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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Nevamar Company LLC (Formerly: International Paper) in Waverly, Virginia

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    Cleanup Status

    In January 2000, International Paper-Masonite Facility in Waverly, Virginia, entered into a Facility Lead Agreement with EPA to investigate any Facility contaminant releases. International Paper (IP) submitted an investigative work plan to EPA in May 2000 which was approved in June 2000. In 2001, IP completed: (1) surface and groundwater sampling; (2) groundwater monitoring; and (3) well installation to delineate site-related contamination. A former underground storage tank (UST) was found to be the primary source of contamination. The former 50,000 gallon capacity UST was removed prior to environmental investigations. Fuel oil #2 had leaked from the UST, locally contaminating soil and groundwater on-site.

    In November 2002, IP submitted an Investigation Report and Proposed Corrective Measures to EPA. IP proposed to continue hand bailing as the final remedy. EPA and Virginia Departement of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ) approved the Corrective Measures and Investigation Reports. The clean-up goal is to reach product thickness of 0.1 inch or less (sheen), or to the limits of recoverability, sustained over a year.

    Product recovery consisted of weekly hand bailing product from the wells. However, in October 2009, IP upgraded the recovery effort and installed more recovery wells and a product skimmer in one well. IP conducted a pilot study, an Enhanced Fluid Recovery (EFR®) event on April 29, 2014. Eleven soil borings and eight additional recovery wells were installed in January 2014.

    Since October 2002, about 1,316 gallons of product have been recovered.  The product recovery rates declined from 452 gallons in 2010 to 23 gallons in 2017. IP submitted a proposal to reduce recovery frequency based on a decline in product recovery and stable or decreasing trends in the aerial extent of the plume from at least monthly to quarterly in June 2017.

    The only remaining issue at the site is the release from the UST that contained diesel fuel which is a “regulated substance” but was not identified as a Solid Waste Management Unit in the RFI. The Facility is a non-TSDF Facility; therefore the release is being more appropriately managed under the Subtitle I corrective action program under Case Number PC 90-0719.  VA DEQ issued a remedy decision of Corrective Action is Complete without Controls on July 23, 2018.

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      Site Description

      Interactive Map of the Nevamar Company LLC (Formerly: International Paper), Waverly, VA

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      The International Paper, Masonite Corporation Waverly plant manufactured different grades of particle board. IP purchased scrap wood and sawdust as a raw material for the production of pressed flake board. Scrap wood was screened to remove impurities, then ground to a fine powder and dried. The wood powder was bonded together with urea formaldehyde resin to form particle board. The powder was also used at the Facility boiler plant as the principal fuel source for the Facility. Previous vinyl laminating processes used xylenes and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as solvents. An aeration/settling basin was used to reduce suspended solids and BOD under a pre-treatment permit, and the wastewater was discharged to a regional sewage treatment plant. Three former underground storage tank farms were removed under the supervision of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ). The USTs were used for the storage of diesel, gasoline, xylenes and MEK.

      In 1966, IP purchased the plant from Gray Products Company. In July 2002, IP sold the facility to Nevamar Company, LLC. The Facility closed in 2003. In January 2005, Nevamar sold the Facility to Waverly Particle Board Company, LLC. In 2009, the Facility ceased operations and in 2010 went into bankruptcy. The property is currently owned by Wood Fuel Developers, LLC. IP continues to conduct on-going groundwater remediation under the oversight of the Virginia Petroleum Program.

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      Contaminants at this Facility

      The primary contaminants are: xylenes, MEK and fuel oil constituents (BTEX and PAHs).

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      Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

      No Institutional controls are required at the Facility. 

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      Land Reuse Information at this Facility

      The facility is under continued use.

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      Site Responsibility at this Facility

      RCRA Corrective Action activities at this facility are being conducted under the direction of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality with assistance from the EPA Region 3.

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