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NPL Site Narrative for Davis Timber Company
DAVIS TIMBER COMPANY
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Federal Register Notice: July 27, 2000Conditions at Proposal (May 11, 2000): The site encompasses a 30-acre property formerly used by the Davis Timber Company for timber processing and wood preserving. The property is located on Jackson Road, approximately 3 miles northwest of Hattiesburg, Lamar County, Mississippi. The site is being proposed to the NPL because investigations conducted while the facility was operational indicated that hazardous substances associated with the wood treating process, pentachlorophenol (PCP), chlorodibenzofurans, and dioxins, have caused fish kills and contaminated fisheries and recreational areas in nearby surface waters.
Davis Timber Company conducted timber processing and wood preserving operations at the facility from 1972 until 1987, when the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) ordered Davis Timber Company to discontinue wood preserving operations. According to MDEQ, Davis Timber Company subsequently declared bankruptcy in 1990. The property is presently owned by Lamar Industries, which has continued debarking operations; however, no wood preserving operations are presently conducted at the property. The former facility was comprised of a skag mill, debarker, pole peeler, holding pond, office, treating cylinder, cooling pond, oil separator, two above ground oil storage tanks, two above ground PCP solution storage tanks, and a storage yard. Davis Timber Company operations included bark removal, wood treatment using PCP, and product storage. Davis Timber Company discharged wastewater containing PCP into a holding pond approximately 2 acres in size. In 1980, the facility's holding pond was closed, backfilled, and capped with approximately 6 to 8 inches of clay.
Surface water runoff from the property flows to the north into two intermittent tributaries of Mineral Creek, East Mineral Creek and West Mineral Creek. The tributaries flow north into Country Club Estates Lake, a 66-acre lake located approximately 1.25 miles downstream of the facility. Mineral Creek flows from Country Club Estates Lake north northeast for approximately 4 miles and feeds a privately owned lake just prior to converging with the Bowie River, which flows southeast approximately 4.75 miles and enters the Leaf River.
Country Club Estates Lake is a recreational fishery and designated recreation area. Between December 1974 and January 1987, MDEQ documented numerous fish kills in Country Club Estates Lake. Several of the fish kills were attributed to documented releases of PCP from the holding pond at the Davis Timber Company facility. In 1988, in response to the PCP contamination, MDEQ issued an advisory against fishing for commercial purposes and against consuming fish caught from Country Club Estates Lake. However, residents of Country Club Estates continued to fish in the lake. In addition, the privately owned lake, located near the confluence of Mineral Creek and Bowie River, is fished and used for recreational purposes. Both the Bowie and Leaf Rivers are heavily fished for consumption. There are also two surface water intakes located along the Bowie River and one surface water intake located along the Leaf River. These intakes are used for industrial purposes. An additional intake along Mineral Creek is used for recreational purposes.
PCP, chlorodibenzofurans, and dioxins have been detected at elevated levels in Country Club Estates Lake and in the intermittent creeks leading from the facility to Country Club Estates Lake. The area surrounding the former Davis Timber Company property is rural. No other industries or companies are located in the vicinity of the property that could have contributed to the fish kills and type of contamination found in West Mineral Creek, East Mineral Creek, or Country Club Estates Lake.
Status (July 2000): EPA is 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.