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Blue Ridge Plating
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Site photo goes here.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: NCD044447589Location: Arden, Buncombe County, NC
Lat/Long: 35.462370, -082.528350
Congressional District: 11
NPL Status: Proposed: 04/27/05; Final: 09/14/05
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil, Subsurface Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction Complete - Physical cleanup activities have been completed.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Continued Industrial Use - electroplating facility.
Site Manager: Jon Bornholm (bornholm.jon@epa.gov)
Site Background
The approximately 3-acre Blue Ridge Plating site is located in Arden, Buncombe County, North Carolina. An active metal plating company has operated on the site since 1974 and uses black oxide, cadmium, chromium, copper, cyanide, tin, and zinc in routine operations. From 1974 to 1985, electroplating wastes were collected in drums located in the basement of the facility. Plating sludges were filtered out and the wastewater was directed to a 70,000 gallon in-ground concrete lagoon located behind the shop. Plating sludges were then shipped off site for disposal and the wastewater was either sprayed on the ground or reused as process water. Between 1985 and 1990, the wastewater was discharged to the local municipal sewer system. In 1990, the municipality suspended access to the sewer system because Blue Ridge Plating was not meeting pretreatment requirements. Currently, Blue Ridge Plating employs a closed loop reclamation system which is located in the facility basement.
Threats and Contaminants
Former facility disposal practices resulted in contamination of ground water, soils, and subsurface soils with inorganics, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Site Cleanup Plan
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was issued in 2004. Major cleanup elements for the site included:
- Excavation of approximately the top 1.5 feet of an estimated 1.6 acres at the site (approximately 3,867 cubic yards).
- The excavated soils will be stabilized, if necessary, and then transported off site for disposal at a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act landfill.
- Following confirmation sampling, the excavated areas will be back-filled with clean soil, graded, and re-vegetated.
- Implementation of a long-term ground water monitoring program to confirm that natural attenuation processes are occurring in the aquifer.
- Implementation of institutional controls.
Cleanup Progress
The soil cleanup phase occurred between December 2006 and June 2007. Approximately 8,737 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated and transported to an off-site facility for disposal.
Four additional ground water monitoring wells were installed in August-September 2007. EPA issued the Preliminary Closeout Report in September 2007. Ground water was last sampled in January 2009 and the next annual ground water sampling event will occur in January 2010. Due to Site related contaminants being detected in the furthest downgradient monitoring wells, two additional monitoring wells (one shallow and one deep) were installed in April 2011 and were initially sampled in June 2011.
Blue Ridge Plating is the only potentially responsible party (PRP); however, site cleanup activities are being led primarily by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
Blue Ridge Plating has been the subject of numerous investigations, warnings, violations, and court orders from both North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources and EPA.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Blue Ridge Plating site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices, interviews, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Annual ground water sampling activities continue at the site.
Site Administrative Documents
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
Buncombe/Skyland Library
260 Overlook Road
Asheville, NC 28803-3317
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.