EPA RCRA ID: DED000796300
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) issued a Post-Closure Permit (PCP) for a closed waste pile to ACE in 1996. The permit requires ACE to conduct thirty (30) years of post-closure care with site maintenance, measures to control erosion to the waste pile cap, an inspection and security program, groundwater monitoring using alternate concentration limits that protect environmental resources, and financial assurances.
The Post-Closure Permit stipulated that ACE would conduct ground water monitoring during the compliance period, which ran from 1990-98. The PCP also stipulated that DNREC would evaluate the need for additional ground water monitoring at the end of the compliance period. DNREC has determined that additional monitoring will be required for the remainder of the post-closure care period (present-2019). However, because the ground water protection standard has not been exceeded for an extended period of time (i.e., the last six consecutive years of sampling), DNREC has significantly reduced the frequency of sampling. Four sampling events, spaced at approximate five-year intervals, will be required for the balance of the post-closure care period.
Remaining requirements of the Post-Closure Permit will continue to be fulfilled.
On July 5, 2023, the EPA conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the cleanup remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. EPA determined that there were no deficiencies in controls and the cleanup remedy has been fully implemented.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
Atlantic Coast Environmental, Inc. (ACE) is a closed hazardous water management facility located approximately 0.2 miles northwest of the city limits of Dover, Delaware. ACE is accessed via a private, unpaved road, and sets back approximately ½ mile northwest of the intersection of Sate Road 99 (College Road) and Pennsylvania Railroad Company train tracks. The site is bounded by wooded areas to the north and northeast, the former Eastern Disposal landfill to the east, an overgrown field to the south, and property own by Conrail to the west (railroad tracks). The ACE facility was operated under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) interim status as a solidification and transfer facility for hazardous waste from 1981 to 1984. Bulk wastes were reportedly received in roll-off boxes and stored on concrete pads in a Process Bulking Unit.
These wastes were solidified in roll-off boxes using fly ash. After solidification, waste was transferred to the 20 by 40-foot Waste Pile Storage Unit. Wastes contained in this pile were subsequently placed in shipping containers for transfer to off-site disposal facilities.
The ACE property is approximately 4.6 acres in size. Buildings and structures which comprised the former facility are within an approximately 300 by 300 foot area enclosed by a six-foot high chain link fence topped with barb-wire. However, nearly all of the structures existing during ACE operations have been removed.
A closure plan for the Waste Pile Storage Unit was submitted to DNREC in 1985. Closure activities included excavation and off-site disposal of soil beneath and adjacent to the concrete pad. In addition, soils were excavated from the area north and east of the Storage Facility. Due to the presence of some residual soil contamination in this area, DNREC required capping of this unit. A 40 by 40 foot capped area (seven foot thick) was completed in 1988. On November 29, 1989, ACE completed closure of the waste pile storage unit. A Post-closure permit was issued in 1996 for the waste pile unit. A closure plan was submitted for the Process Bulking Unit to DNREC in 1995. Since waste material and containers used in the Process Bulking Unit were removed from the site in 1984, post-closure care was not required.
Quarterly groundwater sampling was initiated at the site in April 1990, as a requirement for addressing closure and post-closure activities. However, as sampling results continuously showed significant decrease in impact to ground water, sampling frequency was reduced to semi-annually in 1994 and annually in 1996.The Ground Water Monitoring Plan (GWMP) approved by DNREC for the facility was developed to assess potential impacts from the entire facility, including the former Waste Pile Storage Unit.
The main contaminants in the groundwater are trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,2 trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, and chloroform. Alternate Concentration Limits were established in 1994 for the first four analytes.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
There are no current or future land use restrictions within the permit, other than a requirement that no use shall be allowed which would disturb the integrity of the final cover, containment system components, or the function of the monitoring systems. However, the permit does state that if the permittee or owner of the land wishes to remove the cap or contaminated soils, they must request a modification and must demonstrate that the removal of hazardous waste will satisfy the criteria of 264.111, 264.117(c), and 264.119(c). Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) stated that they will evaluate the site for the potential implementation of covenants or institutional controls (ICs) at the end of the permit in 2019.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | |||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.