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NPL Site Narrative for Southern Shipbuilding
SOUTHERN SHIPBUILDING INC.
Slidell, Louisiana
Federal Register Notice: May 26, 1995Conditions at Proposal (February 13, 1995): The Southern Shipbuilding Inc. site is located in Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, on approximately 54 acres of wooded land at 999 Canulette Road. The site is adjacent to Bayou Bonfouca, approximately one-half mile downstream of U.S. Highway 433 bridge and approximately 1.8 miles downstream of the Bayou Bonfouca NPL site. The site is bordered to the north and west by Bayou Bonfouca, to the east by wooded acreage, and to the south by a residential community of Slidell. The City of Slidell has a population of approximately 27,000.
Barge/ship manufacturing and repair activities were conducted at the site from 1919 to August 1993. Canulette Shipbuilding owned the site from 1919 until 1954, when it was sold to J&S Shipbuilding. The site was then sold to the current owner, Southern Shipbuilding Corporation, in 1957. Gas-freeing and barge cleaning operations were conducted at the site from approximately 1919 to 1971 and the wastes were disposed of in two surface impoundments (designated as the North and South Impoundments). A smaller overflow impoundment is located between the North and South Impoundments and was created from a topographic low spot that continually received oily waste from a leaking pipe connecting the North and South Impoundments. Water from the North Impoundment was piped to the South Impoundment. As effluent rose in the South Impoundment, it was channeled through an overflow pipe into the first of seven baffle ponds that allowed for gravity filtration of wastes until effluent from the seventh baffle pond discharged to Bayou Bonfouca.
Discharge of pond effluent and sanitary wastewater into Bayou Bonfouca was initially regulated under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit starting in March 1978. This permit was terminated in September 1984, when the company reported that it no longer discharged into Bayou Bonfouca. EPA reissued the NPDES permit in October 1987; it expired in October 1992.
The Southern Shipbuilding site was brought to the attention of EPA by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) in July 1985. EPA completed a preliminary assessment in November 1987. EPA developed a sampling plan and referred the site to LDEQ. LDEQ sampled the surface impoundments and the sediments of Bayou Bonfouca in November and December 1992. Results indicated the presence of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the impoundments and in bayou sediments. EPA performed additional sampling as part of a site inspection in August 1993. The analytical results from the SI confirmed the presence of PAHs in the impoundments and in sediments from Bayou Bonfouca.
Known sources of contamination are the North and South Impoundments and the overflow pond. The baffle system ponds may also be sources.
Surface water is the major pathway of concern. Chemical analyses of a sediment sample in the bayou indicated the presence of numerous PAHs. Bayou Bonfouca is a fishery and is used for recreation. Additionally, an abundance of contiguous wetland areas and numerous sensitive environments lie along the banks of Bayou Bonfouca and downstream waterways. These sensitive environments are habitats for several endangered species-the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, the brown pelican-and a threatened species, the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon.
Status (May 1995): The Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis and proposed plan for remedial action was released for public comment on March 13, 1995, and a public meeting was conducted March 21, 1995 to discuss the proposal.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.