EPA RCRA ID: VAD003112265
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
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
On June 9, 2008 EPA issued the Final Decision of "corrective action complete with controls" to International Paper's Franklin Mill facility. The final remedy was implemented through a Hazardous Waste Management Post-Closure and Facility-Wide Corrective Action Permit (Permit), issued by Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on September 23, 2008, and made effective on October 23, 2008. A restrictive covenant was recorded on June 1, 2010 with restrictions to prohibit residential use of the property; limit the use of the groundwater from the upper aquifer; and prohibit the disturbance of the cap on the former Highground Disposal Area. An Uniform Environmental Covenant Act (UECA) covenant was recorded on August 13, 2018, which serves as the mechanism for continuing remedy implementation. The UECA covenant retained the restrictions in the restrictive covenant and specified the areas where the restrictions applied. The 2010 restrictive covenant was terminated on July 30, 2018, and the Permit was allowed to expire, due to the execution of the 2018 UECA covenant.
On April 17, 2015, the VDEQ conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. VDEQ determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified. On July 28, 2025, VDEQ conducted another LTS assessment and found that the controls defined in the 2018 UECA covenant remain intact and undamaged.
International Paper submitted a Community Relations Plan along with a work plan for the Facility Lead Corrective Action Program on June 12, 2003 as required under the Facility Lead Agreement. International Paper's Franklin Mill continues to conduct a community outreach program as part of its normal operations.
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.
International Paper (formerly Union Camp Corporation) operates an integrated Kraft pulp and paper mill in Franklin, Virginia. The site is located on the Blackwater River in Isle of Wight County, eight miles from the North Carolina border. The Facility in the past has made a variety of paper products but currently produces fluff pulp. The operation is fully integrated, from the manufacture of bleached pulp (using chlorine-free processes) to the production of the product.
International Paper also assessed two specialty chemical plants, the Lumber Mill, and the Effluent Treatment System C and D Ponds. The specialty plants (Air Products and Specialty Minerals) are located north of the main process area of the paper mill and have been shut down. The C and D "hold-and-release ponds" are located 3.5 miles to the south of the Franklin Mill and are connected to the Mill by pipeline. According to the Facility, the land designated as the Franklin Sawmill Area on the EPA geospatial map of the northern parcels is owned by International Paper but is leased to Franklin lumber.
Contaminants at this Facility
Based on a review of the Risk Assessments, EPA concluded that there are no risks regarding on-site soils and there are no known imminent threats to human health or the environment from International Paper's Franklin Mill facility. The facility continues to monitor groundwater with exceedances for metals and benzene.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls implemented as part of the final remedy at the Franklin Mill include land use deed restrictions, which were recorded with the UECA covenant in August 2018. These restrictions include:
- Prohibition of residential use of the property
- Limit the use of the groundwater from the upper aquifer to non-potable purposes
- Prohibit the disturbance of the cap on the former Highground Disposal Area (SWMU 5 - Landfill)
- Implementation of a groundwater monitoring program until the final clean-up targets for groundwater are met
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) | |||
| Governmental Controls (GC) | ||||
| Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) | ||||
| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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) | |||
Non-Groundwater | ||||
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.