Federal Creosote Company
Valerie Drive & East Camplain Road
Manville Borough, Somerset County
PI #: G000031228
BLOCK: Various LOT: Various
Community Relations Coordinator: Mindy Mumford (609) 777-1976
SITE DESCRIPTION/RESOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
As
of 28 June 2004
A wood treatment facility operated at this site between 1910 and 1957.
Activities at Federal Creosote Company entailed creosoting railroad ties
and telephone poles. The excess creosote and creosote-contaminated residues
were discharged into trenches and lagoons. These areas were covered with
fill material after operations ceased. The Rustic Mall shopping center
and the Claremont Development, a residential development consisting of
137 single-family homes, were constructed on the site in the 1960s. In
1997, a sink hole developed around a sewer pipe at the development. Excavation
around the pipe revealed the presence of a tar-like substance that was
identified as creosote. USEPA and NJDEP subsequently determined there
were two former creosote lagoons, drainage trenches and a drip area at
the development. Indoor air testing showed that the creosote in the soil
was not adversely affecting indoor air quality at the homes. In 1997,
USEPA began a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to
delineate the contamination in the soil and ground water and evaluate
cleanup alternatives. USEPA added the Federal Creosote Company to the
National Priorities List of Superfund sites (NPL) in 1999.
Based on the initial findings of the RI/FS, USEPA divided the investigation
and cleanup of the site into three Operable Units (OU). OU1 encompasses
the former lagoon and canal areas, where the highest levels of creosote
contamination are present in the soil. OU2 encompasses other areas of
the development where concentrations of creosote are lower than at OU1
but still exceed NJDEP’s soil cleanup criteria. OU3 addresses contaminated
soil at the Rustic Mall and the ground water. USEPA issued a Record of
Decision (ROD) with NJDEP concurrence for OU1 in 1999. The ROD required
purchasing and demolishing approximately 19 homes, excavating the subsurface
contaminated soil at the properties, treating and disposing of the soil
at an off-site facility, and backfilling the excavations with clean soil.
This work was begun in 2000 and is still underway. To date, 17 homes have
been demolished and the soil from these properties remediated. In 2000,
USEPA issued a ROD with NJDEP concurrence for OU2 that required excavation
and off-site disposal of contaminated surface soil at approximately 54
residential properties. The Remedial Design for OU2 was completed in 2002
and soil removal activities at this area are underway. Approximately 135,000
tons of creosote contaminated soil have been removed from the OU1 and
OU2 areas since remedial activities began. USEPA issued a ROD with NJDEP
concurrence for OU3 in 2002. The ROD also required excavation and disposal
of contaminated surface soil at the Rustic Mall, as well as long-term
monitoring of contaminants in the ground water. The Remedial Design for
OU3 is underway and expected to be complete in 2003. |
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