February 5, 2015: This report, which was approved by the EPA on February 18, 2015, documents the results from implementation of the Final Vapor Intrusion Characterization Work Plan. Specifically, the report presents the findings from the sampling of vapor monitoring points – both ambient air sampling and crawl space vapor sampling.
Progress Reports:
1. Quarterly Progress Report #1 January 2013 (January 15, 2013): The first Progress Report covers the period from September 24, 2012 to December 31, 2012.
2. Quarterly Progress Report #2 April 2013 (April 10, 2013): The Progress Report covers the period from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2013.
3. Quarterly Progress Report #3 (July 15, 2013): The Progress Report covers the period from April 1, 2013, to June 30, 2013.
4. Quarterly Progress Report #4 (October 15, 2013): The Progress Report covers the period from July 1, 2013, to September 30, 2013.
5. Quarterly Progress Report #5 (January 15, 2014): The Progress Report covers the period from October 1, 2013, to December 31, 2013.
6. Quarterly Progress Report #6 (April 15, 2014): The Progress Report covers the period from Jnauary 1, 2014, to March 31, 2014.
7. Quarterly Progress Report #7 (July 15, 2014): The Progress Report covers the period from April 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014.
8. Quarterly Progress Report #8 (October 10, 2014): The Progress Report covers the period from July 1, 2014, to September 30, 2014
9. Quarterly Progress Report #9 (January 15, 2015): The Progress Report covers the period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014.
10. Quarterly Progress Report #10 (April 14, 2015): The Progress Report covers the period from January 1, 2015, to March 31, 2015.
11. Quarterly Progress Report #11 (July 14, 2015): The Progress Report covers the period from April 1, 2015, to June 30, 2015.
12. Quarterly Progress Report #12 (October 15, 2015): The Progress Report covers the period from July 1, 2015, to September 31, 2015.
13. Quarterly Progress Report #13 (January 12, 2016): The Progress Report covers the period from October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
14. Quarterly Progress Report #14 (April 11, 2016): The Progress Report covers the period from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016.
15. Quarterly Progress Report #15 (July 15, 2016): The Progress Report covers the period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016.
16. Quarterly Progress Report #16 (October 6, 2016): The Progress Report covers the period from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016.
17. Quarterly Progress Report #17 (January 13, 2017): The Progress Report covers the period from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016.
18. Quarterly Progress Report #18 (April 11, 2017): The Progress Report covers the period from January 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017.
19. Quarterly Progress Report #19 (July 14, 2017): The Progress Report covers the period from April 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017.
EPA Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with ERP Compliant Coke, LLC (Effective: August 2016): The Walter Coke facility located in North Birmingham was purchased by ERP Compliant Coke, LLC in February 2016 out of bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the bankruptcy settlement, the new owner assumed the environmental responsibilities identified in the 2012 RCRA 3008(h) Administrative Order on Consent Order with Walter Coke. In late 2016, the EPA issued a new RCRA 3008(h) Order to ERP Compliant Coke, LLC which mirrored the previous 2012 RCRA 3008(h) Order to Walter Coke.
Interim Measures Annual Report (August 24, 2017): This report covers the ongoing Groundwater Pump-and-Treat Interim Measures originally approved back on December 4, 2012. This Interim Measures addresses the groundwater plume associated with SMA 4 – The Former Chemical Plant. This report is the last Interim Measures Report submitted prior to EPA public noticing the proposed remedy for SMA 4.
Corrective Measure Study: The RCRA Section 3008(h) Order requires that a Corrective Measure Study be completed for each of the five Solid Waste Management Areas (SMAs). Below are the Corrective Measure Studies completed to the point where EPA has public noticed a proposed remedy.
1. Corrective Measure Study Report for SMA 4 - Former Chemical Plant (April 14, 2017)
2. Corrective Measure Study Report for SMA 5 - Former Pig Iron Foundry (April 14, 2017)
Statements of Basis (September 2017): A Statement of Basis is a community engagement document designed to summarize a proposed remedy that is out for public comment. Below are the Statements of Basis completed to date.
1. Statement of Basis for SMA 4 – Former Chemical Plant – Public Comment Period from October 1, 2017, to November 14, 2017.
2. Statement of Basis for SMA 5 – Former Pig Iron Foundry – Public Comment Period from October 1, 2017, to November 14, 2017.
Administrative Record Index: The Administrative Record lists the documents, data and other technical information that the EPA considers in preparing a Statement of Basis explaining a proposed cleanup to the public. Below are the Administrative Record Indices completed to date.
1. Administrative Record Index for SMA 4 - Former Chemical Plant and SMA 5 - Former Pig Iron Foundry (September 2017)