Hazardous Waste Cleanup: United States Army Garrison, Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Virginia
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
In 1999, the United States Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District, on behalf of EPA, conducted an Environmental Indicator (EI) inspection of the Ft. A.P. Hill Facility (FAPH), identifying 33 Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and some areas of concern (AOC) regarding potential contamination. In January 2000, FAPH entered into EPA's Facility Lead Corrective Action Agreement ("Agreement") to conduct a site wide corrective action investigation. After FAPH secured funding from the Army, EPA met with the Facility in November 2000, to discuss the work plan scope. Based on the meeting discussion, the work plan focused investigation on 15 SWMUs and 5 AOCs and eliminated 18 of the 33 SWMUs for further investigation due to lack of evidence of possible contamination. In accordance with the EPA approved work plan in October 2001, FAPH completed all field work and submitted an investigation report to EPA in August 2002.
Inorganics were detected in soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water above residential EPA risk-based screening numbers and maximum contaminants levels (MCLs). Some pesticides were detected in surface water and sediment samples.
A phase II work plan for additional investigations was approved by EPA in 2005. FAPH completed field activities as per the approved plan. A preliminary risk assessment was submitted to EPA for review and comments were provided on November 2006. A report was approved in March 2007 and a work plan to investigate the integrity of the landfill's caps was approved by EPA in April 2008. A risk assessment report was submitted to EPA, and EPA accepted it with minor changes to be reflected in the Final Investigation Report. In March 2009, Fort AP Hill submitted the Final Facility Lead Additional Investigation Report to EPA. EPA approved the Report in August 2009.
In 2004, FAPH performed closure activities at the fire training area. During implementation of the closure activities, a small solid waste disposal area was discovered in an area adjacent to the fire training pad. AP Hill completed remediation at this area and the report was approved by EPA in November 2008.
In November 2010, EPA signed the Final Remedy Decision for FAPH, which includes the Institutional Controls listed below.
In June 2016, EPA conducted a 5 Year Review of FAPH’s implementation of the Remedy, and found that FAPH is successfully implementing the Corrective Action Remedy.
Access to the Installation is restricted and water supply wells are screened between 300 to 500 feet below ground surface. Water table aquifer is found between 14 to 25 feet below ground surface. Access to the areas where contaminants were detected by facility personnel is infrequent and of short duration. Therefore, EPA considers the potential for human exposure to residual contamination as low and falls within EPA's acceptable risk range.
Site Description
Fort A.P. Hill consists of a 76,000 acre complex located in Caroline County near Bowling Green, Virginia. Fort A.P. Hill is an active army installation of which 80 percent of the post is woodland, with extensive wildlife and woodland management programs in place. The facility's mission involves providing year round administrative and logistical support and training facilities for units of the Active Army, Reserves, and other branches of the military and the Government. In support of its training mission, Fort A.P. Hill maintains an extensive range complex of about 38 ranges and 48 field artillery firing positions which includes train-fire ranges, combat attack courses, a helicopter gunnery range, machine-gun transition range, heavy weapons ranges, and various special purpose ranges.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants found at FAPH consisted of inorganics compounds detected in soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water above residential EPA regional screening levels and MCLs, but below industrial levels. Some pesticides were detected in surface water and sediment samples; however, EPA considers the potential for human exposure to residual contamination as low and falls within EPA's acceptable risk range.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
- Prohibition on the use of GW from water table aquifer for all SWMUs and Areas of Concern (AOCs)
- Prohibition on the use of all SWMUs and AOCs for residential, schools, childcare, and playground use
- Prohibition of earth moving activity in SWMUs 11 to 20 (former landfill areas)
- Notification to EPA for intention to sell property, notification to prospective purchaser
- Notification to EPA and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) in advance of proposed land use changes that may affect final remedy objectives
- Monitoring groundwater natural attenuation for SMWU-16 and groundwater monitoring for AOC-4 and state permit (government control) for these two units
- Landfill caps, vegetative soil cap and covers for SWMUs 11 to 20
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The facility is under continued use.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)Corrective Action activities at this facility are being conducted under the direction of the EPA Region 3 with assistance from the VADEQ .