Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
MONROE COUNTY
SPARTA

Congressional District # 03

NORTHERN ENGRAVING CO.

EPA ID# WID006183826
Last Updated: November, 2006

Site Description

The Northern Engraving Corporation (NEC) site is located in Sparta, Monroe County, Wisconsin. The NEC facility is adjacent to residential and business areas and abuts the La Crosse River which forms the southern boundary of the site. Domestic water is supplied to most residences in the city through a public distribution system. The closest private well is located approximately one-quarter mile from the NEC facility. The site is presently the location of NEC manufacturing activities. NEC produces metal name plates, dials, and decorative trim for the automotive industry, utilizing anodizing, chemical etching, and chromate conversion-coating processes. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983 because of the potential for soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination due to past waste water treatment and disposal practices employed at the site. 

Site Responsibility

This site was addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible parties' actions.

Threats and Contaminants

Analysis of onsite groundwater showed elevated levels of copper, fluoride, nickel, zinc, 1,1- dichloroethylene (DCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and vinyl chloride. Soil samples, collected below the sludge lagoon, sludge dump site, and seepage pit, showed elevated levels of one or more of the above-mentioned inorganic indicator parameters. In addition, both the sludge lagoon and the sludge dump site contained quantities of metal hydroxide sludge. 

Cleanup Progress

The remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS), which was developed by potentially responsible parties (PRPs) under an administrative order on consent (AOC), signed September 10, 1985, identified four areas on the NEC facility as sources of contamination. These areas include a sludge lagoon, a seepage pit, a sludge dump site, and a lagoon drainage ditch. 

On September 30, 1987, the regional administrator for Region 5, United States Environmental Protection Agency, approved a record of decision (ROD). The PRPs also consented to implement the recommended remedy for the site under the 1985 order. In 1988, the PRPs excavated and consolidated 4,400 cubic yards of sludge and soil, installed a cover over the lagoon, imposed access and deed restrictions, and implemented groundwater monitoring. Cleanup goals have been achieved at the site. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List on October 29,1997.  The five-year review was completed in August 2005, and it concluded that the remedy in-place is functioning as designed and it continues to be protective of human health and the enviornment.  All threats at the site have been addressed through stabilization and capping of contaminated soil and sludges, the installation of fencing and the implementation of an institutional control.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
michael berkoff (berkoff.michael@epa.gov)
(312) 353-8983

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
bri bill
(312) 353-6646

Aliases

NORTHERN ENGRAVING CO

 

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.