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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5502G)
EPA 520-F-94-008
Winter 1994
rxEPA Superfund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwidgion ARency
Region
"
'.ivard,
Moor
Arsenic Trioxide
Site Profile
Site Description:
Three arsenic-contaminated coun-
ties in southeastern North Dakota
Site Size: 568 square miles
Primary Contaminants:
Arsenic, iron, and manganese
Potential Range of Health Risks:
Acute toxicity to peripheral and
central nervous system in all species
Nearby Population: 4,500 people
Ecological Concerns:
Contaminated glacial aquifiers;
poisoning of birds, mammals and
beneficial insects
Year Listed on NPL: 1983
EPA Region: 8
State: North Dakota
Congressional District: 8
Tons of arsenic bait controlled grasshoppers in the 1930s but contaminated
drinking water and topsoil.
, •/• / / vv cic «^i^-':t*' - .-•—.-
Success in Brief Chicago, 1L 60604-3590
Pesticide Taints Ground Water
in North Dakota
When grasshoppers swarmed and wreaked economic havoc on
crops during the Great Depression of the 1930s, farmers used an
arsenic pesticide to repel them. These were miserable, desperate times
of massive unemployment and breadlines complicated by a major
drought in "Dust Bowl" states. Tons of the arsenic bait controlled the
grasshoppers, but in the process, contaminated top soil and the major
ground water reserves for three counties.
Almost 40 years later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) used the Superfund program to provide safe drinking water to
small town and rural residents. Working with state health authorities,
regional and local water districts, and American Indian tribes, EPA
provided $7.8 million in financial assistance to:
• Expand a series of treatment plants and construct storage
reservoirs and supply wells;
• Install more than 300 miles of pipeline to connect residences to
treated water systems; and
• Identify and preserve archaeological sites during construction.
Along the way, state and federal officials conducted a comprehensive
community relations program to inform citizens about the pesticide,
provide bottled drinking water, and enlist local support in resolving issues.
The Site Today
All construction activities have
been completed. Operation and
maintenance of the Richland
Rural Water Treatment Plant and
distribution system as well as the
modified Lidgerwood and
Wyndmere treatment plants have
been assumed by North Dakota
officials. EPA is conducting water
quality monitoring and will
perform five-year reviews to
determine if safe drinking water
standards continue to be met.
The first review is scheduled for
August 1994.
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Superfund At Work • Arsenic Trioxide Site, North Dakota
Winter 1994
The Arsenic Trioxide
Superfund site encompasses
568 square miles of southeast-
ern North Dakota and includes
20 townships in three counties.
Approximately 4,500 people
live throughout this primarily
agricultural area which includes
the small towns of Lidgerwood,
Wyndmere, and Milnor.
During routine water quality
monitoring in 1979, elevated
levels of arsenic, iron, and
manganese were detected in
Lidgerwood and Wyndmere
water supplies and in more
than 100 private wells. Studies
in 1985 by EPA and the North
Dakota State Department of
A Site Snapshot
Health identified the source as
arsenic-laced bait widely used
until the early 1940s to combat
grasshopper infestations of grain
crops.
An estimated 330,000 pounds
of the pesticide bait were used
during this period, contaminating
Arsenic Trioxide Site,
North Dakota
thousands of acres of topsoil
and seven major glacially-
formed aquifers. Drinking
water for towns and rural areas
had to be treated, with 300
miles of new waterline hook-
ups provided to 278 affected
residences.
Arsenic is acutely toxic to the
central nervous system, and
when spread through a wheat
bran bait, poisons birds, mam-
mals, and other beneficial
insects. Advances in science
and land management have
lead to much different tech-
niques today to control pest
populations below levels that
cause economic damage.
Arsenic Trioxide Site
Timeline
> Site added to National Priorities List
1
• North Dakota studies site
• Water testing begins in homes
• Public meetings held
• Congress enacts Superfund
1
• Arsenic detected in Lidgerwood and Windmere municipal water supplies
• Lidgerwood begins construction of new treatment plant
> Safe Drinking Water Act passed
Arsenic-laced bait controls
grasshoppers
1
1930s to 40s
1974
1979
1980
1982 1983
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Superfund At Work • Arsenic Trioxide Site, North Dakota • Winter 1994
Desperate Times Dictate Overuse of Pesticide
Economic Depression and
Drought at Crisis Levels
Low retail sales, mass unem-
ployment, and a high rate of
business failures marked the
period of economic slump known
as the Great Depression. From
1929 to 1932, farm prices fell by
53% when more crops were
produced than could be sold
profitably.
A major drought in the ensu-
ing years eliminated surpluses
but also destroyed crops and
turned topsoil to dust in five
Great Plains states (southeastern
Colorado, southwestern Kansas,
the panhandles of Texas and
Oklahoma, and northeastern
New Mexico). Farmers had been
plowing up millions of acres of
grassland for winter wheat to
feed livestock; many more acres
were overgrazed.
With an average annual rainfall
of less than 20 inches, winds blew
over dry, bare fields, piling top
soil into dunes, some 30 feet high,
blanketing houses, barns and
fence posts. Lighter silt accumu-
lated in dust clouds as high as five
miles, forming "black blizzards"
that swept from the Midwest all
the way to the Atlantic coast.
Every wild animal felt the
pressures of large-scale wind
erosion, including grasshoppers.
Under stress, swarms of these
insects left the denuded Dust
Bowl states and descended on
North Dakota farmers, gobbling
up grains intended for forage, hi
response, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture distributed through
state and county extension agents
tons of arsenic bait to poison the
grasshoppers.
New Superfund Law
Provides Assistance
Residues of arsenic seeped into
ground water, in turn contaminat-
ing drinking supplies in Richland,
Ransom, and Sargent Counties.
More than 35 years would go by
before North Dakota health
officials identified arsenic in the
Lidgerwood municipal system in
1979. State officials initiated
remedial action but turned to
EPA for help after announcement
of a new law in 1980.
Congress had enacted the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA) that year,
• Contaminated topsoil covered with clay
> Water treatment units installed in 116 homes
• EPA reimburses Lidgerwood for costs of treatment plant
* Bureau of Reclamation begins modifications to Lidgerwood treatment plant
• North Dakota expands and modifies Wyndmere treatment plant
• Historically significant Indian sites identified
r
1 Richland Rural Water Treatment Plant expansion begins
• 300 miles of pipeline installed to new users
D>
1 Bottled water campaign in Lidgerwood
delivers 14,000 gallons in six weeks
1 Both Lidgerwood and Wyndmere treatment
plants pass final inspection
t>
• Milnor added to Richland
Rural Water network
* Laura Williams earns
National Award
1986
1987
1989
1990
1991
1992
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Superfund At Work • Arsenic Trioxide Site, North Dakota • Winter 1994
establishing a nationwide
Superfund program to address
hazardous substances, pollutants,
or contaminants that endanger
the environment.
In 1982, the Arsenic Trioxide
site was proposed for addition to
the National Priorities List, EPA's
roster of sites eligible for cleanup
under the Superfund program.
North Dakota officials received a
Cooperative Agreement to inves-
tigate the full extent of the con-
tamination. In addition to the
pesticide bait, naturally occurring
arsenic shale deposits were found
to contribute to the unacceptably
high concentrations in ground
water.
EPA soon settled on a remedy
geared to the area's rural nature:
providing household water to
residences that once relied on
private wells using a central
distribution system. Expansion of
the Richland Rural Water Treat-
ment Plant in Mantador, North
Dakota and the associated distri-
bution network began in July 1990
under another Cooperative Agree-
ment with the state. Engineers
installed more than 300 miles of
pipeline to reach new users,
constructed seven additional
water storage reservoirs, drilled
three new water supply wells, and
approximately doubled the treat-
ment capacity.
Remedy Fits Rural Setting
During their investigations,
state officials covered with clay
more than 10,000 square feet of
contaminated soil in fields to
prevent runoff from reaching
wells and springs. In 1986,
state officials installed indi-
vidual water treatment units in
116 private homes and con-
nected five residences to a rural
water supply. But inclusion of
this large rural area in the
Superfund program required a
comprehensive approach to
resolving the ground water con-
tamination. Classical treatment was
technically not feasible because of
the characteristics of the under-
ground aquifers, the large affected
area, and the lack of a single source.
->.
Monitoring later identified
arsenic-contaminated ground
water near Milnor, which was
added to the Richland Rural
Water Treatment Plant expansion.
During the summer of 1992,
engineers constructed a 135,000-
gafion, potable water (suitable for
drinking) reservoir and a distribu-
tion system with approximately
300 service connections and
pipelines. State officials com-
pleted final testing of Milnor's
distribution system in November.
Superfund Covers Costs
To comply with Safe Drinking
Water Act standards, Lidgerwood
had begun construction of a new
water treatment plant in 1979
which was completed in 1986.
EPA reimbursed Lidgerwood for
the costs after a 1987 EPA feasibil-
ity study confirmed that the plant
appropriately treated the arsenic.
Within the first six months of
operation, the plant was unable to
consistently produce visibly clear
water, and so Lidgerwood again
asked EPA for assistance in
making necessary plant im-
provements. Under an agree-
ment with the U.S. Department
of Interior's Bureau of Reclama-
tion, modifications to the plant
began in August, 1989. A
"thumbs up" evaluation was
completed in January, 1991.
At the same time,
Wyndmere's existing treatment
plant was effectively removing
the arsenic but needed a much
larger storage capacity. Under a
cooperative agreement with the
state, engineers constructed a
50,000-gallon, potable water
storage reservoir with a separate
post-chlorination system. This
plant also passed final inspection
in January, 1991.
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Superfund At Work • Arsenic Trioxide Site, North Dakota
Winter 1994
Community Relations Plays Important Role
Many families in the area
expressed concern about the
risks associated with arsenic
contamination. EPA and
North Dakota health officials
cooperated on an extensive
community relations program.
Several public meetings were
held, the first in 1982 in
Lidgerwood, and again later
that year and in 1983 as water
testing was under way.
Frequent status reports
were issued to area news
media announcing informal
meetings, locating information
centers, describing the remedy
selection process, and summariz-
ing progress. A pamphlet on
arsenic sampling was distributed
widely and questionnaires dis-
tributed to measure concerns and
preferences. In Wyndmere, a
door-to-door survey in 1986
solicited comments on the pro-
posed treatment plant expansion.
When an intermediate tap
water treatment system in
Lidgerwood was required to be
bypassed, EPA organized a
bottled water program that lasted
six weeks. Schools, businesses,
Remedial Project Manager, Laura Williams, shown here with former
EPA Administrator William K. Reilly, won the National RPM of the Year
Award in 1992 for her involvement and leadership in the community.
and community groups re-
ceived nearly 14,000 gallons of
bottled water, some delivered
by the local Boy Scout troop.
EPA later began a conscien-
tious recycling program for
empty bottles.
Historic Sites Safeguarded
Throughout the project, EPA
was alert to the possibility of
uncovering archaeologic sites.
Construction specifications
required visual inspection of
any digging that took place,
including installation of the 300
miles of pipeline. Every mile
was walked and a 20-to-30-foot-
wide survey conducted on each
side of proposed pipelines.
Several sites classified as
Prehistoric, Historic, or Prehis-
toric-Isolated were located
throughout the area and re-
ported to the state's historic
preservation society. One was
considered of major importance
on the Sesseton-Wahpeton-
Sioux Indian Reservation where
18 miles of pipeline would run.
Because of the site's signifi-
cance, EPA altered the pipeline
route. The tribes held a prayer
ritual on September 27,1989 to
honor its location.
What Is Integrated Pest Management?
Grasshoppers are a large
family of insects found in mead-
ows, fields, and tropical regions
around the world and are a vital
part of the food chain in grassland
ecosystems. Typically brown or
green, common U.S. species are
one to three inches long. Only five
species account for 90 percent of
the total damage to cultivated
crops including grain, flax, cotton,
corn silk, alfalfa, and sweet clover.
By contrast, 25 species have had
injurious effects on rangelands.
Inspired by economic losses
incurred by ranchers and farmers,
scientists have begun using new
concepts to control pest popula-
tions called Integrated Pest Man-
agement. IPM uses a combination
of biological, cultural, and genetic
control methods, with use of pesti-
cides as the last resort. Traditional
continued on page 6
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Superfund At Work • Arsenic Trioxide bite, North Dakota
Winter 1994
Photo courtesy of USD A, APHIS
Collecting grasshoppers from the field for IPM research.
continued from page 5
pesticide application poisons unre-
lated species and beneficial insects in
the ecosystem and contaminates soil
and ground water.
Scientists are now using an
integrated approach to help predict
when environmental conditions are
conducive to grasshopper popula-
tion explosions, which tend to occur
every seven to 10 years.
The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture has
been studying grasshopper life
stages, plant species, and range
conditions to identify and evaluate
control options. Research includes
formulation of selective bran baits
with low toxirity to other species,
testing of pathogens for biological
control, and ways to improve
rangeland management.
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 (703) 603-8984, or send a letter to Superfund At Work
(5502G), 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460
For additional copies of this or other Superfund At Work bulletins, contact the
National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road,
Springfield, VA 22161, telephone (703) 487-4650.
Success In
North Dakota
EPA's involvement in cleaning
up the North Dakota Arsenic
Trioxide site included financing a
system for distributing water over a
large rural area. State and federal
officials cooperated to greatly
expand existing distribution sys-
tems and treatment plants, con-
struct additional water storage
reservoirs, and drill new water
supply wells. During the process,
the Superfund site manager and
community relations coordinators
provided bottled drinking water,
sought citizen reviews, and safe-
guarded historically significant
Indian burial grounds.
Although grasshoppers con-
tinue to plague farmers, scientists
are beginning to understand the
unique characteristics of this
insect and why swarming and
overpopulation occurs. Inte-
grated Pest Management tech-
niques to manage, rather than
eradicate designated pests, will
shape the way farmers across the
country grow and harvest crops
in the future.
xv EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
5502G
Washington, D.C. 20460
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