svEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
(2201 A)
EPA 520-F-97-004
Summer 1997
Superfund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts
Summit National
Site Profile
Site
waste
;- Fprmer liquid
faeity
Potential Range of Heath Effects:
Firs api'Witen" hazard; in* • '
Y«W,"|;||ftt,j*i^t; liSS
; Cootamt-
Acres of drums and bulk storage tanks alarmed Deerfield citizens and
forced the site closure by state officials.
Success in Brief
Cooperative Settlements Hasten
Ohio Cleanup
More than a few individuals are responsible for generating a hazardous
waste site: the land owner, the operator of the facility, transporters of the
wastes, government agencies, businesses, and various manufacturers,
chemical companies, and producers of commodities in trade. Some of
these "responsible parties" contribute or transport very small amounts of
waste compared to the total volume. Small waste contributors, known as
de minimis parties, are eligible to participate in settlements that do not
require actual performance of construction or remedial work. De minimis
parties resolve their liability by making a cash payment towards the
selected remedy.
Such settlements typically include a "covenant not to sue", a promise
that EPA will bring no further legal action against the party at the site.
"Contribution protection" is also included which ensures that major waste
contributors cannot sue to recover additional cleanup costs.
At the Summit National Superfund site, a solvent recycling and dis-
posal facility, 87% of the waste contributors signed de minimis settle-
ments. The State of Ohio was an active partner in pursuing closure and
selecting a remedy that in-
cluded excavation and incinera-
tion of soil and drums. Effec-
tive communication with local
residents ensured public par-
ticipation in the decisions
reached at the site.
The Site Today
The landfill has been capped
since August, 1995 and seeded
for grass. The buried drums
and the mobile incinerator are
long gone. The tops of moni-
toring and extraction wells
remain visible, and the ground
water treatment plant will hum
quietly until standards are met.
-------
Superfund At Work • Summit National Site, Deerfield, OH
Summer 1997
A Site Snapshot
The 11.5-acre Summit Na-
tional site is located on an aban-
doned coal strip mine in the rural
community of Deerfield, Ohio,
about 45 miles southeast of
Cleveland. Several homes, two
other landfills, light
industries, and
farmland sur-
round the site.
The Berlin Lake
Reservoir is one
mile to the
southeast.
From 1973 to
1978, the owner
and operator
accepted liquid
wastes for storage, incin-
eration, or burial at the site.
Summmit National
Deerfield, OH
The Ohio EPA determined that
the soil, surface water, and
ground water had been contami-
nated with volatile organic
compounds, phenols, heavy
metals,
polycyclic
aromatic
hydrocarbons,
and polychlo-
rinated
biphenyls.
Most of these
hazardous
substances are
suspected car-
cinogens that also
cause a variety of
central nervous system
disorders.
In 1973, Summit National, Inc.
began operating a solvent recy-
cling and disposal facility. Liquid
wastes including oil, resins, pesti-
cides, spent solvents, and paint and
metal plating sludges were ac-
cepted for storage or incineration.
Workers stored various combina-
tions of wastes together, creating a
fire and explosion hazard.
Concerned citizens spotlight
hazardous conditions
Area residents had noticed the
volume of drums accumulating on
the site and contacted city officials
about noxious fumes. A local
group, Deerfield Concerned
Citizens, formed in 1977 to draw
attention to the site. Group mem-
bers helped present environmental
concerns to government agencies
and testified at hearings in Colum-
-v '.-'- ^'V%<^$ "A" ^gi$.
fttg;^^
rt,B> H*"- "*1
tkr *-t**&~5i?*''3£l I ,v%" -I?,', '•} i
•^-i'li^-httv^- %;^.,. S^,-:
-S^Stf--* »'^ r -t *.^.-"''
v. .^livS-^ fe^r^^ili
•":; S-.SJBV "-^A-'^*i«-«4^. -^
"' ^'H'ir^ iS-^il-r-*
•-'••"S-,,.«"' «»•,»•„., .-IV-iJ.
: ^^ -W %H>,'--tr?
.?•£%- ^ ii*" *».^'
^#V ^X^f«N;^-
^s:^*-;- -->•* ^'?^"7;-;
^ « £ i* ^ iU5.!^ C^S £%•„< ftef **
*^ ^ ^•3
f V? ,* *
-------
Superfund At Work • Summit National
..field, OH
Summer 1997
bus, Ohio. In June 1978, the state
ordered the company to stop
receiving wastes and to remove all
liquid wastes stored at the site.
The owners sold the site in March
1979. Later that year, the state
filed a complaint against the site
operators for violations of hazard-
ous waste regulations.
Soil and surface water sampling
confirmed the presence of contami-
nants. The state constructed a
fence around the site and installed
a surface water drainage system as
well as six ground water monitor-
ing wells. Later in 1980, using
Clean Water Act authority, EPA
removed three filled liquid storage
tanks and some contaminated soil
from the site. That December,
Congress passed the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA), also known as
"Superfund." This law directed
EPA to start identifying and clean-
ing up thousands of abandoned or
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
nationwide.
In 1981, the state reached an
agreement with eight of the parties
responsible for the contamination.
A $2.5 million surface cleanup
removed drums, tanks, surface
debris, and more soil. EPA then
added the site in 1983 to the Na-
tional Priorities List (NPL), a
roster of sites eligible for compre-
hensive cleanup. Between 1984
and 1987, EPA and the state con-
ducted field investigations to
determine the nature and extent of
contamination and evaluated
alternative remedies. EPA also
excavated an underground storage
tank because of concern over
further contaminant migration into
ground water.
Effective enforcement leads to
settlement
A recommended remedial plan
was proposed in February, 1988
and presented at a public meeting.
EPA and the state then began
negotiations with the waste con-
tributors to pay for and conduct the
work. Of 73 parties identified, 64
entered into a consent decree in
1990. Many of the parties had
contributed only small amounts of
waste to the site. These de minimis
parties "cashed out" and were
released from further liability.
Their funds were then available for
the cleanup through a trust fund
established for the remedial work.
Continued on page 4
v*:j'J'^^^f'*t ifi%*f'-\, ,"*!"*'' * ^V,»35j>.'% \
™.« *?< >*"*: Vif ;' f ' .* • »«»^ •
/:>*••->.•>,•*..\j,£-, ^ "w^'^ivV
.,„;; ;• L y -A ^ , >•'• * ^ 'Vs,?;^-
1 *'*<"ir'ji * r**"-%-^ *,*'V"i^'5,"!/; 1 «*^*,*"*•" • '*
>'•**'• ;v^',^V *"<*'1?%;C*-,-'*'* V^V^^'^' '
. Awfl«4tttafeBr -x * 's..,.', * ^ ***/"•' v
-------
Superfund At Work • Summit Ncn.viiai Site, Deerfield, OH
Summer 1997
Continued from page 3
The remaining parties agreed to
excavate and incinerate contami-
nated soil and drums, and demolish
site buildings. Designing the
remedy took about two years and
was estimated at $34.4 million. In
1993, EPA held a public meeting
to address community concerns.
Some citizens were worried about
the temporary incinerator's emis-
sions and their own lack of infor-
mation about the technology.
Working with community mem-
bers, EPA opened five information
repositories for convenient access
to site documents and held two
more public meetings to focus on
the issue.
Over the next two years, the
mobile incinerator treated 21,000
tons of contaminated soil. Exca-
vated drums were shipped off site
to an approved hazardous waste
facility. Following incineration of
wastes, EPA tested the ash for
hazardous residues; the ash was
used as on-site fill and the site
regraded to its original contours.
Approximately 16,000 cubic yards
of fill and topsoil were transported
to the site to form the landfill cap,
which covers 10 acres of the site.
Gas vents were installed to monitor
and treat air emissions.
In 1994, construction of the on-
site ground water treatment plant
was completed. Two ground water
extraction systems were employed
for treatment of water from the
various levels of the on-site ground
water table. In addition, surface
water from ponds and drainage
ditches was collected and treated,
and pond sediments were dredged.
The ground water treatment
plant and the tops of monitoring or
extraction wells are the only
visible structures remaining. The
Summit National Facility Trust
operates the water treatment plant
and maintains the cap and fence.
Access and deed restrictions
control any future uses of the site.
If you wish to be added to or deleted from our mailing list or to comment on this bulletin's content, length or format, please
call (202) 564-2618, or send a letter to Superfund At Work (2201 A), 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Bulk Rate
Postage and Fees Paid
EPA
Permit No. G-35
Agency
2201A
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that
contains at least 50% recycled fiber
------- |