• You are here: EPA Home
• Region 8
• Superfund
• Montana Cleanup Sites
• Lockwood Solvent Ground Water Plume

Superfund Program

Lockwood Solvent Ground Water Plume

Site Type: Final NPL City: Billings County: Yellowstone Street Address: Lockwood Road ZIP Code: 59101 EPA ID: MT0007623052 SSID: 08AK Site Aliases: Lockwood Solvent Congressional District: At Large

What's New?

Updated May 2012

The EPA hosted an open house on Wednesday, April 24, 2012 at the Lockwood Middle School Commons. Representatives from the EPA, the State of Montana and facility owners were present to answer questions and discuss the site's current and future activities. The presentation made by the agencies is available in the Site Documents section below.

An article discussing the public meeting appeared in the Billings Gazette .

As a result of feedback from the public meeting, EPA has revised the Reuse section of this Web page to provide additional information on property within a Superfund ste.

Also, a new Site Update Fact Sheet has been posted in the Site Documents section below.

---

Recently EPA released updated health assessments for two of the contaminants of concern at the Lockwood Site: tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). More information is available in the Site Risk section below.

EPA's contractor has begun to collect additional chemical and geotechnical data at the Beall Source Area in order to design the remedial action components for OU1 and support the continuation of the semi-annual groundwater monitoring program. The results of the supplemental sampling will further evaluate the nature and extent of contamination and provide information necessary to develop an optimal remedial design for OU1. Sampling activities began in late March and are expected to continue throughout the year.

Top of Page

---

Site Description

The Lockwood Solvent Ground Water Plume site spans 580 acres on the outskirts of Billings, Montana. Much of the groundwater at the site is contaminated with the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) PCE, TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene (DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). These chemicals are hazardous to human health. (More information is available in the Integrated Risk Information System database at www.epa.gov/IRIS). The primary sources of contamination are from the Beall Trailers of Montana and Soco West (formerly Brenntag West Inc.) facilities. The VOCs leached from the grounds of the two facilities into groundwater serving as potable water for some of Lockwood’s residents. These VOCs can also disperse as vapor and enter the indoor air of buildings.

Top of Page

---

Site Risk

Groundwater at the site was found to have levels of PCE, TCE, DCE, and VC above the drinking water standard (the Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Level), which could pose long-term risks to public health and the environment.

Media Affected	Contaminants	Source of Contamination
groundwater, surface water, sediment, soils	chlorinated solvents	bulk storage/cleaning operations

In response to the imminent and substantial threat posed by the contaminated groundwater, EPA extended the public water supply system, which allowed residents to discontinue use of the contaminated groundwater. The municipal water supply currently provided to residents is safe and is regularly sampled to ensure it is within drinking water standards.

Recently, the EPA released the final health assessments for PCE and TCE to the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates the latest science on chemicals in our environment. The final assessments characterize the chemicals as carcinogenic to humans and as a human non-cancer health hazard. These assessments allow for a better understanding of the risks posed to communities from exposure to PCE and TCE in soil, water and air. They will provide federal, state, local and other policy makers with the latest scientific information to make decisions about cleanup and other actions to protect people's health. The new assessments are currently being evaluated by the Lockwood Solvent site team because both PCE and TCE are primary contaminants of concern at the site and can disperse as vapor into the indoor air of buildings. More information is available on IRIS at www.epa.gov/IRIS.

Top of Page

---

Cleanup Progress

The site was proposed for placement on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2000. The listing became final on December 1, 2000. Upon discovery of the health threat posed by the release, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) supplied affected residents with bottled water until the EPA Emergency Response branch could extend the public water supply line to the area for potable water and domestic use. On August 16, 2005, following the completion of a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS), a Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by the MDEQ and EPA. The ROD identified the appropriate remedy for the site, expecting to meet all remedial action objectives and Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements within the shortest amount of time for the lowest cost. The treatment outlined in the ROD would permanently destroy the contaminants of concern to reduce risk to concentrations below proposed remediation goals in all environmental media. Because it would treat both the source materials constituting the principal threats and the groundwater, the remedy would also meet the statutory preference for the selection of a remedy that involves treatment as a principal element.

Operable Unit 1 (OU1) is the Beall Source Area and Operable Unit 2 (OU2) is the Soco West Area. Both OUs were included in the 2005 ROD.

Major components of the ROD are as follows:

On October 3, 2011, the consent decree for the remedial design/remedial action (RD/RA) was entered. The United States District Court for the District of Montana approved a settlement reached by the United States, the State of Montana and Soco West, Inc. for the cleanup of Operable Unit 2 (OU2).

Both EPA and the potentially responsible parties are in the process of planning field investigations to collect more site information needed for the remedial designs. These activities are planned to start during spring 2012. The Remedial Design Supplemental Sampling Program Quality Assurance Project Plan for Beall Operable Unit 1 is available in the Site Documents section below. This document details the investigation activities planned for the spring and summer of 2012 in and around the Beall Trailers property.

EPA and MDEQ have received a draft final work plan outlining the proposed activities for the Soco facility and are currently reviewing the document.

Semi-annual groundwater sampling will continue on both the Beall and Soco Operable Units in late April and October of 2012.

Top of Page

---

Community Involvement

Community involvement plays an important role in the Superfund process. EPA uses a number of different tools and resources to promote effective, ongoing, meaningful community involvement. The goals of the Superfund community involvement program are to:

• Keep communities affected by sites informed throughout the cleanup process.
• Provide opportunities for communities to comment and offer their input about site cleanup plans.
• Facilitate the resolution of community issues tied to a site.

A Community Involvement Plan was prepared in 2001 and updated in November 2011. The plan provides a history of the site, a brief background and description of the community of Lockwood, and identifies issues of concern to the local community regarding the site. MDEQ and the EPA interviewed home and business owners and local government officials in the preparation of the Community Involvement Plan. The interviews provided community members and officials the opportunity to voice concerns and issues related to the Superfund site. In the Community Involvement Plan, EPA specifies objectives and future plans for community involvement and communication at the Lockwood site. For the Lockwood site, EPA plans fact sheets, news releases and focused meetings for community members. In addition, EPA will maintain an accurate mailing list for those interested in information about the site. If you would like to be on the mailing list, please contact the EPA Remedial Project Manager listed below. The 2011 Community Involvement Plan is available in the Site Documents section below.

The EPA hosted an open house on April 24, 2012 at the Lockwood Middle School Commons. Representatives from the EPA, the State of Montana and facility owners were present to answer questions and discuss the site's current and future activities. The presentation made by the agencies is available in the Site Documents section below.

An article discussing the public meeting appeared in the Billings Gazette .

The open house provided the community an important opportunity to learn more and ask questions about:

• Superfund basics.
• Investigation work that will be performed at the entire ste this summer.
• The EPA's new and more stringent PCE and TCE toxicity values.
• What the contamination-related terms "indoor air," "vapor intrusion" and "controlled groundwater area" mean to residents.

Top of Page

---

Reuse

EPA places a high priority on land reuse as part of its Superfund response program mission. The agency tries to select cleanup options that encourage and support future use of a site. EPA uses two fundamental methods to facilitate reuse of Superfund sites:

• Exploring future uses before the cleanup remedy is implemented, an approach that gives the Agency the best chance of designing cleanup remedies to support the likely future use of a site.
• Working with landowners and communities to remove barriers not considered necessary for the protection of human health or the environment at those sites where remedies are already in place.

One option for reuse is the siting of clean and renewable energy projects on contaminated (or formerly contaminated) lands. As part of this effort, EPA is evaluating the potential for energy projects on these properties and working with landowners and communities to identify ways to remove barriers to such projects.

An important part of the Superfund cleanup process is working with communities to promote site reuse after cleanup.

In addition to making the cleanup protective of human health and the environment, the EPA is working with the Lockwood community to plan for appropriate future land reuse options within the Lockwood cleanup process. To promote reuse options, properties may sometimes change ownership during a Superfund cleanup. A change of ownership will not affect the Superfund cleanup plan or its quality.

It is possible that all or parts of the Lockwood sites, including the source areas where contamination started, may be sold to new owners during or after the cleanup process.

The EPA provides guidance to make sure that the cleanup standards are maintained throughout all Superfund property ownership changes. The EPA also continues to partner with the community and new property owners to promote safe and productive use planning for Superfund areas.

Lockwood Ground Water Plume site area residents, as well as both source and non-source commercial property owners, are able to refinance and/or sell their properties during and after cleanup. The EPA provides assistance, when needed, to facilitate these land transactions. There are several EPA programs in place to help "innocent landowners," those who purchase contaminated property with no prior knowledge of contamination; "contiguous landowners," property owners who have owned land that became contaminated during their period of ownership; and those who inherit contaminated property in refinance and sales transactions.

• More information on assistance for Superfund-area property owners can be found at: www.epa.gov/oecaerth/cleanup/revitalization/ilo.html.
• Top 10 Questions to Ask When Buying a Superfund Site (PDF) (12 pp, 798K, about PDF)
• Partnerships between communities, Superfund property owners and the EPA have successfully developed many former Superfund properties into effective, positive areas of reuse. Examples of these can be found at: www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/.

Top of Page

---

Land Use Controls and Other Institutional Controls

Land use controls are the most common type of institutional control (IC). ICs are administrative or legal controls that help reduce the likelihood for human exposure to contamination. ICs can also help protect the integrity of the remedy. Examples of ICs are:

• Zoning ordinances.
• Environmental covenants.
• Deed notices.
• Well-drilling restrictions.
• Building permits.
• Informational advisories.

The 2005 Record of Decision selected groundwater use restrictions, deed notices/restrictions, and community awareness and education programs as the institutional controls for the site. Soco West is currently working with EPA to file a deed notice with the Clerk and Recorder's Office of Yellowstone County, Montana, on the property it owns in OU2. In 2012, Soco West will also provide the supporting information needed to allow RiverStone Health to prepare a petition to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to establish a controlled groundwater area under Title 85, Chapter 2, Part 5 Montana Code Annotated.

Top of Page

---

Five-Year Reviews

EPA or the lead agency conducts five-year reviews following the start of a Superfund cleanup when contamination is left on the site. These reviews are repeated every five years. We use these reviews to determine:

• How the remedy is working.
• If the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.

Five-year reviews are not yet required at this site.

Top of Page

---

Site Documents

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Note: Best way to open very large document: right click and save it to a file.

Open House Presentation, April 24, 2012 (PDF, 17 pp, 1MB)

Site Update Fact Sheet, April 2012 (PDF, 2 pp, 429K)

Community Involvement Plan, November 2011 (PDF, 36 pp, 621K)

Supplemental Sampling Program Quality Assurance Project Plan, Beall Source Area Operable Unit 1, March 15, 2012 (PDF, 513 pp, 14.9MB)

Remedial Design/Remedial Action Consent Decree, October 3, 2011 (PDF, 70 pp, 4.2MB)

Record of Decision, August 16, 2005 (PDF, 241 pp, 3.6MB)

Feasibility Study Report, July 6, 2004 (PDF, 175 pp, 587K)

Remedial Investigation Report, June 2003 (PDF, 249 pp, 634K)

Top of Page

---

Contacts

 

View Documents at:

Montana State University – Billings
Library – Reference Section
1500 University Drive
Billings, MT 59101
406-657-2011
800-565-6782

EPA Montana Office
Superfund Records Center
Federal Building
10 West 15th Street, Suite 3200
Helena, MT 59626
406-457-5046
Monday-Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

Top of Page

---

Photo/Video Gallery

Click on a thumbnail below to view the full size image.

• 

  Former acid tank farm looking west

• 

  Former acid tank farm looking east

• 

  Former acid tank farm looking northeast

• 

  Looking north

• 

  Looking north at rail spur

• 

  Looking northeast

• 

  Looking northwest at soil vapor extraction system

• 

  Looking south at rail spur

• 

  Looking west

• 

  Soil vapor extraction shed

Top of Page

---

Links

ATSDR Public Health Assessment, July 7, 2003

Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Remediation Division

Montana State University Billings Library

Top of Page

---

 

 

About Region 8

Area Navigation

• A-Z Index
• About Region 8
• News & Events
• Grants

  ---

• Air
• Water
• Superfund
• Waste
• Revitalization
• Green Building and EMS
• Enforcement & Compliance
• Tribal Nations