EPA RCRA ID: WVD004336749
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
West Virginia Department of Environmental (DEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
The facility is currently owned and operated by Koppers Industries, Inc. In October 1990, EPA issued a 3008(h) Consent Order to Beazer East, former owner of the facility, to conduct a site wide investigation and to identify a remedy.
On September 10, 2010, EPA issued a Statement of Basis (SB) in which EPA proposed a Final Remedy for the Facility. The proposed Final Remedy consisted of the following 4 components: a soils component (Soil Remedy); a sediment component (Sediment Remedy); a groundwater component (Groundwater Remedy) and Facility-wide Institutional Controls (ICs). The proposed Soil Remedy consisted of compliance with and maintenance of ICs. The proposed Sediment Remedy consisted of dredging and capping. The proposed Groundwater Remedy consisted of continued operation of the perched groundwater collection system and the expansion of the interim dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) recovery system, as well as compliance with and maintenance.
On September 10, 2010, EPA placed an announcement in the Weirton Daily Times to announce a 30-day public comment on the SB. Based on comments received during the public comment period, EPA has determined that it is not necessary to modify its proposed Final Remedy as set forth in the SB. EPA is, however, making minor modifications to the factual background and clarifying certain aspects of the proposed Final Remedy as described in the Final Decision and Response to Comments.
A Remedy Implementation Order was issued on January 3, 2012. In accordance with the Order, construction of the cap began in summer 2011, and completed on January 25, 2012. In 2016, an Environmental Covenant was approved by WVDEP which will oversee compliance with institutional controls contained in the remedy.
On May 30, 2018, the EPA conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. EPA determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, 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.
The facility is located in the northern panhandle of West Virginia along the east bank of the Ohio River in Brooke County, just north of the City of Follansbee, West Virginia. The facility occupies about 34 acres and is bounded to the north, south, and east by a coke-making facility owned by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Throughout its operation history dating back to 1914, the facility has changed ownership several times but has always been operated as a coal-tar processing plant. The facility is located in a heavily industrialized zone within one mile of several population centers. The northern portion of the facility is highly contaminated with coal tar constituents in soil and groundwater which have migrated into bedrock.
Ohio River is a sensitive ecological habitat. The river is hydraulically connected to the alluvial aquifer in which groundwater moves preferentially toward the river and during flood stage, a reverse flow may occur. Thus, the contaminated groundwater has potentially greater impact on the river than on wells near the facility. The region is heavily industrialized and multiple upstream contributors exist. Thus, it may be difficult to quantify the isolated impact from one facility on the river.
Contaminants at this Facility
The site is contaminated from a century of coal tar processing operations. The soil and groundwater in the shallow and alluvial zones are contaminated with a range of contaminants including, but not limited to naphthalene, phenol, volatile organics (benzine, xylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, trichloroethene and trichlorobenzene), polycyclic aromatics, cyanide, and metals. A coal-tar dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) pool, up to seven feet thick in one well, was detected in the bedrock one hundred feet beneath the surface.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The Final Remedy consists of the Soil Remedy with Institutional Controls (ICs ), the Sediment Remedy, the Groundwater Remedy, and Facility-wide non-engineering controls.
The ICs shall be implemented through an enforceable mechanism such as an order or n Environmental Covenant pursuant to the West Virginia Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, Chapter 22, Article 22.B, §§ 22-22B-1 through 22-22B-14 of the West Virginia Code (Environmental Covenant).
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) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
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.