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NPL Site Narrative for St. Juliens Creek Annex (U.S. Navy)
ST. JULIENS CREEK ANNEX (U.S. NAVY)
City of Chesapeake, Virginia
Federal Register Notice: July 27, 2000Conditions at Proposal (February 4, 2000): St. Juliens Creek Annex (U.S. Navy) is located in southeastern Virginia at the confluence of St. Juliens Creek and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the city of Chesapeake. The northern boundary of the annex is the boundary between the cities of Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Virginia. The Elizabeth River and St. Juliens Creek form the eastern and southern boundaries, respectively, of the annex. Also to the north are residential developments and a road bed of the Norfolk and Western Railroad, and to the south lie sewage disposal and industrial waste ponds and residential developments. A residential section of Chesapeake City abuts the annex on the west. Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located less than one mile to the north. St. Juliens Creek Annex occupies approximately 490 acres, including 407 acres of land, 14 acres of marsh, and 69 acres of surface water.
The St. Juliens Creek Annex began operations in 1849 as an ordnance and material storage facility. In 1898, the facility was equipped for assembling ammunition. From 1898 to 1970, the facility was used to supply ammunition to the fleet in addition to loading, assembling, issuing, and receiving naval gun ammunition, and conducting experimental and test loading for new ammunition.
In 1969, St. Juliens Creek was disestablished under U.S. Department of Defense and was consolidated as an annex to the Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia. Ordnance operations at the facility were terminated in the 1970s.
In 1977, the annex was transferred to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. In 1995, it was transferred to Naval Base, Norfolk, and then it was transferred to Naval Station, Norfolk, in 1996. St. Juliens Creek Annex currently provides administrative offices, light industrial shops, and storage facilities for tenant naval commands. Its primary mission is to provide a radar testing range (35 acres) and various administrative and warehousing structures.
Former operations at the facility that generated potentially hazardous substances include metal plating, degreasing, painting, operation of hydraulic equipment, vehicles and locomotives, pest control, maintenance of lead-acid batteries, and printing. Trash and garbage generated from the facility was disposed in on-site dumps. Wastes were typically disposed in low areas, which are wetlands. Beginning in the late 1930s, waste ordnance materials were disposed on site. On-site disposal and storage of waste created numerous sources of potential contamination, including landfills and an ordnance disposal (burning) area. Sources of potential contamination located on the facility that were evaluated under the Hazard Ranking System include four landfills, an ordnance disposal area, a burn pit, a hazardous waste disposal area, a waste storage area, and a pesticide disposal area. Those sources were evaluated for their potential to release to the surface water migration pathway (Blows Creek, St. Juliens Creek, and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River). No significant target populations are associated with the groundwater migration, soil exposure, or air migration pathways.
An observed release of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from the sources to St. Juliens Creek and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River has been documented. The Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River provides habitat for numerous species that are identified as threatened or endangered under federal or state legislation. In addition, wetlands are associated with the river. Both St. Juliens Creek and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River are used for recreational fishing.
Status (July 2000): EPA and the Navy are considering various alternatives for this site.
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.