EPA RCRA ID: VAD988193223
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
Note: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
Between 1991 and 1992, the news media criticized the Virginia Department of Waste Management for mismanaging the Facility, ignoring the contamination from fuel spills, and violation of environmental laws the agency was supposed to enforce. In July 1991, EPA conducted a multi-media team inspection of the Facility to investigate the accusations. As a result of the inspection, EPA convinced Virginia to enter into an Inter-Agency Cleanup Agreement in April 1992, which enables EPA to oversee the cleanup investigation.
Pursuant to the Inter-Agency Cleanup Agreement, Virginia Department of Emergency Services has completed delineation of the site contamination and clean out of all 23 two-million-gallon tanks to eliminate the primary source of release. Five discrete groundwater plumes contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons were identified at the site. Hipps Pond and portions of two influent ravines were found to be heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons in the sediments, though the surface water was only slightly contaminated through many years of natural flushing. A final remedy was selected in 1997 that included the following components: (1) Structural upgrade of the pond outlet dam to prevent catastrophic release of contaminated sediments to downstream sensitive wetlands; (2) Remediation of a sludge pit and a cosmoline dump by excavation and removal; (3) Institutional controls to prevent public access to the contaminated portion of the facility by installing fencing and warning signs; and (4) Providing long-term monitoring data to EPA to demonstrate the progress of natural attenuation. The Final Decision was issued in 1997 and by August 2002, all remedy construction work has been completed. There is recent interest in economic development of the contaminated portion of the land which is described below under Community Interaction section.
In October 2003, Virginia informed EPA that it has leased the facility to York County which has delineated a portion of the site to develop into a public golf course. Virginia indicated that because of the proposed land use change, it will work with York County and the developer to formulate an institutional controls plan for EPA approval prior to start work. The golf course project has not been progressing due to inability of the developer to obtain irrigation water source from the neighboring defense facility. On September 27, 2007, a phone conference was held among EPA, Virginia and the developer to discuss proposal to utilize the pond water for irrigation purposes. The developer proposes to divert the dam outfall water to existing underground storage tanks for storage. EPA has conceptually agreed with the proposal awaiting the detailed plan for review.
In 2007 sampling, three of five Study Areas have met remediation standards (drinking water standards) for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, naphthalene and arsenic since monitoring began in 1996. In 2008, two of five Study Areas have attained groundwater remediation standards.
On February 12, 2020, 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 Background
Around 2007, York County and the Commonwealth of Virginia have entered into a three-way lease agreement with a developer to construct a golf course at the site. EPA is supportive of the golf course development provided that the development shall be proceeded with EPA oversight to ensure that existing site contamination will not negatively impact human health or the environment. Special attention shall be given to existing contaminated pond sediments to prevent their disturbance and release to downstream sensitive wetlands.
The development of the golf course has been delayed by securing irrigation water. The latest proposal was to divert the flow from below the dam to existing underground bulk storage tanks for storage of irrigation water. The proposed withdrawal will not disturb the pond sediments, but the developer must obtain water withdrawal permit from the Virginia Department of Quality (VADEQ). In 2008, VADEQ issued an Environmental Impart Report on the proposed water withdrawal.
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.
This 460-acre state-owned facility has been abandoned since 1982. The site is located within a few miles of popular tourist attractions (Colonial Williamsburg National Historic Park, Jamestown Settlement and Busch Gardens ) in and around Williamsburg, Virginia. Recognizing the value of this large piece of land, York County is interested in turning the abandoned land into productive use.
The Virginia Emergency Fuel Storage Facility, York County, Virginia, was formerly owned by the Navy and was a part of the Navy's Cheatham Annex. The 460-acre Facility contains 23 two-million-gallon underground tanks and several miles of underground fuel lines. Between 1973 and early 1980s, the Virginia Department of Emergency Services leased the Facility from the Navy to store fuels during the energy crisis.
Contaminants at this Facility
The contaminants of concern are typical petroleum constituents: benzene, toluene xylenes and ethylbenzene in groundwater, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and sediments. The groundwater plumes are confined onsite and there is no current usage of the site groundwater. The sediments in two ravines and a pond at the facility are heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and the aquatic habitat onsite has been impacted. However, ecological survey has not shown any evidence of offsite impact. Monitoring data of the pond discharge show that it has met state discharge permit limits. As a component of the remedy, the pond outlet dam will be structurally upgraded to permanently contain the contaminated sediments.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The corrective action final decision in 1997 included:
(1) Structural upgrade of the pond outlet dam to prevent catastrophic release of contaminated sediments to downstream sensitive wetlands
(2) Remediation of a sludge pit and a cosmoline dump by excavation and removal
(3) Institutional controls to prevent public access to the contaminated portion of the facility by installing fencing, warning signs, and the requirement to enact deed restrictions for the northern portion of the facility to limit land use, ground water withdrawal, excavation and activities that may endanger human health.
(4) Long-term groundwater monitoring data to EPA to demonstrate the progress of natural attenuation
(5) Securing man-made structures (tanks, valve pits, manways and Oil Water Separator)
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?
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Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
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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.