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Bypass 601 Groundwater Contamination Site

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Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: NCD044440303
Location: Concord, Cabarrus County, NC
Lat/Long: 35.409600, -080.609300
Congressional District: 08
NPL Status: Proposed: 10/15/84; Final: 06/10/86
Affected Media: Ground water, Sediment, Soil, Debris
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: None
Site Manager: Gizelle Bennett (bennett.giezelle@epa.gov)


Site Background

The Bypass 601 site is located on the western edge of the City of Concord, North Carolina. It consists of the Martin Scrap Recycling (MSR) facility, where battery salvage and scrap metal recycling occurred, and 10 source areas where battery material and miscellaneous debris were deposited.

The facility reportedly operated from 1966 to 1986. The MSR facility dealt in the recovery of scrap metal, mostly lead, that was recovered from scrap vehicle batteries. Waste from this operation consisted of the sulfuric acid (contaminated with lead) from the batteries and the battery casings and was collected and disposed in a surface impoundment on the MSR property. In early 1982, MSR reportedly stopped using the surface impoundment and began collecting the waste acid in stainless steel holding tanks.

The site is currently fenced and the solidified, stabilized materials are contained within the fenced area under an impermeable cap, topped with asphalt. Future use is restricted in order to provide protection of the engineered cap.

The current land use of the site and surrounding area is primarily light industrial and commercial, with local residential neighborhoods. The population in the vicinity of the site obtains its potable water supply from either public water supply wells or from private wells. No users are known to be currently withdrawing water from the creeks in the area. Irish Buffalo Creek is used mainly for recreational purposes, such as fishing and swimming.

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Threats and Contaminants

Ground water in the area is contaminated with metals, most notably lead, and volatile organic compounds.

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Site Cleanup Plan

EPA identified two operable units (OUs): OU-1 (soil contamination) and OU-2 (other source areas of contamination).

The Record of Decision (ROD) for OU-1 was issued in 1990. Major components of the cleanup approach included:

The Record of Decision (ROD) for OU-2 was finalized in 1993. Major components of the cleanup approach included:

A ROD Amendment was issued in 1997. Ground water sampling during the Remedial Design stage revealed that the ground water contamination plume was not an area-wide problem as previously indicated. Instead, metal and VOC contamination in the ground water was limited to the MSR facility and two source areas. The amended ROD changed the ground water cleanup approach to monitored natural attenuation (MNA) instead of pump-and-treat and called for treatment of excavated soils only along with capping of the MSR facility and Source Areas 4 and 5.

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Cleanup Progress

In 1992, a removal was conducted on four of the source areas that presented an immediate risk to human health. A second removal was conducted by the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in 1996.

The cleanup approach for OU-1 was never implemented. However the 1993 ROD for OU-2 addresses the cleanup activities detailed in the OU-1 ROD.

Cleanup activities under the ROD for OU-2 were conducted in two phases.

Phase I was the removal of contaminated soils from outlying, mainly residential properties and the stockpiling of these soils at the MSR facility. Approximately 16,750 cubic yards of soil and debris were excavated and transported to the MSR facility where it was covered with a liner pending treatment. The activities for this phase were initiated in September 1996 and completed in November 1996.

Phase II was the solidification/stabilization of the stockpiled materials, demolition of old buildings and the construction of a cap over the MSR facility and Source Areas 4 and 5.  Cleanup activities occurred during 1998, and resulted in approximately 10,420 cubic yards being treated, an impermeable cap being places over the treatment area, and asphalt being placed on the top of the cap and a 6-foot high chain link fence was placed around the edge of the pavement.

Institutional controls (ICs) are in place on three of the four affected land parcels.

Two Five Year Reviews (FYRs) have been finalized for the site – 2002 and 2007. The 2007 FYR found that the remedy is protective of human health and the environment over the long term, but that ICs should be implemented on the fourth parcel.

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Enforcement Activities

Under a Consent Decree signed with EPA in March 1994 and amended in August 1997, 86 Performing Settling Defendants agreed to perform the remedial design/remedial action activities for the site and pay past costs for cleaning up the site.

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Community Involvement

EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Bypass 601 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, interviews, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.

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Future Work

Efforts are underway to obtain land use restrictions on the fourth land parcel.

Ground water monitoring is ongoing.

The next FYR for the site is expected in 2012.

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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.

Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library
27 Union St. North
Concord, NC 28205

Administrative Record Index

For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.

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For information about the contents of this page please contact Donna Bledsoe.


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