ILD984807990, Superfund Alternative Approach Agreements Sites | Region 5 Superfund

U.S. EPA REGION 5
LAKE COUNTY
WAUKEGAN

Congressional District # 10

NORTH SHORE GAS (NSG) NORTH PLANT

EPA ID# ILD984807990
Last Updated: February, 2008

Site Description

The North Plant Former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site is located at 849 Pershing Road at the southeast quadrant of the intersection of Pershing and Dahringer Roads in Section 15, Township 45 North, Range 12 East, Lake County in Waukegan, Illinois. The site is approximately 16 acres of vacant land, with the exception of some concrete foundations. The small parcel on the southern portion of the property owned by North Shore Gas during the MGP operating period is currently owned and used by the City of Waukegan as a burning and composting area. MGP operations were not conducted on this parcel. The property south of the City of Waukegan property is occupied by the A. L. Hansen Manufacturing Company. Pershing Road borders the site to the west and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway tracks are located along the eastern border of the site. The NSSD sewage treatment plant and retention basins are located on the property east of the EJ&E track. This property was formerly used as a landfill owned by Abbott Laboratories. The wooded properties to the north and northeast were previously occupied by the Greiss-Pfleger Tanning Company. Small areas of wetlands are present at the southwestern and northeastern corners of the site, as well as along the eastern site border.

MGPs were industrial facilities that produced gas from coal, oil, and other feedstocks. MGPs started operating in the U.S. in the early 1800s, typically in urban areas where gas was needed for lighting, cooking, and heating. The processes used to produce the gas also produced waste and by-products such as tars, purifier waste, oils, sludges, and acidic waste. Disposal of waste and spills and leaks often resulted in contaminated soil and groundwater. MGPs were often located near waterbodies and sediment contamination is also common.

The North Plant MGP was constructed in 1912 as a gas production and storage facility. Prior to its excavation in 1992, a tar pond (the Waukegan Tar Pit) was located to the northeast of the site. The facility was operated by North Shore Gas as a manufactured gas plant and storage facility between 1912 and 1953. Gas was manufactured via coal carbonization (1912–1927), water gas (1927–1951), and oil gas (1951–1953) processes. From 1953 to 1965, the facility provided a propane-air supplement to natural gas suppliers. The facility eventually included twelve retorts, a water gas generator, gas purification equipment including oxide boxes, and two gas holders (200,000 cubic feet and 1.5 million cubic feet in size). Underground MGP structures included a tar well and tar separator below the 200,000-cubic foot gas holder. Aboveground MGP structures included: propane, oil, tar, and other storage tanks; coke bins; and a coke pile. Gas production at the plant ended before the aboveground MGP structures were dismantled and removed in 1966 and 1968. Documents indicate potential contamination and migration of contaminants during plant demolition activities, including the rupture of a relief holder which released 400,000 gallons of water, tar emulsion, and tar to the soil.

Site Responsibility

The site is being addressed through federal and potentially responsible parties actions.

Threats and Contaminants

Some cleanup has occurred at the site, however, soil at the site still contains residuals of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) called benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), and metals. Although the Waukegan Tar Pit was excavated in 1992, tar impacts were observed well beyond the limits of the excavation; the volume of soil containing tar and tarry residues in areas surrounding the former Waukegan Tar Pit was estimated at 67,400 cubic yards. Evidence of chlorinated solvents, free phase coal tar, and oily hydrocarbons has been observed in soil samples collected at the site. Chemicals detected in groundwater samples collected during investigations at the site include VOCs (primarily BTEX and chlorinated solvent compounds), SVOCs (primarily PAHs and phenols), metals, and cyanide.

Sediments in the on-site wetlands have not been sampled in recent years. Off-site surface water bodies near the site include North Ditch (approximately 800 feet east-southeast of the site), Waukegan Harbor (approximately 2,500 feet southeast of the site), and Lake Michigan (approximately 3,000 feet east of the site). A Preliminary Assessment Report for the Waukegan Tar Pit prepared by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) in 1992 indicates that site drainage patterns suggest a probable point of entry to surface water at the north end of Waukegan Harbor. Sediments were dredged from Waukegan Harbor in the early 1990s to address PCB contamination associated with the Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) Superfund site. Sediments in the harbor were sampled in 2005 to determine current levels of PCBs; some samples were also analyzed for asbestos and total organic carbon (TOC). Boring logs indicate that some of the sediments contained organics. A sediment toxicity study performed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) determined that although the levels of PCBs have been reduced, the harbor sediments still exhibit sublethal effects associated with elevated concentrations of metals, PCBs, and PAHs.

Cleanup Progress

The Agency was approached by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPSC) in 2005, to investigate and clean up seven former MGPs in Wisconsin under EPA’s Superfund Alternative Sites (SAS) program. The SAS Program takes sites that might otherwise be eligible for the National Priorities List (NPL), but which will be investigated and cleaned up by a cooperative responsible party, without formally listing the site on the NPL. When WPSC merged with Peoples Energy to form Integrys Energy Group, EPA was approached by Peoples Energy in 2007, to address thirteen former MGPs in Illinois under the same SAS program. The North Station is one of those thirteen sites.

Integrys and EPA entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) for Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies (RI/FSs) at the two Waukegan sites and an AOC for Engineering Evaluations and Cost Analyses (EE/CAs) at the eleven Chicago sites. Since the twenty sites have similar conditions and contaminants, and Integrys is responsible for each, the agreements allow a streamlined approach to site investigation and remedy development. Some benefits of the agreement include the use of multi-site documents, a mechanism to review the adequacy of past work, and scheduling flexibility to allow progress on the worst problems first.

Investigations and Remediation Previously Performed

Free tar removal efforts were performed at a ditch located on the site during the initial plant closing in 1968; 25,000 tons of tar were removed at the time. North Shore Gas performed removal activities to address impacted material at the Waukegan Tar Pit under an Administrative Order issued by EPA in 1992. Visible free-phase tar was excavated, and the excavated area was covered with a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cover. Additional site characterization at the tar pit was conducted in 1995, and soil and groundwater sampling was conducted in other portions of the site in 2002 and 2004. Tar-impacted materials were identified in several areas, including: the northeast portion near the Waukegan Tar Pit; the eastern and southeastern portions along the EJ&E railroad tracks; the northwest portion near the former aboveground gas holder and generator house; the center portion near the former purifying house and coke bins; and the southwest portion near a former tar pit structure. These areas have not been remediated, and the extent of off-site impacts (to the east) has not been determined. Additional investigation of the remaining contamination will take place under the RI/FS.

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