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Avco Lycoming (Williamsport Division)
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EPA ID: PAD003053709
Location:
652 Oliver St
Williamsport, PA 17701
Lycoming County
Williamsport, PA 17701
Lycoming County
Congressional District: 10th
Other Names: None
Last Updated: December 2012
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Contacts
Remedial Project Manager
Jill Lowe
215-814-3123
lowe.jill@epa.gov
Community Involvement Coordinator
Carrie Deitzel
215-814-5525
1-800-553-2509
deitzel.carrie@epa.gov
Laura Mohollen
215-814-3295
Mohollen.laura@Epa.gov
Bulletin Board
- Five Year Review Report - September 2012 (PDF) (66 pp, 5.16MB)
- Five Year Review - Addendum (PDF) (6 pp, 684k)
- Ground Water Plumes 2011 (PDF) (1 p, 1.02MB)
- EPA awaits vapor intrusion sampling results.
Questions
The EPA is dedicated to providing you with timely and accurate information about our work at this site. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:
Carrie Deitzel
215-814-5525 or
1-800-553-2509
On This Page
Related Links
Site Status
- The Avco Lycoming site reached construction completion in September 2002. The groundwater is continually pumped and treated to remove contamination. Shallow and deep aquifer groundwater is monitored on an annual, semi-annual and quarterly basis, depending upon the location of the monitoring well.
- Results of the monitoring are summarized in the quarterly Operation and Maintenance Progress Reports and the yearly Operation and Maintenance Report.
- Vapor intrusion sampling was initiated in the fall of 2010. The vapor intrusion assessment that was conducted in November 2010 concluded that currently vapor intrusion is not an issue at the Site, but there is a potential for future vapor intrusion in several areas. Additional sampling occurred in November 2011. The November 2011 sampling identified one area of concern. The resposible partyy submitted a workplan to install vapor mitigation systems that were approved by EPA. The systems have been installed in the affected homes.
- The third Five-Year Review was signed September 2012. The review identified the need to complete the vapor intrusion remediation and sampling to ensure future protectiveness at the site.
Background
- The 28-acre Avco Lycoming site, located in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa., has produced aircraft engines for over 50 years. The plant reclaims Varsol, a petroleum solvent, and has operated a waste treatment facility since the early 1950s. According to state officials, poor housekeeping practices apparently led to contamination of the site.
- Monitoring wells on the site, off-site downgradient wells, and a well field 3,000 feet southwest of the site, are contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE). Shallow groundwater beneath the facility property was also contaminated with chromium.
- A municipal well field located 3,000 feet to the southwest of the site is used as a backup water supply under drought conditions. This water system is protected by air stripping. There are approximately 34,000 people living within three miles of the site. Private wells within three miles of the site serve 2,500 people.
- The site is located near pristine stream environments, including a trout stream.
Cleanup History
NPL Listing History
| Status: Final | Added: 1990 |
| Deleted: |
- In 1985, prior to EPA’s involvement with the site, the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Resources (PADER) ordered Avco Lycoming to complete a groundwater investigation and remediation (cleanup).
- The company complied with the order by evaluating the on and off-site shallow groundwater contamination, installing and regularly sampling groundwater monitoring wells and installing three on-site and two off-site recovery wells and treatment facilities.
- Between 1989 and 1991, EPA ordered, in conjunction with PADER (now the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), Avco to do a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to identify the all the types, quantities and locations of contaminants and develop ways to address them.
- Based on the results of the RI/FS, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in 1991 calling for the contaminated groundwater beneath the facility to be extracted, treated and discharged to nearby Lycoming Creak. The ROD only addressed the shallow aquifer beneath the facility. The 1985 agreement with PADER was to address the off-site contamination.
- In 1992, the ROD was modified in an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) document, changing the time frame for cleanup, specifying when recovery well pumping would be discontinued and redefining the area of attainment.
- In 1996, a new ROD was issued modifying the shallow aquifer cleanup. The new ROD called for 1) air sparging (injecting air into the ground causing the contaminants in the groundwater to gas off ); 2) soil vapor extraction to remove the contaminants in the vapor; and 3) in-situ metals precipitation (injecting molasses into the groundwater to naturally render the hexavalent chromium less toxic). The air sparging and soil vapor extraction cleanup methods were never used, as the groundwater table was too high.
- In 1999, a ROD amendment was issued to address the groundwater contamination. The new cleanup plan consisted of a groundwater extraction and treatment program for the shallow aquifer underlying the plant and source reduction for “hot spots”. The plan also recognized the existing treatment being conducted under PADEP’s order. The construction and start-up of the pump and treat remedy to address groundwater beneath the facility was completed in 2001.
- Additional extraction wells were constructed in 2002 to help tackle the “hot spots”. By September 2002, the EPA completed a Preliminary Close-Out Report and the first Five-Year Review which concluded that performance requirements were met, however, the groundwater is under constant monitoring, and off-site groundwater remediation continues, as required by the PADEP order.
- A second Five-Year Review was completed in September 2007. In addition to some minor improvements of the groundwater treatment systems, the review required that a vapor intrusion assessment be conducted.
- The vapor intrusion assessment that was conducted in November 2010 concluded that currently vapor intrusion is not an issue at the Site, but there is a potential for future vapor intrusion in several areas. Additional sampling occurred in November 2011. EPA is awaiting the results and an assessment will be conducted in the next Five-Year Review.
Contaminants and Risks
- The contaminant of the concern at the site is trichloroethylene (TCE).
- Contaminant descriptions and associated risk factors are available at: (ATSDR web site).
Documents and Reports
- To search an on-line database of all documents and reports on the Avco Lycoming site, go to EPA’s Administrative Record Database.
- All documents and reports can also be reviewed in person at these locations:
James V. Brown Library
19 East 4th Street
Williamsport, Pennsylvania 17701U.S. EPA Region 3 NPL Public Docket
c/o U.S. EPA Region 3 Library
1650 Arch Street, 2nd floor (3PM52)
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
- Some of the site’s key documents of interest are accessible below.
Record of Decision
Five Year Review Report - September 2012 (PDF) (66 pp, 5.16MB)
Five Year Review - Addendum (PDF) (6 pp, 684k)
Ground Water Plumes 2011 (PDF) (1 p, 1.02MB)
- Submit a FOIA Request
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Photos, Maps and Diagrams
Ground Water Plumes 2011 (PDF) (1 p, 1.02MB)Community Information
- This is Superfund: A Community Guide to EPA's Superfund Program (PDF) (12 pp, 1.1MB)
- Site Progress Profile — a quick reference sheet, linking to EPA's Headquarters.
- Federal Register
06/30/2008: Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
01/25/2008:Notice of Lodging of a Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
02/08/2001: Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
- Public Notice
2012 EPA Reviews Cleanup at AvcoLycoming (PDF) (1 p, 31.2K)
2007 Avco Five-Year Review Notice (PDF) (1 p, 1.21MB)
Reuse Information
- This site currently does not meet the criteria for Site-wide Ready for Anticipated Use; however parts of the site may be suitable for reuse.
- Want more information about how to reuse a Superfund site?