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Fact Sheet

January 2006

Action Memo Amended - Excavation To Restart Early January 2006, Clinton Coal Gas Superfund Site, Clinton, Iowa

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 announces the signing of the Amendment to the Action Memorandum, providing for moving the Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) to the site. This will make the process more cost effective.

The TDU used to treat the contaminated soil removed to-date was located at the Cedar Rapids landfill, and has been used to treat all material excavated thus far from the Site. In a cost savings effort, the TDU has been moved on-site, and excavation is expected to restart on January 4, 2006.

EPA has been overseeing the Removal Action addressing coal tar contamination at the Clinton Coal Gas Site in Clinton, Iowa. The work is being performed by Interstate Power and Light (IPL), now a part of Alliant Energy, under an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC). Work under the AOC includes excavation and disposal of soils contaminated with coal tar.

In addition to the cleanup work, Alliant continues to conduct site assessment activities under the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS).

EPA held a 30-day comment period and had a public meeting, in order to give the community an opportunity to give comments and get information. The comment period ran from November 17 - December 17, 2005. The public meeting was held November 29, 2005.

Comments were received from the public during the meeting, and via e-mail from CAG members. No negative comments regarding the TDU relocation were received.

CURRENT ACTIONS

In late-November 2005, Alliant Energy and its contractor, Dust Coatings, Inc. (DCI), began moving the Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) to the Clinton Coal Gas cleanup site in Clinton, Iowa.

Relocating the TDU to the Site will result in a major reduction in transportation costs and heavy truck traffic through the City of Clinton. The TDU recently received a renewal of its Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) permit, and IDNR is aware of the relocation of the Unit.

The TDU operates by heating the contaminated soil to a temperature that is high enough for the contamination to be released from the soil. The released contaminants are destroyed by the afterburner portion of the TDU, which operates at 1500 degrees. The TDU should not be considered an incinerator, since the soil itself will not be burned. The cleaned soil will be used as backfill for the excavation. The only sign of operation to the residents of Clinton will be a release of hot steam (exhaust) from the stack of the unit. The exhaust stack will be monitored to assure there is no release of contaminants to the air.

The TDU was moved during the 30-day public comment period. The process of moving the TDU involved dismantling the unit in Cedar Rapids and then reassembling the unit on site. Following reassembly, the unit was connected to electrical and natural gas utilities. EPA has given the Notice of Approval to Operate, allowing the unit to be put into operation. The TDU will be removed from the Site when the cleanup is completed, sometime in late Spring 2006.

BACKGROUND

The Clinton Coal Gas Site is located on the west side of Riverview Park between Fourth Avenue North and Second Avenue South.

Under the Enforcement Removal Action, approximately 30,000 tons of coal tar-contaminated material was excavated and treated. “Hot spots” of contamination have been found to be continuous areas resulting in a greater amount of material to be removed.

Additional test trenches have shown a larger amount of contamination yet to be removed. The current estimate is an additional 40,000 tons of material to be excavated and treated. Additional Geoprobe sampling is being conducted to better quantify the amount of coal tar-contaminated material remaining. The contamination threatens the ground water.

Previous work at the site consisted of removing lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-contaminated soils. The coal tar removal started in December 2004, and excavation and transportation of coal tar-contaminated soils were stopped on March 31, 2005, for the summer.

The original estimated cost of the removal actions was $6.5 million. The latest revised estimate is that the removal action will cost approximately $14 million.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

EPA encourages community members to review the Administrative Record for the Clinton Coal Gas Site. The Administrative Order on Consent and accompanying documents are in the Administrative Record File. The Administrative Record File is available for public review at the following information repositories during normal business hours:

Clinton Public Library
306 8th Ave. South
Clinton, Iowa

EPA Region 7
Records Center
901 N. 5th St.
Kansas City, Kansas

If you have questions or need more information on the site, please contact:


Beckie Himes
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66102
1-913-551-7003
Toll-free 1-800-223-0425
Fax: 1-913-551-7066
Email: himes.beckie@epa.gov

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