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Agrico Chemical Company
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Entrance to the Agrico Chemical site.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: FLD980221857Location: Pensacola, Escambia County, FL
Lat/Long: 30.45120, -087.225600
Congressional District: 01
NPL Status: Proposed: 06/24/88; Final 10/04/89
Affected Media: Ground water, Sludge, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Site zoned for industrial. Potential for recreational reuse.
Site Manager: Scott Miller (miller.scott@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Agrico Chemical Site includes about 35 acres of property in the City of Pensacola, Florida. The site is located at the northwest corner of Fairfield Drive and Interstate 110. Bayou Texar is a surface water feature located 1.5 miles east of the Agrico site. The bayou has been identified as a discharge area for ground water migrating from the Agrico site.
Operations at the site began in 1889 with Agrico Chemical producing sulfuric acid from pyrite (iron sulfide). Several companies produced fertilizer on site between 1920 and 1975, including Conoco, Inc. (now ConocoPhillips, Inc.) and Agrico Chemical Company. Conoco purchased the facility in 1963 and operated the fertilizer plant until 1972. Agrico Chemical Company purchased the facility in 1972 and operated the plant until 1975 when operations ceased. There are no permanent buildings from the original operations remaining on the site.
Wastewater resulting from the processes was discharged to four unlined on-site ponds. The wastewater, sludge material, and associated constituents from the industrial processes are considered the source of soil and ground water contamination at the site.
The land surrounding the Agrico site consists of industrial, commercial, municipal, and residential zoned areas. A CSX railroad switching yard lies to the immediate west of the site. A mini-storage company is located in the south-central portion of the site just outside the site boundaries and fencing. The Escambia Wood Treating Company, also an NPL site, is located to the north of the Agrico site.Threats and Contaminants
On-site soil and surface water were contaminated with elevated levels of fluoride, arsenic, and lead. Ground water beneath the site is contaminated with fluoride, arsenic, chloride, sulfate, nitrate/nitrite, and radium 226/228.
Site Cleanup Plan
The cleanup plan for the Agrico Chemical site covers two operable units (OUs): OU-1 (contaminated soil and sludge) and OU-2 (ground water).
The Record of Decision for OU-1 was issued in 1992. The cleanup approach included:
- Excavation and solidification/stabilization of contaminated sludge and soil from on-site sludge ponds.
- Consolidation of stabilized sludge and soil into one of the excavated sludge ponds.
- Construction of a cap over the filled sludge pond.
- Construction of a slurry wall up-gradient of the cap.
- Institutional controls to include security fencing, access limits, and deed restrictions.
- Ground water monitoring.
The Record of Decision for OU-2 was issued in 1994. Major components of the cleanup approach included:
- Monitored natural attenuation of fluoride, arsenic, chloride, sulfate, nitrate/nitrite, and radium present above selected state and federal drinking water standards.
- Ground water monitoring of the sand-and-gravel aquifer.
- Surface water monitoring of Bayou Texar.
- Institutional controls to restrict ground water use.
- An advisory program to inform the contractors of ground water conditions in the vicinity of the Agrico site.
Cleanup Progress
Cleanup activities for soil contamination, OU-1, began in March 1995 and were completed in the fall of 1997. Ground water monitoring for OU-1 was initiated in May 1997. Ground water monitoring of OU-1 continues to occur semi-annually. Site inspections are required twice a year to ensure the OU-1 remedy – cap, fences, gates, stormwater ditches, retention ponds - is maintained and in good working condition.
The ground water monitoring network for OU-2 was completed in the fall of 1999 and was developed to assess the natural attenuation remedy. The remedy is expected to attain ground water and surface water cleanup goals through natural attenuation over an estimated seventy year time frame.
The advisory program was initiated in July 1999. A notice is sent annually to water well contractors, irrigation system installers, and pool contractors conducting work in southern Escambia County.
The first Five-Year Review (FYR) of the remedy was performed in February 2000, and the second FYR was completed in July 2005. The second FYR determined that the remedy at the Agrico Chemical Company Superfund site remains protective of human health and the environment.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by potentially responsible parties with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In 1989, EPA listed the Site on the NPL. Conoco Inc. and Freeport McMoRan, Inc. entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) in 1989 to perform a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study. According to the terms of the AOC, the companies agreed to conduct the soil and ground water investigations at the site. Currently, The Williams Companies, Inc. represents Agrico Chemical and is responsible, along with ConocoPhillips, for implementing the cleanup activities at the site.
In May 1994, a Consent Decree was filed requiring the Potentially Responsible Party to undertake cleanup activities and operation and maintenance for OU-1. In January 1995, the Consent Decree was amended to include remedy design, well monitor installation, and operation and maintenance of OU-2.Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Agrico Chemical site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.
- Site Reuse Fact Sheet (PDF) (1 pg, 120K, About PDF)
Fact Sheets
Future Work
Ground water monitoring at the site will continue to assess the progress of the natural attenuation remedy for OU-2.
The next FYR for the site is scheduled for 2010.Site Administrative Documents
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
West Florida Regional Library200 W. Gregory St.
Pensacola, FL 32501
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (11 pp, 480K, About PDF)
- OU-2 (PDF) (14 pp, 600K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.