Public Meeting and Public Comment Period for Proposed Plan

INTRODUCTION

• OU-1: Wainwright Remedial Soil
• OU-2: Valley Technologies Soil
• OU-3: Wainwright Remedial Groundwater
• OU-4: Valley Technologies Groundwater and Area Wide Plume

This Proposed Plan focuses on OU-2, which encompasses contaminated soil within and adjacent to the property currently owned by Valley Technologies at 555 St. Louis Avenue. Based on available information, the preferred alternative proposed for public comment is Alternative 2 – In Situ Thermal Remediation. Public comments on the Proposed Plan will be accepted from June 10, 2019, through July 10, 2019.

Thursday, June 13, 2019
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Valley Park Lion’s Club
100 St. Louis Avenue
Valley Park, MO 63088

REASONABLE ACCOMODATIONS

EPA Region 7 is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. To request reasonable accommodations at the Public Meeting, please contact Jonathan Cooper at cooper.jonathan@epa.gov or toll-free at 1-800-223-0425. Speech- or hearing-impaired individuals should email or call using the local relay service.

ABOUT THE SITE

The site is located in the city of Valley Park, Missouri, which is in St. Louis County approximately 15 miles southwest of the city of St. Louis. Valley Park is located in the Meramec River Valley and consists primarily of residential, commercial and industrial buildings with a population of 6,942 (2010 Census). The site consists of two contaminant source areas and an area-wide groundwater plume. The main contaminant of concern is trichloroethylene (TCE).

BACKGROUND

In 1982, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including tetrachloroethene (PCE), TCE, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) in samples collected from three Valley Park municipal wells. In response to the contamination, the city of Valley Park installed equipment to remove VOCs from drinking water. Since 1988, Valley Park residents have been connected to the St. Louis County public water system. The site was placed on the NPL on June 10, 1986.

EPA and MDNR determined that the sources of contamination originated from a former Wainwright Industries property and a current Valley Technologies, Inc. property located in Valley Park. Wainwright and Valley Technologies both used chlorinated degreasers and solvents (chlorinated organic compounds) to clean metal parts in their production process.

ABOUT TCE

TCE is the primary contaminant of concern at the site. Exposure to TCE poses potential human health hazards to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and developing fetus. TCE is characterized by EPA as “carcinogenic in humans” by all routes of exposure. Other contaminants of concern at this site include vinyl chloride and dichloroethene, both of which are breakdown byproducts of the degradation of TCE in the environment.

SITE CLEANUP

A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed for OU-2 in 2001. The ROD documented the selected remedial alternative of excavation of the most highly contaminated soils, soil vapor extraction for lower contamination areas, and extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater. The ROD was modified as defined in 1996 and 2005 Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) documents. The remedial action described in the ROD and subsequent ESDs has been constructed and implemented. The operation and maintenance of the system is ongoing. EPA is conducting the cleanup action at the Valley Technologies property.

ADDITIONAL CLEANUP ACTIVITIES

The remedial action at the Valley Technologies source area (OU-2) is currently protective; however, additional cleanup is needed to attain long-term site restoration goals. To evaluate these additional cleanup activities, EPA initiated a focused Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for OU-2 in 2014. The RI/FS report discusses the risks posed by the site and presents an evaluation of cleanup options.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

EPA has compiled the site Administrative Record (AR). The AR is the official record for the site and contains site reports and descriptions of activities and other documents used to determine the appropriate EPA response actions to take at the site. EPA has assessed the ability of the public to access the AR file through an internet-based repository and has determined that the local community has this ability.

The AR and Proposed Plan are available for review on EPA’s website (click on Site Documents & Data), and are also available during normal business hours at:

EPA CONTACT INFORMATION

Written comments, questions about the Proposed Plan and Public Meeting, and requests for information can be sent to:

Additional questions or requests for site information can be submitted to:

ADDITIONAL TCE INFORMATION