Region 8
Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations
Superfund Program
National Information
Regional Information
Site Information
National Priorities List (NPL) History
Proposed Date
10/15/1984
Final Date
6/10/1986
Construction Complete
3/26/1998
Idaho Pole
Bozeman, Montana, Gallatin County, Congressional District-At Large
CERCLIS ID-MTD006232276
Site Description
The Idaho Pole NPL Site is located near the northern limits of Bozeman, Montana and occupies approximately 60 acres in the east half of Section 6 and the west half of Section 5, Township 2S, Range 6E of Gallatin County. The Site includes Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) property right of way, which is leased to Montana Rail Link; land owned by Northwestern Energy, including the East Gallatin substation; privately-owned land west and east of Rocky Creek, industrial areas to the south and west and a portion of I-90, Cedar Street and Bohart Lane which transect the site.
The Idaho Pole Company (IPC) wood treating facility began operation in 1945 using creosote to preserve wood. In 1952, the company switched to pentachlorophenol in carrier oil (similar to fuel oil) for the wood treating solution. IPC wood treating equipment included butt and pole length treating vats. In 1975, a pressurized heated retort was added for treating full length poles. The pole length vats were removed in the early 1980's. There was also a drying area where treated poles were stored prior to shipment. IPC continued wood treating with a pressurized heated retort and butt dipping vat until September 1997 when IPC ceased wood-treating operations.
Site Risk
In 1978, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks notified the Montana Department of Health & Environment (MDHES), of a suspected release of oily wood treating fluid from the plant. MDHES found evidence of a release in ditches near the facility and near Rocky Creek. Consequently, MDHES issued a compliance order on September 29, 1978, notifying IPC of statutory violations and directing the company to stop uncontrolled releases and to clean up spilled treating fluid. The company built an interceptor trench along a portion of the property line to halt some of the PCP from entering the ground water. In 1983, EPA and the State sampled the trench and found that PCP was moving away from the plant. EPA proposed the facility for the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984, 29 FR 40320 (Oct. 15, 1984). The listing was final in 1986, 51 FR 21054 (June 10, 1986).
The main reason for putting this Site on the NPL was that groundwater beneath the Site had become contaminated with oily wood treating fluid that had spilled, dripped or discharged onto the ground surface. The oily wood treating fluid migrated downward, contaminating the soil that it passed through, and entered the groundwater. Some of this fluid made its way to the surface of groundwater, and some of the fluid attached to soil particles above and below the water table. And a portion of this fluid dissolved in groundwater where it migrated down gradient toward potential human and ecological receptors, preventing the groundwater from being used for its designated classifications, beneficial uses, and specific standards.
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| Ground water, sediment, surface water, soils | pentachlorophenol (PCP), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins | Wood product treatment |
Cleanup Progress
A Record of Decision (ROD) selecting the site remedy was issued in September 1992 and subsequent Explanation of Significant Differences (ESDs) issued in 1996 and 1998. The Site has one operable unit and includes all known sources and contaminated media for the Site. The remedy is comprised of two components: soils and groundwater. The ROD established performance standards for those contaminants of concern at the Site for both soil and groundwater that was predicated on the fact that long-term groundwater protection could only be achieved if the soil, acting as a source on contamination no longer contributed contaminants to the groundwater and the existing groundwater would be treated until performance standards are met to ensure that contamination does not migrate any further.
The objective of the response actions implemented in the 1992 ROD as well as subsequent ESDs was to alleviate the primary threats to human health and the environment posed by contaminant sources and contaminant migration. Specifically, the response actions proposed by EPA and Montana Department of Environmental Quality for the Site were designed to prevent human exposure to contaminated soils by treating and ultimately disposing of contaminated soils in a lined LTU. The protection of the environment was to be accomplished through contaminant source removal as well as the cleanup of contaminated media through enhanced in situ biodegradation processes designed exclusively for the contaminated soils at the Site.
Soil Component of the Cleanup
The Idaho Pole Company began the soil excavation portion of the cleanup in 1995. The company dug up soils and constructed a land treatment unit. Approximately 19,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated and placed in the LTU for treatment. The soils were excavated from six areas at the site: the Pressure Plant Area, beneath Cedar Street, the Barkfill Area, the Roundhouse Area, the Cedar Street Ditch and the Pasture Area. In summer 1999, the Company demolished and disposed of structures, and excavated and excavated additional contaminated soil from underneath the demolished structures. Normal LTU operations continued through October 2000. LTU operations ceased in October 2000, when the ROD performance standards for PCP and PAHs were determined to have been met. Plans were made for LTU closure. All the construction requirements for treatment of the soils at this Site have been met as described in the Preliminary Site Close Out Report dated March 21, 1998 and the Remedial Action Completion Report dated December 23, 2002.
Groundwater Component of the Cleanup
The ground water component consists of an extraction/injection system with carbon treatment and an in-situ bioremediation component. The groundwater treatment system began operation in February 1997 and approximately 380,925,600 gallons have been processed through December 2008. A down gradient product recovery trench is used to recover oil from under Interstate 90. Both systems are operating as designed and continue to remove contaminants from the ground water. The dissolved contaminant plume associated with the site has stabilized and has decreased slightly in concentration and series of wells are monitored quarterly. Eight residential wells down gradient are tested for pentachlorophenol annually using EPA Method 8041. Test results from the residential well monitoring program indicate that contaminants have not been detected in residential wells at reported detection limits. One residential well is sampled semi-annually because PCP concentrations are detected. However, this property is owned by IPC and the water is not used. The ground water component of the remedy at the Idaho Pole Company Site is protective of human health and the environment.
Institutional Controls
Contaminated soil excavated from the Site was successfully treated, and the treated soil was placed as backfill in several areas on IPC property. Treated soil was placed above historic high groundwater levels and was covered with a minimum of twelve inches of fill material to prevent direct contact risk. The LTU was subsequently decommissioned and closed in accordance with an EPA-approved closure plan. An Environmental Easement and Declaration of Restrictive Covenants that applies covenants, conditions and restrictions to the use of the Property where waste has been left in place; that run with the land and are binding on the Grantor, their successors and assigns will be filed with Gallatin County in 2009 prior to deletion from the NPL of the surface and subsurface soils component south of I90. These include restrictions on new construction and excavation; restriction on use of water; and protection of the integrity of the remedial action.
A Controlled Groundwater Use Area was designated in 2001. The purpose of the Controlled Groundwater Use Area designation is to prevent construction of new wells that may pose a threat to human health and to protect the groundwater remedy. (See Designation of Controlled Groundwater Area link below.)
Community Involvement
Site Documents
Fact Sheets
Technical documents:
Note: the documents below are Adobe PDF documents (About PDF files)
Five-Year Review: September 29, 2005 (90 pp, 2.8 MB)
Records of Decisions for this site (2 pp, 33K)
Land Use Control Documents:
Designation of a Controlled Groundwater Area in Gallatin County, establishes a controlled groundwater area for the Idaho Pole Company Site, November 30, 2001 (6pp, 757K)
Contacts
EPARoger Hoogerheide |
Montana Department of Environmental QualityLisa Dewitt
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View Documents at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bozeman Public Library
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