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Tennessee Products (Chattanooga Creek)
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
View of Chattanooga Creek flowing through the Tennessee Products 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: TND071516959Location: Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN
Lat/Long: 34.998880, -085.314440
Congressional District: 03
NPL Status: Proposed: 01/18/94; Final: 09/29/95
Affected Media: Ground water, Sediment, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction Complete - Physical cleanup activities have been completed.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Potential for Commercial/Light Industrial
Site Manager: Craig Zeller (zeller.craig@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Tennessee Products site is located in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The site consists of the former Tennessee Products coal carbonization facility, which operated from 1918 until 1987, and its associated coal-tar dumping areas in Chattanooga Creek and its floodplain. Coal-tar wastes are present along an approximate 2.5-mile reach of the Creek extending from just upstream of the Hamill Road Bridge to the downstream confluence with one of its tributaries, Dobbs Branch.
Threats and Contaminants
Uncontrolled dumping of coal-tar wastes has contaminated the facility, ground water underlying the facility, and surface water/sediment of Chattanooga Creek downstream of the facility. Primary site contaminants include pesticides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Due to elevated levels of contamination in the sediments and surface waters, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation issued a health advisory for Chattanooga Creek in 1983 and a fish consumption advisory in 1992.
Site Cleanup Plan
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was issued in 2002. The major remedial action included excavation of visually impacted sediments from the middle reach of Chattanooga Creek and a spoil pile along the Northeast Tributary utilizing standard construction methods. The disturbed creek banks were then to be stabilized and the sediments consolidated for off-site disposal.
EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) in August 2004 to modify the remedy selected in the 2002 ROD. The volume of waste to be removed was far greater than the estimate in the original ROD and the ESD altered the timing and cost to address this change. Additionally, the contaminated sediments would be removed to a local municipal landfill instead of being sent to a waste-to-fuel facility.
Cleanup Progress
In 1993, EPA fenced a section of the Creek to prevent public access.
In November 1998, EPA completed a Non-Time-Critical Removal Action that focused on the upper reach of Chattanooga Creek. This action removed coal-tar deposits and contaminated sediments along a 1-mile section of Chattanooga Creek between Hamill Road and 1,200 feet north of the 38th Street bridge. Approximately 25,300 cubic yards of coal-tar and contaminated sediment were removed from the Creek. In addition, 1,150 cubic yards of pesticide-contaminated sediment was removed from the Creek and disposed at a local municipal landfill.
From September 2005 to September 2007, approximately 107,293 tons of stabilized sediment was excavated from the Creek channel and transported for disposal at an off-site landfill. A protective isolation barrier consisting of Aquablok® was installed over 5,750 linear feet of Creek channel to guard against potential re-contamination from non-aqueous phase liquid encountered in the subsurface.
The Final Closeout Report for this site was approved on September 26, 2008.
Site cleanup activities have been led primarily by potentially responsible parties (PRPs) with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In May 2005, EPA entered into a Consent Decree with PRPs to recover past response costs incurred by EPA, to perform the remedial design, and to perform the final phase of cleanup for the 1.9-mile section of Chattanooga Creek from north of the 38th Street Bridge to the confluence with Dobbs Branch.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Tennessee Products 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.
Fact Sheets
- Proposed Plan Fact Sheet, August 2002 (PDF) (14 pp, 270K, About PDF)
Future Work
The first Five-Year Review (FYR) for this site is scheduled to be completed by October 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.
Chattanooga Hamilton County Public Library
1001 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (2 pp, 114K, About PDF)
- ESD (PDF) (1 pg, 28K, About PDF)
- Removal (PDF) (2 pp, 62K, About PDF)
- NTC Removal (PDF) (4 pp, 133K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.