Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
WINNEBAGO COUNTY
ROCKTON

Congressional District # 16

BELOIT CORP.

EPA ID# ILD021440375
Last Updated: December, 2006

Site Description

The Beloit Corporation manufacturing plant is located at 1165 Prairie Hill Road north of Rockton, Winnebago County, Illinois. The plant is located within the boundaries of the listed National Priorities List (NPL) site known as the Beloit Corporation Superfund site. Land use within and surrounding the NPL site is a mix of residential and industrial with a population of approximately 11,000 within a one-mile radius. The Blackhawk Acres subdivision is located east of the Beloit Corporation plant with additional residential areas to the south and northwest of the NPL site. Industrial facilities lie to the south of the site. West of the plant is a low lying wooded area adjacent to the Rock River. Agricultural land lies to the east of the Blackhawk Acres subdivision. Two wastewater treatment ponds and two clarifier tanks are located on Beloit Corporation property. Large outdoor storage yard areas which hold scrap metal, pipe, and miscellaneous equipment are also located on the site. These storage areas are partially paved with asphalt or covered with crushed stone. A former, foundry sand disposal area and a former, fibrous sludge-spreading area are located south of the Beloit Corporation plant. Additional structures, identified within the NPL site boundary, are the homes and roadways that make up the Blackhawk Acres subdivision and small industrial buildings associated with Safe-T-Way and Soterion Company. Beloit Corporation and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) entered into a consent decree for the performance of a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) on October 17, 1991. 

Site Responsibility

The USEPA secured approximately $4.7 million in a bankruptcy settlement which is in a Special Account and to be used to pay for RD/RA at the Site since negotiations with the post-bankruptcy owner of the Site were terminated.  The Site is currently in Remedial Design phase with the Remedial Design scheduled for completion in June 2007.  The State of Illinois, IEPA, is conducting the Remedial Design and the Remedial Action with the USEPA providing the funding from the special account and oversight.

Threats and Contaminants

Soils and groundwater in the source area (under the southwest corner of the Erection Bay) are contaminated with high levels of trichloroethene (TCE) and groundwater contaminated with TCE has migrated off-site and is making its way towards the Rock River.  This off-site plume has impacted private residential water wells in the Blackhawk Acres subdivision just to the east of the Site.  Potential health threats to people include: drinking contaminated groundwater and pond water, accidental ingestion of contaminated soil or groundwater and coming into direct contact with contaminated groundwater or soils.

Cleanup Progress

The potentially responsible party (PRP) Beloit Corporation has implemented an early action (pump and treat) at the site. It's monitored on a monthly basis and is currently extracting and treating 8,000,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater a month. Under the facilities-modified National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, Beloit Corporation is discharging treated groundwater to the Rock River. Beloit Corporation has gone through bankruptcy (Chapter 11), causing the manufacturing activities at the site to cease. However, a fund has been set up through the bankruptcy court to complete any present and future RD/RA activities for the site.

The Beloit Trust did complete a feasibility study (FS) report which was conditionally approved by IEPA in January 2002. IEPA is monitoring annually homes in the area for any signs of contamination. The Record of Decision was signed in September 2004.  The fund that was set up through the bankruptcy court is now in a Special Account and is being used to pay the IEPA to conduct the RD/RA at the Site.

 

 

Community Involvement

The Illinois EPA conducts routine meetings with interested stakeholders at the regularly scheduled Village Board meetings in Rockton.

Property Reuse

The property is ready for re-use as long as the 4 extraction wells on-site and the air stripper and the conveyance piping is not damaged by the new owner.  In addition, some predesign investigation borings are scheduled for October 2007 and these will be both inside and outside of the Erection Bay.  The IEPA is also maintaining the Interim Source Control Action (4 extraction wells and air stripper) and will have to conduct periodic injection of oxidizing chemicals into a series of injection wells that are going to be installed on the Site.  The IEPA is also planning on repairs to the underground piping that conveys the treated groundwater to the NPDES permitted outfall on the Rock River.  The USEPA has prepared a "Reasonable Steps Letter" for the Site at the request of Winnebago County officials for a company called Chemtool that was to have been a prospective purchaser.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
david seely (seely.david@epa.gov)
(312) 886-7058

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
stuart hill
(312) 886-0689

Aliases

BELOIT CORP

 

Site Profile Information

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