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Distler Farm
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Remediation building on the Distler Farm 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: KYD980601975Location: West Point, Jefferson County, KY
Lat/Long: 38.006930, -085.931110
Congressional District: 02/03
NPL Status: Proposed: 12/30/82; Final: 09/08/83
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Currently unused
Site Manager: Femi Akindele (akindele.femi@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Distler Farm site is approximately three acres in size and is a portion of a 27-acre property one mile northeast of the City of West Point in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The Distler Farm site is comprised of two separate parcels located on Dixie Highway. The property on which the site is located is mostly an open field. The surrounding area supports primarily small farming and grazing agricultural activities. Only a few residential and industrial buildings are located close to the site. A race track is adjacent to the site. The Distler Brickyard Superfund site is located nearby.
The site was used for unauthorized chemical waste disposal and storage in the 1970s. The site was discovered by EPA in 1977, during the development of an enforcement case against the owner of the Kentucky Liquid Recycling, Inc. who used the facility for industrial waste storage. Based on the initial inspection in 1977, EPA personnel reported that approximately 600 drums of waste were stored on the ground. More than 800 additional drums were identified following a flood of the Ohio River in 1978.
Threats and Contaminants
Studies of the site indicated that soil and ground water were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as toluene and benzene, and heavy metals including chromium and lead.
Site Cleanup Plan
A Record of Decision (ROD) describing the cleanup plan for the site was issued in 1986. Major components of the cleanup approach included:
- Excavation and removal of contaminated soil to background levels and disposal of contaminated soil at a permitted hazardous waste landfill.
- Backfilling of the excavated areas with clean dirt, grading, and revegetation.
- Extraction and temporary on-site storage of contaminated ground water, treatment and discharge of water at a publicly owned treatment facility.
- Reinjection of uncontaminated water into the aquifer.
- Operation and Maintenance (O&M).
In 1988, EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences which changed the implementation of the cleanup approach from what was originally outlined in the ROD to require excavation of soil and cleanup of ground water to levels set by certain health-based criteria.
Cleanup Progress
In 1978, the Ohio River flooded and caused drums of waste to be scattered along the Stump Gap Creek. Following the flood, more than 800 drums containing chemicals characteristic of the paint and varnish industry were removed and properly disposed of by EPA and the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet (the State). During the emergency removal and site investigation activities, several waste burial locations were discovered on the property. Approximately 120 drums and more than 2600 small containers of hazardous wastes were excavated from the site and disposed of at a properly permitted waste processing facility.
In 1988, during excavation for a site access road, additional drums were uncovered. These drums contained medical and laboratory waste, herbicide, solvents, solids, and lab pack materials. During the subsequent removal action, approximately 25 drums, some of which had rusted out, were retrieved. Contaminated soil was then removed to a depth of about 15 feet from the surrounding area of approximately 150 square feet.
Following this cleanup action, additional drums containing hospital wastes such as surgical towels, gloves, vials, and laboratory bottles were discovered. These drums, along with the surrounding and underlying soil, were excavated.
The final cleanup of the contaminated soil at the site included the excavation and off-site incineration of nearly 300 tons of soil. The affected area was backfilled with top soil and seeded with grass.
The ground water treatment system for the site was installed in 1989, including extraction wells, pipes and a temporary storage tank. EPA conducted site ground water cleanup as a Long-Term Remedial Action between December 1991 and December 2001. During the period, the EPA contractor extracted contaminated water from the site, stored it temporarily in an accumulation tank on site, and periodically trucked the water to the Metropolitan Sewer District's facility for treatment and disposal. In addition, the contractor monitored site progress by collecting water samples from the site and analyzing for contaminants of concern.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by EPA. In January 2002, the State assumed responsibility for the rest of site cleanup referred to as O&M. Since then, the State has conducted the ground water cleanup activities including extracting and disposing of the contaminated water and site monitoring.
Five-Year Reviews (FYRs) of the site were conducted in 1993, 1998, and 2003. Results of the 1993 FYR indicated that site contaminants were reduced by soil removal activities and that ground water extraction was progressing satisfactorily. The 1998 FYR concluded that additional cleanup progress was observed between 1993 and 1998, and that possible migration of contaminants from the site to private wells which prompted cleanup actions at the site was no longer expected. However, continued site monitoring was recommended by the FYR.
The 2003 FYR concluded that site monitoring data collected after 1998 indicated that cleanup goals for all contaminants of concern had been met. Therefore, the FYR recommended additional sampling activities to validate its conclusion. However, the 2008 FYR indicated that there were data gaps that must be addressed before final site status can be determined. Therefore, the State will monitor the site and collect additional data for one more year and the results will be evaluated by December 2009, for final conclusion on site status.
Enforcement Activities
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Distler Farm 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.
Future Work
The State will monitor the site and collect additional data for one more year and the results will be evaluated by December 2009, for final conclusion on site status.
The next FYR is scheduled for completion in September 2013.
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.
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (22 pp, 632K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.