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Fact Sheet

January 2007

Comment Period Extended for Draft Final Focused Feasibility Study, Chemplex Superfund Site, Clinton, Iowa

INTRODUCTION

EPA announces an extension to the comment period for the draft final Focused Feasibility Report for the Chemplex Superfund Site (draft Final FFS) available for review. The comment period will end February 28, 2007. Comments need to be received by EPA no later than that date.

The draft Final FFS evaluates potential changes to the Chemplex ground water remediation system. EPA welcomes your comments on the draft Final FFS. The purpose of this comment period is to make sure the community's concerns are addressed in the final Focused Feasibility Study.

Three remedial action alternatives are evaluated in the draft Final FFS. They are 1) no action, which is required for all remedy decisions; 2) continuing the current pump and treat system; and 3) exposure control, which includes treating hot spots and extending the municipal water supply.

Copies of the draft Final FFS have been placed with the Chemplex Site Administrative Record in the following locations, and can be viewed during normal business hours:

Clinton Public Library
306 8th Ave. S.
Clinton, Iowa

Camanche Public Library
102 12th Ave.
Camanche, Iowa

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

EPA has been working with Citigroup and ChevronTexaco (known as ACC/GCC), the parties conducting the Chemplex Site cleanup, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to develop a plan to address the ground water remedy. EPA requested that ACC/GCC prepare a Focused Feasibility Study to evaluate potential alternatives to the existing extraction and treatment system. ACC/GCC previously prepared the Technology Evaluation Report to review cleanup technologies which might be components of a remedial action.

NEXT STEPS

When the Focused Feasibility Study is final, EPA will decide whether a modification of the current remedy is appropriate. To amend the remedy EPA would go through a formal process, called a Record of Decision (ROD) amendment, which is very similar to the process used to select the current remedy. The basic steps in a ROD amendment process are:

SITE BACKGROUND

Due to past waste disposal practices, ground water and soil at the Chemplex Site were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). EPA divided cleanup activities at the Site into two phases, called operable units (OUs). OU1 addressed ground water on a site-wide basis and OU2 addressed sources of ground water contamination in the Landfill Area.

The OU1 remedy included a ground water extraction and treatment system, which was intended to contain contaminated ground water within a defined area. The ground water extraction and treatment system has been in operation for over 12 years but it has not contained the ground water plume within this area.

The OU2 remedy included capping the landfill and installing and operating a soil vapor extraction (SVE) system to remove contaminants from soils in the Landfill Area. Construction activities for the OU2 remedy were completed in 1998 and the SVE system operated until 2003, when the specified performance standards were met.

EPA periodically reviews remedies to make sure they remain protective. In a review completed in June 2004, EPA concluded that, although the remedy remained protective, a plan was needed to address the inability of the current ground water pump and treat system to contain contaminated ground water in the designated area.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To provide written comments on the draft Final FFS, or if you have any other questions or comments, or need further information, please contact:

Beckie Himes
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA, Region 7
Office of External Programs
901 N. Fifth St.
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
Phone: (800) 223-0425
E-mail: himes.beckie@epa.gov

EPA welcomes your comments on the draft Final FFS and requests that they be received no later than February 28, 2007.

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