Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
GREENE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY
DAYTON

Congressional District # 07

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE

EPA ID# OH7571724312
Last Updated: October, 2006

Site Description

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is located in southwestern Ohio between the cities of Fairborn and Dayton. Wright Field consists of 2,300 acres and three old runways. It houses research facilities. Patterson Field is 4,900 acres in size and contains the active runway complex, warehouses, offices, industrial facilities, and flight line support. A Consent Order with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) was signed in 1988, and a Federal Facilities Agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) was signed in 1991. WPAFB overlies the Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer, which is a sole-source aquifer providing drinking water for approximately 500,000 people. The Installation Restoration Program at WPAFB began in 1981, and consists of 65 sites or source areas (including thirteen landfills, twelve earth fill disposal zones, nine fuel or chemical spill sites, six coal storage piles, five fire-training areas, four chemical burial sites, two underground storage tanks, and miscellaneous other sites).

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible parties' actions. The Air Force has lead responsibility for this site. 

Threats and Contaminants

Primary contaminants of concern are perchloroethene, trichloroethene, and benzene compounds in soils and groundwater.

Cleanup Progress

The 65 individual source areas have been grouped into eleven source control and one basewide groundwater cleanup projects. In 1995, U.S. EPA, the Air Force, and OEPA signed a consensus statement for streamlining the investigation and study process at WPAFB. Under this statement, areas of the base needing action are addressed as early actions (i.e., removal actions) with the Air Force as the lead agency, and sites not needing action are separated out as early as possible for no action decisions. There have been several past removal actions including drum and tank removals, free product recovery systems, and groundwater treatment by air stripping for perchloroethene and trichloroethene. 

In 1993 and 1994, two Records of Decisions (RODs) were signed consisting of landfill capping, leachate collection and treatment, gas collection and treatment, public water supply, and institutional controls (1993); and a no action decision for some off-source areas (1994). The 1993 ROD cleanup action is complete. In 1996, a ROD selecting no action was signed for 21 sub-areas within the source control cleanup projects. In 1997, a ROD for natural attenuation of a fuel spill area in Operable Unit 2 (OU2) was signed. Under the streamlining process, two early actions are complete (landfill caps in 1996 and 1997). 

Under the streamlining process, an excavation of a chemical disposal site, three landfill cover projects, and one french drain system were completed in 1998. A ROD for "No Further Action (NFA),"other than monitoring and institutional controls, controlling all of the source control areas was signed in September 1998. A final ROD for the Groundwater OU was signed in September 1999, which documented that all remedial actions selected in RODs had been completed. A Preliminary Construction Closeout Report (PCOR) was completed in September 1999. The PCOR stated that the Air Force will continue Operation and Maintenance (O&M), and monitoring, in accordance with the applicable RODs. Several site investigations or areas of concern (AOCs), removals and treatability studies are ongoing.

The first five-year review of the protectiveness of the remedy was completed in March 2000. This five-year review required implementation measures for soil at Spill Sites 2,3 and 10 within OU2; groundwater downgradient from Landfills 8 and 10 within the Off-Source Operable Unit; and continuation of long term monitoring (LTM) of the groundwater at the Source Control Operable Unit.  A concurrence memo for WPAFB's Second Five-Year Review Report was signed by the Superfund Division Director on December 9, 2005.  This is the first five-year review for the Groundwater Operable Unit (GWOU), and the second five-year review for the remaining Installation Restoration Program (IRP) sites at WPAFB.  The second five-year review concluded that the site is protective of human health and the environment in the long and short terms.  Institutional and site controls at all of the sites have been implemented to prevent exposure to contaminated media that could result in an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. 

Success Story

The WPAFB Cleanup Team consisting of the Air Force, USEPA and Ohio EPA completed two major documents in 2006.  The two major documents that were finalized are the WPAFB Basewide Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) in May 2006 and Land Use Control (LUC) Plan in March 2006. 

Community Involvement

A Community Relations Plan (CRP) was prepared in February 1986 and revised in 1989, 1993 and 1997. Updates are added periodically to the CRP in an effort to keep the public informed about the current and upcoming activities planned at WPAFB.  At EPA's request, a notice for public review of the Draft Second Five-Year Report was placed in the Dayton Daily News in January 2006 by WPAFB.  The WPAFB Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) was provided a copy of the Draft Second Five-Year Report on November 16, 2005 for a 30-day review period.  No comments were submitted by the EAB.  

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
Karen Mason-Smith (mason-smith.karen@epa.gov)
(312) 886-6150

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
bob paulson
(312) 886-0272

Aliases

WRIGHT PATTERSON USAF BASE
USAF WRIGHT PATTERSON BASE
US AIR FORCE WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB
WRIGHT - PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE

 

Site Profile Information

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