&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
(5502G)
EPA 520-F-95-001
Winter 1994
Super-fund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwide
Bayou Sorrel
Site Profile
Site Description:
Former waste disposal facility
Site Size: 265 acres
Primary Contaminants:
Pesticide wastes, sulfides, heavy
metals, phenols, and organic
compounds
Potential Range of Health Risks:
Central nervous system disorders,
cancers and leukemia
Nearby Population Affected:
20 people within two mile radius
Ecological Concerns:
Wetlands destruction; endangered
species (American bald eagle,
peregrine falcon, and ivory-billed
woodpecker)
Year Listed on the NPL: 1982
EPA Region: 6
State: Louisiana
Congressional District: 8
Success in Brief
Louisiana's First Completed
Superfund Cleanup
Every Superfund site poses unique challenges. No two sites
have the same set of contaminants or waste contributors. Each
geographical location has a different set of variables that require
considerations of weather, ecological damage, soil composition,
and public exposure. The one thing most sites have in common is
contaminated ground water. Bayou Sorrel was no exception and
was the first site in Louisiana to complete construction activities ;
cleaning up mismanaged hazardous waste.
A network of waste generators cooperated with the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state officials to efficiently
complete the $20
million effort.
Their determina-
tion was in marked
contrast to the view
that the "Grand
River Pits" were
mosquito-ridden
wastelands of little
value. Indeed, the list of accomplishments favored
the environment and all those critters that make
their home in the "swamp", from bald eagles to
catfish.
• One million cubic feet of contaminated soil
and sediments were entombed beneath two
multi-layered, protective caps;
• 30-foot-deep concrete barriers halted the mi-
gration of pollution into ground water and
adjacent wetlands.
A 30-year maintenance and monitoring plan
keeps waste contributors on call for those days that
are sure to come when floods and hurricanes bring
the river's surge up and over the levee.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Louisiana: sportsman's paradise. Cleanup
worker takes a break from on-site construction.
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Superfund At Work • Bayou Sorrel Site, Iberville Parish, LA • Winter 1994
Bayou Sorrel Site
Iberville Parish, LA
The Bayou Sorrel site in
Iberville Parish, is in a sparsely
populated rural area approxi-
mately 20 miles southwest of
Baton Rouge and six miles
northwest of the town of Bayou
Sorrel. The site is behind the
east Atchafalya Basin Floodway
Protection Levee on the Upper
A Site Snapshot
Grand River. Only three homes
are located within two miles but
the local population increases
seasonally by visitors attracted to
fishing and other recreational
activities.
The Environmental Purifi-
cation Advancement Corpo-
ration (EPAC) operated at
the site between 1977 and
1978, using approximately
50 of the site's 265 acres for
waste disposal. Petroleum pro-
cessors, pesticide manufacturers,
and other industrial facilities sent
their wastes to EPAC. Incompat-
ible chemicals were mixed hap-
hazardly in sludge pits, liquid
waste ponds, drum burial cells,
and a "landfarm" (where con-
taminated soil was laid out in
rows and periodically turned
for exposure to air).
In one short year, EPAC
managed to pollute a million
cubic feet of soil with heavy
metals, phenols, oil and grease,
asbestos, cyanide, sulfides, and
various organic and inorganic
compounds. Because the site is
below sea level, the potential
for flooding was great and
contaminants spread into the
wetlands to the south.
Three endangered species
take sanctuary there: the
American bald eagle, the
peregrine falcon, and the ivory-
billed woodpecker. But fish,
crustacean, reptiles, and other
animals also were threatened
with a fouled habitat.
Bayou Sorrel
Timeline
• Site studies ongoing
• Waste contributors form steering committee
• EPA investigates, places site on NPL •
1 Residents burn bridge to site <
1 Congress enacts Superfund law
• Site closed
• Truck driver dies
• State orders pond consolidation
* EPAC dumps wastes in disposal pits
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982 1983
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Superfund At Work • Bayou Sorrel Site, Iberville Parish, LA
Winter 1994
Unconscionable Dumping Takes Toll
On "Grand River Pits"
Worker's Death Prompts
Investigation
In the summer of 1978, a truck
driver died at the Bayou Sorrel
site after inhaling hydrogen
sulfide gas. Liquid wastes from
his truck apparently reacted with
an incompatible chemical brew in
one of EPAC's pits, causing a
toxic cloud of gas. State and
federal regulators then inspected
the site and found unknown
mixtures of wastes in the large,
open, unlicensed ponds. A state
court ordered the site closed in
September. Under Louisiana
supervision, EPAC reportedly
pumped the contents of three
liquid waste ponds into a fourth
where solids were concentrated
by evaporation and landfarming.
Workers covered the ponds with
clay soils and left in June, 1979.
Residents Complain by
Burning a Bridge
For two years after the closing,
area residents complained of foul
odors coming from the site.
While investigating, the Louisiana
Department of Environmental
Quality (LDEQ) found pollutants
oozing from the unlined disposal
pits. Contaminated surface water
in the wetlands interfered with
fishing, hunting, and camping.
To protest the continuing pollu-
tion from flooding and to stop
trucks from dumping more waste
into the "Grand River Pits", area
residents burned a bridge leading
to the site.
Public outrage was a factor at
many other sites nationwide that
brought about passage of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA).
This law established a federal
program to clean up abandoned
or uncontrolled hazardous waste
sites. Instead of using taxpayer
dollars, EPA uses a "Superfund"
derived from environmental taxes
on crude oil and chemical feed-
stocks. When LDEQ asked EPA
to investigate the site, scientists
found major air and soil contami-
nation. In September 1982, EPA
added Bayou Sorrel to the Na-
tional Priorities List (NPL), the
roster of sites requiring compre-
hensive cleanup.
Cleanup plan developed
Public meeting held
r
Site soil cleanup plan negotiated
Consent degree signed
Protective caps and slurry walls installed
r
• Construction completed
• 30-year maintenance plan begins
• Cost recovery settlement
Ribbon-cutting ceremony
First five-year review conducted
1986
1987
1988-89
1990
1992
1993
Ongoing
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Superfund At Work • Bayou Sorrel Site, Iberville Parish, LA
Winter 1994
EPA Identifies Waste
Contributors
EPA notified 91 companies of
their potential liability and asked
them to conduct site investiga-
tions. When negotiations stalled,
EPA performed various studies
between March 1984 and Febru-
ary 1986.
Sampling Underscores
Need for Action
In mid-1983, a steering com-
mittee of 23 companies formed to
coordinate cleanup efforts and to
expedite future settlements.
Twenty-seven other parties who
contributed relatively small
volumes of waste were not part of
the steering committee, but chose
later to enter de minimis settle-
An auger drills a ground water sampling and monitoring well, one of
43 on site.
ments with EPA, bringing the
total number of cooperating
parties to 50.
The steering committee investi-
gated the site between October
1983 and November 1984, using
the information gathered to
complement EPA site studies. An
amazing one million cubic feet of
soil and sediment were contami-
nated with pesticide and herbi-
cide concentrations, sulfide-
containing wastes, and spent
equipment wash solutions. Many
of the contaminants had migrated
to surface water and had entered
the area ground water.
EPA's Cleanup Plan
Following a public comment
period, EPA issued the Bayou
Sorrel cleanup plan in November
1986 which included:
• Regrading the site to limit
runoff of contaminants,
control erosion, and divert
storm water from the waste
ponds;
• Capping two former dis-
posal areas with waterproof
materials and installing a
venting system to reduce the
buildup of methane gas
beneath the cap;
• Installing underground
concrete barriers or "slurry
walls" around the waste
ponds to stop contaminant
migration into ground
water;
• Enclosing capped areas with
security fences and building
access roads to allow contin-
ued use of adjacent recre-
ational land; and
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Superfund At Work • Bayou Sorrel Site, Iberville Parish, LA
Winter 1994
Installing and maintaining a
monitoring system to ensure
protection of ground water.
Parties Agree to Perform
Cleanup
Negotiations between EPA and
the steering committee spanned
much of 1987. In March 1988, the
steering committee and EPA
signed a legal document called a
consent decree, in which 50
parties agreed to perform the $20
million cleanup, including long-
term monitoring. In addition,
another party signed a separate
agreement in 1990 to reimburse
$180,000 of EPA's past costs at the
site. Cost recovery actions con-
tinue against a third party to
recover the remaining $200,000 in
past costs.
Construction began in July
1988, but was briefly interrupted
in the spring of 1989 by heavy
flooding that nearly submerged
the site. Crews resumed and
completed efforts in September,
1990.
Maintenance Continues
for 30 Years
Because wastes are being left
on site, EPA required an exten-
sive, 30-year monitoring program
of the two soil caps and slurry
walls as well as quarterly sam-
pling of 43 ground water moni-
toring wells. Sampling will
enable EPA to identify area
ground water degradation before
wastes migrate off site.
The settling parties will main-
Worker forms one of many seams in the multi-layer protective cap.
tain the structural integrity of the state, EPA will continue to evalu-
caps and the vegetation grown on ate the need for further cleanup,
them, and maintain security repair, or monitoring.
fences and access roads. Both
EPA and LDEQ will oversee these
activities by conducting semi-
annual inspections. The first of
several planned five-year reviews
was conducted during the sum-
mer of 1993. With help from the
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Superfund At Work • Bayou Sorrel Site, Iberville Parish, LA
Winter 1994
A First for
Louisiana
Bayou Sorrel was the first
Superfund site in Louisiana to
complete construction. After the
final "close out" report in 1992,
EPA held a public ribbon-cutting
ceremony with members of the
community. The site is expected
to be deleted from Superfund's
National Priorities list in 1998.
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that
contains at least 50% recycled fiber
Success at Bayou Sorrel
Extensive chemical contami-
nation was cleaned up through
the joint efforts of EPA, the State
of Louisiana, and cooperating
parties. Installation of multi-
layer caps, slurry walls, and gas
venting systems were paid for
by private parties under fair but
flexible enforcement. Ground
water monitoring will continue
for years to come. Because
Bayou Sorrel was the first
Superfund completion in
Louisiana, the site will be the
first NPL deletion for the state.
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