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Fact Sheet
September 2008
Completion of Remedial Design, Waterloo Coal Gasification Plant Site, Waterloo, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 announces the completion of the Remedial Design that will be used to implement the Remedial Action at the Waterloo Coal Gasification Plant site (Site), located in Waterloo, Iowa. The Site is situated along the Cedar River about one mile southeast of downtown Waterloo, and south of 11th Street between Sycamore Street and the river, near the former Rath Packing facility.
BACKGROUND
From approximately 1901 until 1956, the site was the location of a former manufactured gas plant (FMGP) that produced and supplied gas for lighting and heating purposes. The plant was dismantled during the period of 1965 through 1967. Much of the residue from gas manufacturing processes (commonly referred to as coal tar) was dehydrated and sold. However, coal tar wastes were also left onsite resulting in
soil and ground water contamination.
From 1994 through 2003, approximately 25,000 tons of coal tar and coal tar-contaminated soil were excavated and thermally treated during a three-phased removal action. The excavated areas were backfilled to original grade and the site remains vacant. Excavation of the source material has limited the potential impact to ground water and soil by site-related contaminants. However, some contamination still exists due to the difficulties associated with excavating material from below the ground water table.
CURRENT SITE STATUS
The August 2008 Remedial Design/ Remedial Action Work Plan describes the activities that will be taken at the site during the subsequent Remedial Action. The work plan is available for your review at the addresses located on the back of this page. The Remedial Design and Remedial Action activities are being conducted by MidAmerican Energy Company, the potentially responsible party.
The remedy for the site, institutional controls and monitored natural attenuation with ground water monitoring, takes into account the technical impracticability (TI) of restoring ground water to drinking water standards within certain areas of the aquifer (referred to as the TI Zone).
The performance goal of the remedial action with respect to ground water is containment of ground water contamination through natural attenuation processes so that ground water contaminant concentrations outside the TI Zone do not exceed the established ground water performance standards. A ground water monitoring program will be implemented to measure movement of ground water contaminants with respect to the TI Zone and evaluate remedial progress over time. As part of the Remedial Action, additional monitoring wells will be installed in September 2008, to provide a more complete ground water monitoring well network.
The institutional controls component of the remedy that will be implemented as part of the Remedial Action includes the use of property restrictions and existing regulations to address potential future exposure to soil and ground water within the area of contamination. Property restrictions provided by an environmental covenant will prohibit the installation of water wells, prohibit residential development of the property, and require the owner of the property to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and EPA in the event of a change in land use or transfer of the property. The environmental covenant also requires that any structure constructed on the property shall be engineered to address vapor intrusion unless testing demonstrates that vapor intrusion will not present a health risk.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Remedial Design/Remedial Action Work Plan and other site-related documents are available for the public to review at the following locations during normal business hours:
Waterloo Public Library
415 Commercial
Waterloo, Iowa
EPA Region 7 Office
Records Center
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas
If you have questions about the Site or the remedial design or remedial action, please contact:
Beckie Himes
Community Involvement Coordinator
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
Phone: 913-551-7253 or
toll-free 1-800-223-0425
e-mail: himes.beckie@epa.gov
