Limestone Road

Proposed Remedial Action Plan Fact Sheet
April 1996

EPA Releases the Proposed Remedial Action Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Proposed Remedial Action Plan (Proposed Plan) to address the ground water, surface water, and sediment contamination at the Limestone Road Superfund Site. Under the Proposed Plan, EPA would:

Install a water line to provide safe, clean water to homes near the site;
Monitor ground water and nearby streams to make sure contaminant levels do not increase; and
Implement institutional controls, including deed restrictions, to prevent the use of contaminated ground water.

EPA's Proposed Plan summarizes the results of the recently completed Supplemental Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (SRI/SFS). The potentially responsible parties (PRPs), with oversight from EPA, conducted these studies to identify the contaminants at the site and determine the best options for addressing the site. The Proposed Plan also explains the other options considered and why EPA chose the method outlined above.

EPA prepared this fact sheet to help you understand the Proposed Plan. The fact sheet contains information on:

The public meeting
Results of site studies
The clean-up options EPA examined
Why EPA chose the proposed method
The public comment period
Where to review site information
How to contact EPA
The site's history

Before a final decision is made, EPA requests and considers public input. EPA invites you to attend a public meeting to be held on Wednesday, April 24, and tell the Agency what you think about the Proposed Plan. You may also contact Larry Brown, the site's Community Involvement Coordinator, by phone, letter, or e-mail for information on the public meeting or to comment on the Proposed Plan.

U.S. EPA, Region III
Mailcode - 3EA30
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
(800) 553-2509
e-mail: brown.larry@epa.gov

Unlike the Proposed Plan, this fact sheet is not a legal or technical document. EPA encourages you to review the Proposed Plan, located at:

Allegany County Library
31 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502

You can provide comments on the Proposed Plan to EPA during the public comment period, which begins April 15 and ends May 14.

Tell EPA What You Think About the Proposed Plan

EPA invites community members to attend the public meeting, ask site related questions, and to comment on the Proposed Plan.

PUBLIC MEETING

Wednesday, April 24, 1996
7:00 p.m.

District 16 Fire Hall
12100 North Branch Road SE
Cumberland, Maryland

Site Contamination and Study Results

As a result of previous investigations conducted by EPA and the State of Maryland, the PRPs conducted a SRI/SFS. The SRI/SFS revealed low levels of arsenic and high levels of manganese and lead in several ground water wells near the site. These wells supply drinking water to the residents who live near the site. The PRPs currently are providing an alternate water supply to the residents with affected wells. In addition to the ground water, adjacent streams and sediments also contain contaminants. A Risk Assessment was conducted to analyze the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the site.

In November 1994, the PRPs, with EPA oversight, built two caps over the exposed waste on-site and erected a fence around the capped areas. Caps are low-permeability covers that prevent water from coming in contact with the waste and reduce the spreading of contamination off-site. These caps will reduce the site's contribution to the stream contamination. However, EPA concluded that the risks posed by the ground water required further action to prevent future exposure to the contaminants. EPA's Proposed Plan addresses the ground water contamination.

The Alternatives

After reviewing the SRI/SFS and the Risk Assessment, EPA identified four alternatives for addressing contamination at the site. Alternatives 2, 3, and 4 share the following components:

institutional controls, including deed restrictions to prevent the use of contaminated ground water;
a ground water monitoring program to study site monitoring wells and residential wells; and
an ecological monitoring program to study adjacent streams and their inhabitants.

The Alternatives are outlined below.

Alternative 1 - No Action - EPA would take no further clean-up action to reduce the ground water, surface water, and sediment contamination. A "No Action" alternative is considered for every site to establish a baseline for comparison to other actions.

Alternative 2 - Home Treatment Units plus Common Actions - Install in-home treatment systems to residences with contaminated ground water wells.

Alternative 3 - Waterline Plus Common Actions - Construct a waterline along Limestone Road to provide residents with an alternate water supply; construct a pumping station; install five fire hydrants; and connect 19 properties to the waterline.

Alternative 4 - Pump and Treat, Waterline, plus Common Actions - Install a waterline (as described in Alternative 3); place ground water extraction wells around the perimeter of the site; and construct a ground water treatment facility on-site. The contaminated ground water would be pumped to the surface, treated, and discharged into Evitts Creek.

EPA's Recommended Action for the Site

After evaluating the contamination studies, the risk assessment, and the proposed clean-up options, EPA chose Alternative 3 as its recommended action for the site. Based on the information available, Alternative 3 would be protective of human health and the environment. This alternative would provide a safe, permanent, and reliable source of water to the residences currently affected by the site as well as any future residences that could be impacted by the site. In addition, this alternative would require less long-term maintenance than Alternative 2.

EPA's preference of Alternative 3 is only a recommendation. EPA seeks comments from the community and may change its preferred alternative based on community input.

EPA evaluates each alternative against nine criteria to select a preferred alternative. These criteria serve as standards for the cleanup of all Superfund sites.

EPA's Evaluation Criteria

Protection of human health and the environment
Compliance with EPA standards
Long-term effectiveness
Reduction of toxicity, mobility, or volume of contaminants
Short-term effectiveness
Implementability
Cost
State acceptance
Community acceptance

Visit the Information Repository

EPA has set up a local information file so that community members can review documents on the Limestone Road Site. This file, known as the Administrative Record, includes the complete Proposed Plan, technical reports, and other site documents used to select a preferred alternative. You are encouraged to visit the repository to review and photocopy the site information files.

Allegany County Library
31 Washington Street
Cumberland, Maryland 21502
(301) 777-1200
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

EPA Contact

Bill Hudson is EPA's information contact for the Limestone Road Site. He can provide you with information or guidance on any site-related questions. You can contact Bill at the address and phone numbers listed below.

Community Involvement Coordinator
Bill Hudson
215-814-3214
hudson.william@epa.gov
U.S. EPA, Region III
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029

Comment on the Proposed Plan

The release of the Proposed Plan begins a 30-day public comment period which runs from April 15 to May 14. To assure that the community's needs and concerns are addressed, EPA will review all comments and questions received during the comment period and from the public meeting before selecting a final action for the site. You are encouraged to review the Proposed Plan and other site information and submit written comments by May 14 to:

Lesley Brunker (3HW23)
Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA, Region III
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
e-mail: brunker.lesley@epa.gov

Site Background

The Limestone Road Site is located approximately 2.5 miles east of Cumberland, in Allegany County. The site includes large areas of landfilled and dumped commercial, residential, and demolition refuse on two separate parcels of land; the Diggs Sanitation Company (Diggs) property, and the Cumberland Cement and Supply Company (CC&SC) property.

In 1962, Charles Steiner, president of CC&SC, purchased 190 acres of land to use as a quarry. CC&SC never operated the quarry, but did permit the dumping of refuse onsite. In April 1981, Diggs Sanitation Inc., a licensed waste hauler, dumped contaminated waste sludge containing chromium, lead, and cadmium from Fairchild Republic Company on both properties. In June 1981, following an initial investigation by Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the State of Maryland ordered Diggs and CC&SC to clean up their respective properties.

In 1982, EPA conducted a Preliminary Assessment of the site and in 1983, included the site on the National Priorities List for long-term cleanup. In 1986, EPA conducted a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to determine the type and amount of contamination onsite. EPA divided the site into two areas called Operable Units (OUs). The first area (OU-1) involves the exposed waste at the site. The second area (OU-2) involves the ground water, surface water, and sediment contamination at the site. Based on the OU-1 investigations, EPA issued a Record of Decision to cap the exposed waste at the site and fence the capped areas. The Record of Decision also ordered further studies for the local ground water system and the adjacent streams (OU-2). Construction of the caps and fences began in June 1994 and was completed in November 1994.

In April 1994, several potentially responsible parties for site contamination entered into an Administrative Order of Consent with EPA to conduct regular residential well sampling and provide safe water to residents with elevated levels of contaminants.

Region 3 | Mid-Atlantic Cleanup | Mid-Atlantic Superfund |EPA Home | EPA Superfund Homepage