Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront Site

Site Information

Ashland, WI (Ashland County)
EPA ID# WISFN0507952
NPL Site Narrative
NPL Factsheet
CERCLIS listing
Alias(es): Ashland/NSP Lakefront Site, Ashland Flash NSP Lakefront Site, Northern States Power, Kreher Park, Xcel Energy

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Patricia Krause (krause.patricia@epa.gov)
312-886-9506 or 800-621-8431, ext. 69506, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST

Remedial Project Manager
Scott Hansen (hansen.scott@epa.gov)
312-886-1999 or 800-621-8431 Ext. 61999

Wisconsin DNR Site Coordinators
Jamie Dunn (james.dunn@wisconsin.gov)
715-635-4049

John Robinson (john.robinson@wisconsin.gov)
715-365-8976

Health Risk Advisor
Henry Nehls-Lowe (henry.nehlslowe@wisconsin.gov)
Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services
608-266-3479

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Vaughn Public Library
502 W. Main St.
Ashland, WI
For hours of operation, call 715-682-7060

DNR Spooner Service Center
810 West Maple St.
Spooner, Wis.
To make an appointment call:
715-635-4049

Bad River Public Library
Norma Soulier, Librarian
P.O. Box 39
100 Maple St.
Odanah, Wis.
For hours of Operation call:
715-682-7111, ext. 1532

Red Cliff EPA Office (Fish Hatchery)
88385 Pike Road, Hwy 13 (mailing address)
86395 Hwy 13, Brood Stock Building
Bayfield, Wis.
Contact: 715-779-3650 to make an appointment.

Public Information Session

EPA and WDNR will give an overview of Phase 1 cleanup activities planned for the on-land portion of the Ashland/NSP site. There will be sessions at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13 at Our Lady of the Lake Social Hall, 201 E. Lakeshore Drive, Ashland.

Agencies will be available one half hour before and after each session to answer questions. A public information session about Phase 2 cleanup activities planned for sediment in Chequamegon Bay will take place later this summer.

The Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront site sits on the shore of Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior, in northern Wisconsin. The site actually is made up of several properties including those owned by Northern States Power Company of Wisconsin (d/b/a Xcel Energy), Canadian National Railroad and City of Ashland. Ten acres of contaminated lake sediment just off-shore is also part of the Superfund site. Ground water underlying the site and an adjacent residential area is contaminated, as is soil at the site. (more background information...)

Site Updates |News Releases | Fact Sheets || Technical Documents || Legal Agreements || Public Meetings

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Site Updates

April 2013

Demolition of both the Waste Water Treatment Plant and the NSP service center will start this month. Before demolishing the buildings, asbestos materials will be contained and removed from both facilities. Thirty percent of the remedial design for soil excavation and soil treatment is now under review. Remedial design develops the engineering drawings and specifications for the site cleanup. As part of the pre-design, site ground water will be tested. Negotiations for sediment cleanup in Chequamegon Bay will be starting.

October 2012

The United States District Court entered approval on October 19, 2012, of the consent decree between the United States and Northern States Power Company. Under the proposed settlement Northern States Power Company will perform the on-land portion of the cleanup that includes the areas known as Kreher Park, the Upper Bluff/Filled Ravine and the Copper Falls Aquifer. The cleanup will remove contaminated soil in Kreher Park and the bluff area and install monitoring wells and pump and treat contaminated ground water. The work is expected to take approximately two to three years to complete. An agreement continues to be worked out between the parties for performing and funding the cleanup of contaminated sediment in Chequamegon Bay that is within the site. You can find the court order approving the consent decree, the consent decree and consent decree appendices under Legal Documents on this web site.

Work will begin in the fall to demolish the existing buildings on the NSP property and at the former wastewater treatment plant located on the site. Cleanup work will start up in the spring of 2013. The Wisconsin DNR sponsored two neighborhood meetings on Oct. 22 to share information with the community about upcoming activities.

August 2012

The legal agreement between EPA and Northern States Power to begin cleanup of the Ashland/NSP site is final. Northern States Power will design, construct and carry out the cleanup plan for the land portion of the site that includes areas known as Kreher Park, the Upper Bluff/Filled Ravine and the Copper Falls Aquifer. The cleanup will remove contaminated soil in Kreher Park and the bluff area and install monitoring wells and pump and treat contaminated ground water. The work is expected to take approximately two to three years to complete. Cleanup of sediment in Chequamegon Bay is not part of this agreement.

You may comment on the Consent Decree during a 30 day period that started on August 14. Comments are due by September 13 and should refer to United States v. Northern States Power Company, Case No. 3:12-cv-00565 (W.D. Wis.), D.J> Ref. No. 90-11-2-08879 and be addressed to the: Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611 or to pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov.

Consent decree (PDF) (200 pp, 4.33MB) Aug. 8, 2012
Consent decree appendices (PDF) (347 pp, 25.9MB) Aug. 8, 2012

May 2011

On April 27, 2011 EPA sent a special notice letter to the organizations, known as potentially responsible parties (PRPs), who may be responsible for contributing to contamination at the Ashland Superfund site. In summary a special notice letter requests reimbursement of costs already incurred and future costs; notifies the PRPs of a 60-day period of formal negotiation with EPA to negotiate reimbursement and cleanup action; and shares general and site specific information to assist the PRPs in negotiations.

EPA selected a cleanup for sediment in Chequamegon Bay, soil and shallow ground water under Kreher Park and the Upper Bluff/Filled Ravine and deep ground water in the Copper Falls Aquifer. The selected cleanup is described in a document called the Record of Decision and summarized in a fact sheet (EPA Picks Cleanup Plan for Soil, Sediment and Ground Water (PDF) (4pp, 440K) October 2010 )

This cleanup will serve as the final action for soil, ground water and sediment contamination at the site and will require the following actions:

Remove and treat or dispose off-site contaminated soil, ground water and sediment.
Use barriers to contain contaminated ground water.
Extract and possibly treat in-place contaminated ground water.
Monitor ground water and sediment in the long-term.
Put in place land use controls to limit future site use.

Because of the large amount of wood waste and non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) in the near shore area of the bay EPA selected dry excavation as the recommended alternative. NAPLs are underground pockets of tar and other materials that don't readily mix with water. EPA does allow for a pilot test to determine if wet dredging near shore can achieve the performance standards of excavation. If wet dredging achieves performance standards then EPA in consultation with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will issue a document called an Explanation of Significant Difference selecting wet dredging for the bay sediment.

March 2011

Northern States Power of Wisconsin and its contractors will start survey and sediment sampling work at the Ashland NSP Lakefront Superfund site on February 28. The work will take place in Chequamegon Bay in the area between the boat landing and the marina and will go on for three weeks, ending about March 18. Survey and sampling results will be used to help with the design of cleanup activities at the site. Work will be performed under the supervision of EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

October 2010

Public Information Session about Cleanup Plan

EPA approved the Record of Decision that outlines EPA's plan for cleaning up contaminated soil, sediment and ground water at the Ashland/NSP Superfund site. EPA's final cleanup plan includes:

Removing soil from the most contaminated areas of Kreher Park and the Upper Bluff/Filled Ravine that overlooks the park area, treating the soil on-site and reusing it after treatment.
Using barriers to contain and stop the movement of contaminants in ground water, treating the ground water in-place, and adding wells to extract and treat ground water.
Digging up wood waste and contaminated sediment near and along the shore of Chequamegon Bay and dredging contaminated sediment in the bay, covering excavated and dredged sections nearshore and offshore with six inches of clean material, and treating contaminated sediment after removal.

The estimated cost for this cleanup plan is between $84 million and $98 million.
Copies of the record of decision and other documents are on this web site and at information repositories listed on the right.

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Documents

News Releases

EPA to Hold Public Meeting to Discuss Cleanup Plan for Ashland (October 2010)
EPA proposes cleanup plan for Ashland, Wis., Superfund Site; hearing June 29, 7 p.m. - June 15, 2009
EPA - WDNR Meeting on cleanup options for Ashland, Wis., Superfund site, Dec. 10, 6:30 p.m. - December 2, 2008
Lakefront superfund site topic of an information workshop - October 23, 2007
Lakefront superfund site topic of two information sessions - October 9, 2007
Investigation of Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront site to begin February 22, 2005

Fact Sheets

EPA Picks Cleanup Plan for Soil, Sediment and Ground Water (PDF) (4pp, 440K) October 2010
EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan (PDF) (12pp, 435K) June 2009
Review of Cleanup Options Done; Selection of Plan is Next Step - Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront Site (PDF) (4pp, 214K) November 2008
Community Involvement Plan fact sheet (PDF) (2pp, 116K) November 2004

Legal Agreements

Court Order Approval of Consent Dedcree (PDF) (6pp, 56K) October 2012
Consent Decree (PDF) (200 pp, 4.33MB) Aug. 8, 2012
Consent decree appendices (PDF) (347 pp, 25.9MB) Aug. 8, 2012
Site-Specific Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and WDNR (PDF) (7pp, 48K) June 30, 2004
Administrative order on consent (PDF) (34pp, 152K) November 2003
Statement of Work (SOW) for Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (PDF) (34pp, 182K)attachment to AOC, November 2003

Technical documents

Ashland/NSP Lakefront Site RI Report & Supporting Documents
- Remedial Investigation Report (PDF) (264pp, 2.8MB) August 31, 2007
- Figures (PDF) (299pp, 27.2MB)
- Tables (PDF) (54pp, 378K)
- Appendix A (PDF) (36pp, 537K)
- Appendicies B to B2 (PDF) (643pp, 17.9MB)
- Appendicies C and D (PDF) (155pp, 16.8MB)
- Appendix E1 (PDF) (539pp, 4.0MB)
- Appendix E2 (PDF) (976pp, 6.2MB)
- Appendix E3 (PDF) (1395pp, 14.9MB)
- Appendix E4 (PDF) (1317pp, 14.7MB)
- Appendix E5 (PDF) (865pp, 13.3MB)
- Appendix F (PDF) (42pp, 184K)
- To view Appendices G through J please consult the Report at one of the repositories listed at right.
Cleanup Investigation Complete; Identifying Options is Next Step (PDF) (8pp, 528K) Fact sheet, October 2007
RI/FS Workplan (PDF) (234pp, 1.4MB) February 2005. This document describes how NSP-Wisconsin will conduct field work, data analyses, risk assessment, and cleanup option evaluation.
- Appendix A (PDF) (6 pp, 1.0MB)Contaminant Distribution Maps for Chequamegon Bay Inlet
- Appendix B (PDF) (25pp, 16.2MB) Site Geographic Information System (GIS) Database Platform - Examples
- Appendices C-E (PDF) (28pp, 403K)
- Appendices F-G (PDF) (18pp, 225K)
- Appendix H (PDF) (PDF, 11pp, 71K)
- Figures (PDF) (18pp, 2.4MB)
- Table of Contents (PDF) (5pp, 81K)
RI/FS Field Sampling Plan (PDF) (264pp, 2.8MB) February 2005
This document provides more detail about how field work is going to be conducted.
RI/FS Project Management Plan (PDF) (68pp, 726K) February 2005
This document describes in more detail the roles and responsibilities of the various personnel as well as a schedule.

Community Involvement Plan

Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (49pp, 1.5MB) January 2005

Public Meetings

EPA held a public hearing June 29 to formally present the proposed plan and accept public comments.
- See the fact sheet EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan (PDF) (12pp, 435K) for more details,
- or the transcript from the Public Meeting (PDF) (57pp, 87K)
EPA held an information session June 17 about the proposed cleanup plan for the Ashland/NSP Lakefront site.
Cleanup Options Information Meeting (PDF) (57pp, 2.9MB) December 10, 2008

Demonstration Project

EPA, in collaboration with NSP Wisconsin, is doing a Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Demonstration project at the former manufactured gas plant near Xcel Energy's Service Center on St. Claire St. in Ashland.

The project is testing the effectiveness of a chemical oxidation process in breaking down the pollutants found in ground water. Field work and sampling are done. EPA is awaiting a final report on the project which it will post when complete.