Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad – West Burlington Facility, West Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa - Fact Sheet, May 2022
Final Decision/Response to Comments
Introduction
Pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), and as further amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a Final Decision/Response to Comments (FD/RTC) at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad – West Burlington Facility (facility). This decision document outlines the final remedies required to address hazardous waste contamination from 11 units at the facility.
Background
The BNSF facility covers approximately 200 acres in Des Moines County, Iowa. Facility operations date back to the 1880s. Historic activities include locomotive repair and service, as well as maintenance of diesel locomotives and freight cars. All maintenance, repair, and service operations ceased in 2004. The property is currently unused; however, sitewide security (cameras, fencing) is maintained.
A RCRA section 3008(h) Administrative Order on Consent (Order) was entered into by BNSF on March 29, 2002, requiring full characterization of the nature and extent of any releases of hazardous waste and/or hazardous constituents at or from the facility, as well as selection of the corrective measures necessary for remediation. The Order identified 15 Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) for investigation and, if deemed necessary, corrective actions to address releases to the environment. (A SWMU is an area contaminated by routine and systematic releases of hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents.)
BNSF investigations found the soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediments have been impacted by various contaminants, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, tetrachloroethylene, mineral spirits, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, trichloroethylene, ethylbenzene, methyl alcohol, xylene, n-butyl alcohol, toluene, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor-1254 and Aroclor-1260), and methyl ethyl ketone.
During the investigation phase, an additional Area of Concern (AOC) was identified: AOC-7 (On-site and Off-site Groundwater). AOC-7 was added to address the large, comingled multi-contaminant groundwater plumes as a single unit, considering specific impacts from individual SWMUs are difficult to separate out. (An AOC is an area at a facility, or an off-site area, which is not known to be a SWMU, where hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents are present as a result of a release from the facility.)
As required by the Order, the facility collected data to assess human health and ecological risks and proposed remedial actions to address those risks.
Final Remedies
The FD/RTC document formalizes the final remedies that EPA selected for nine SWMUs, the Locomotive Repair Shop, and the SWMU 41/42 Setback Area (11 units total).
The final remedies include a facility-wide institutional control in the form of an environmental covenant. The covenant, finalized in 2021, addresses human exposure to contaminants by limiting the use of the entire facility to commercial and industrial purposes. Future land disturbance activities at designated portions of the facility where contamination remains will be subject to a Soil Management Plan (SMP) that will require the protection of workers and use of measures to ensure that disturbed materials are either returned to their original location or analyzed and properly reused or disposed. Scrap metal and debris at the landfill surfaces will be removed and disposed.
Targeted in-situ stabilization and/or excavation of lead hotspots in landfill surface soil is required to address human health and ecological risk. Sludge and water in the concrete septic vaults will be removed and disposed; and existing concrete cover in multiple facility areas will be routinely inspected and maintained. Fencing around the lake and a fish advisory will be established at the waste disposal site Grease Lake to minimize human exposure to contaminants in the area.
The proposed remedies for the groundwater (AOC-7) and the remaining SWMUs will be addressed in a subsequent decision document.
Additional Information
The Administrative Record (AR), which contains the FD/RTC and supporting documents used by EPA in preparing the FD/RTC, is available for review at the locations below during normal business hours. If the AR is not physically available (e.g., due to COVID-19), a copy of the FD/RTC, AR index, and/or electronic copy of the AR can be provided upon request by contacting Amelia Holcomb (see contact information below).
Burlington Public Library
210 Court Street
Burlington, IA 52601
Phone: 319-753-1647
Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
EPA Region 7 Records Center
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219
Toll-free: 1-800-223-0425
(Electronic copy of documents available)
Please direct questions or comments to:
Amelia Holcomb
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA Region 7 (ORA/OPA)
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219
Toll-free: 1-800-223-0425
Email: holcomb.amelia@epa.gov