TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
1. REPORT NO.
EPA/ROD/RO3-84/004
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
SUPERFUND RECORD OF DECISION:
Fischer & Porter Site, PA
5. REPORT DATE
05/04/84
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
7. AUTHORIS)
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
0. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 "M" Street, S. W.
Washington, D. C. 20460
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
Final ROD Report
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
800/00
15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
16. ABSTRACT
The Fischer S Porter Company, Inc. has operated at the same location since 1947
manufacturing water flow and industrial process control equipment. Trichloroethylene
(TCE) was used as a degreaser in the manufacturing process. TCE and perchloroethylene
(PCE) have been identified in the industrial water supply wells on-site and in munici-
pal water supply wells of nearby towns.
The selected on-site remedial measure includes: facility improvements to prevent
future releases of TCE and PCE; pumping wells and packed column aeration to reduce
effluent levels of TCE and PCE;and discharge of treated effluent to a surface water
source according to State stream discharge requirements. Treatment of contaminated
municipal wells by packed column aeration towers, to reduce TCE and PCE to the 10~6
risk level, was also selected as a cost-effective remedial action.
Key Words: Consent Decree, Ground Water Contamination, Municipal Water Supply,
Packed Column Aeration, PCE, TCE, Water Quality Standards, Drinking Water Contiminants,
Risk Levels
17.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b.lOENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS
c. COSATI Field/Group
Record of Decision
Site Name: Fischer & Porter Site, PA
Contaminated media: sw
Key Contaminants: TCE, PCE
18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
19. SECURITY CLASS (TIlis Report)
None
20. SECURITY CLASS ITIlis page)
None
21. NO. OF PAGES
22.
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (Rev. 4-77)
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ENFORCEMENT DECISION DOCUMENT
BRIEFING ISSUES
Site:
-
Fischer and porter, Warminster, Pennsylvania
Region:
III
AA, OSWER
Briefing Date:
May 2, 1984
SITE DESCRIPTION
The Fischer & Porter Company, Inc. has operated at the same loca-
tion since 1947 manufacturing water flow and industrial process control
equipment. Trichloroethylene (TCE) was used as a degreaser in the
manufacturing process. TCE and perchloroethylene (PCE) have been
identified in the industrial water supply wells on-site and in munici-
pal water supply wells of nearby towns.
,
SELECTED ALTERNATIVE
The selected on-site remedial measure includes: facility improve-
ments to prevent future releases of TCE and PCE, pumping wells and
packed column aeration to reduce effluent levels of TCE and PCE and
discharge of treated effluent to a surface water source according to
state stream discharge requirements. Treatment of contaminated munici-
pal wells by packed column aeration towers, to reduce TCE and PCE to
the 10-6 risk level, was also selected-as a cost-effective remedial
action.
ISSUES AND RESOLUTIONS
1.
The judicial consent decree provides for
enhanced recovery and treatment of con-
taminated ground water under the site in
order to reduce or eliminate further
migration. Contaminated ground water will
be pumped and treated by packed column .
aeration to reduce effluent levels of
TCE and PCB to 4.5 and 3.5 ppb respectively.
In a4dition, the consent decree requires
funding of a water treatment system for
contaminated municipal wells to reduce
levels of TCE and PCE. This will provide
the community with water presenting a 10-6
health risk level for TCE andPCE as defined
by the National Academy of Sciences.
-1-
KEY WORDS
. Consent Decree
. Ground Water Con-
tamination
. Municipal Water
Supply
. Packed Column
Aeration
. PCE
. TCE
. Water Quality
Standards
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ISSUES AND RESOLUTIONS
2.
Specific remedies to abate these drinking
water contaminants should be consistent
with the remedial technologies and risk
levels developed for sites with similar
characteristics.
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KEY WORDS
. Drinking Water
Contaminants
. Risk Levels
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ENFORCEMENT DECISION MEMORANDUM
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REMEDIAL ALTERNATIVE SELECTION
Site:
Fischer and Porter, Warminster, Pennsylvania
Analysis Reviewed
I have reviewed the following documents describing the need
for remedial alternatives at the Fischer and Porter site which is
under the ownership of Fischer and Porter Company and located in
Warminister, Pennsylvania.
l.
Summary of Remedial Alternatives Selection.
2.
Memorandum dated 5/3/84 from Thomas Eichler to Lee
Thomas on Recommended Remedial Action at the Fischer and
Porter site.
3.
Memorandum dated 4/23/84 from Thomas Eichler to
Courtney Price on concurrence on~roposed Consent Decree.
In addition, I have discussed the issues involved in this case
with my staff and considered their recommendations.
Description of Selected Alternative
l.
Ground-water Recovery and Treatment On-site
contaminated ground water shall be recovered through
pumping wells installed on the site, treated to
contaminant levels specified in the consent decree,
and discharged pursuant to state surface water
discharge requirements.
...:",-,
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2 .-Provis 10n -of~re-a tmeTl"'t-~orc:fff-s 1 te --1Is-ers--cff :"'groundwat.er
treatment shall be provided to municipal drinking water
supplies for affected ground water supply wells such
that coritaminants are reduced to currently acceptable
drinking water standards. -
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3.
Effe~t of the selected on-site and off-site-remedies on
ground-water contamination
the combination of the on-site pumping and treatment
and the pumping and treatment of the municipal wells
off-site will effectively contain the further migration
of the ground-water contaminant plume originating at
the Fischer & Porter site, and will serve to gradually
reduce the concentrations of contaminants within the
plume to acceptable levels.
Declarations
Consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
National Compensation, and Liability Act. of 1980 (CERCLA), and the
National Contingency Plan, and after consultation with the State of
Pennsylvania, I have determined that the above remedy for the
Fischer and Porter site effectively mitigates and minimizes damage'
to and provides adequate protection of ~ublic health, welfare and
the environment. - ,
4\~~~
Le Thomas
Assistant Administrator, OSWER
~
Y'I }q
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. summary-~-~fmeal-ar-ATt-ern-aITvEf--Se lectlon --.
Fischer & Porter
Site Location and Description
-~The Fischer and .porter site refers to the ground water
contamination problem associated with the Fischer and Porter Company,
located at the intersection of County Line Road and Jacksonville
Road, Warminster Township, Bucks County, PA.
(See location map)
It lies in the the Piedmont physiographic province at the
boundary of the Lowland section and the Piedmont Uplands section.
The property drains to an unnamed tributary of Pennypack Creek
located 1,000 feet northwest of the plant property.
The area is underlain by the Stockton Formation, the oldest
unit in the Triassic-aged Newark Group.
The Stockton Formation
dips to the northwest at approximately 12 1/4 degrees and is
divided into three members: the middle a~ose member wpich underlies
the property constitutes the major aquifer in the area.
(SME
Martin, 1980)
The plume of contaminated ground water under study is contained
within this middle arkose member of the Stockton Formation.
Fischer & Porter Company had depended on this ground water
for its water supply but has since switched to an alternate drinking
water source.
Both Warminster Heights and Hatboro, communities
situated adjacent to Fischer & Porter, use wells for their water
s_upply.
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51 'teln-s tory
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Fischer' Porter Company, Inc., manufactures water flow and
industrial process control equipment and has owned and o~rated its
Buck~ County facility since 1947.
--
The company used trichloroethylene
(TCE) as a degreaser at its processing facility and stored TCE in
a 2000 gallon underground tank which was periodically refilled.
In 1979, TCE and perchloroethylene (PCE) were identified in
industrial water supply wells on the Fischer' Porter property and
in municipal water supply wells operated by the Hatboro Water
Authority for the Town of Hatboro, as well as several of the
municipal wells serving Warminster Heights.
Several of the Hatboro
Authority wells were closed because of high TCE levels.
Alternative
water supplies were sought to augmentth~ town's remaining water
supplies.
warminster Heights, with Fischer & Porter's assistance
installed additional treatment technology to reduce the contaminants'
~
in their water supply wells to an acceptable level.
In 1979 and 1980, EPA responded to requests for assistance by
the pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources by sampling
wells and surveying possible contamination sources.
The Fischer
& Porter site was identified as having the highest ground water
concentrations of TCE and PCE (87,000 ppb and 26,000 ppb respectively).
Fischer & Porter conducted a hydrogeologic investigation of their
site and the surrounding area further identifying their facility as
a major source of contaminants to the gr~d water aquifer.
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Current Site Status
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Investigations conducted by EPA and the Fischer' Porter
Company, have defined the physical nature of the aquifer~which has
bec~ contaminated and from which Hatboro and Warminster Heights
derive their water supplies.
The extent of the contaminant plume
and the general nature of its migration have also been described.
The middle arkose member of the Stockton Formation is and has been
heavily used for ground water for both domestic and industrial
purposes.
Prior to the discovery of TCE/PCE contamination in the
aquifer, the communities of Hatboro and Warminster Heights were
fully dependent on ground water from this source.
Intensive
extraction of water from this rock unit, principally by municipal
wells, has drastically modified the configuration of the prism of
water in the rock unit, and has created steep hydraulic gradients
superimposed on the water-table surface that under "normal"
"
circumstances would prevail under these communities.
Municipal
wells have been in operation since ca 1900: as the local population
grew and the demand for water increased, both the number and the
yields of municipal wells ahve increased.
This pattern has
imposed significant historical variation on the configuration of
the water-table surface under these communities, a variation that
has continued during the period of use of contaminants at the
Fischer' Porter plant.
The distribution of contaminants in ground water in the middle
..
arkose member of the Stockton Formation under and adjacent to the
Fischer & Porter plant is consistent with movement of contaminants
contained in the ground water.
This contaminant movement is
described as follows:
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1. --radially outwara-trom- fhe-Fiscller,-~or~Efr plant,
2.
down the dip of inclined beds in the aquifer, to a limited
extent,
..3 .
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along the strike of individual beds in the aquifer,
4.
down regional and local slopes on the surface of the water
table, and
5.
into the regions of pumping influence surrounding the
Hatboro and Warminster Heights Wells of concern.
(Giegengack, 1982)
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Enforcement
Following investigations initiated by EPA and the Stite of
Pennsylvania in 1979, a complaint was drafted and a lawsuit filed
against Fischer and Porter Company, Inc. in u.s. District Court for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on 10/8/80 pursuant to-Section
~-
7003 of RCRA and Section 1431 of the Saf& Drinking Water Act.
The
complaint alleged releases of hazardous wastes into the environment
presenting an imminent and substantial endangerment to public
health, welfare and the environment, and the complaint alleged that
these hazardous wastes were affecting a public drinking water
supply.
Negotiations were initiated with representatives of Fischer
, Porter Company in 1981, seeking mitigation of the above referenced
endangerment and relief for the affected water supplies.
Negotia-
~ions have continued and resulted in a judicial consent decree
providing for the remedy described in this Enforcement Decision
Memorandum and to be undertaken by the responsible party.
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___Consistency with the. National _Contingency Plan
When the U.S. Department of Justice filed the complaint
against Fischer & Porter Company in 1980, specific remedies to
abate the endangerment presented by the site were specifically
-
sought in the complaint.
These remedies included aquifer
restoration at the site through ground water pumping and treatment,
protection of public health by providing treatment at the
contaminated public water supply wells, and improvements at the
facility to prevent further releases of contaminants into the
environment from the facility.
These enumerated remedies formed
the basis for negotiations with Fischer & Porter over the
following four years and have resulted in the remedial action
plan contained in the final consent decree.
. I
On-site Remedial Measures
The complaint sought and the consent decree provides for facility
~
improvements which will prevent future releases (spillage, leakage)
of TCE and PCE from the facility and into the subsurface environment.
These actions will essentially remove the source term of the
contaminated plume which now exists in the ground water beneath
the site.
A process water supply well has been continually pumping at
the site since facility operation~ began and since the ground
water contaminants were initially discovered.
This pumping rate
of approximately 25 gallons per minute ha~demonstrated some
limited effectiveness in controlling the migration of the
contaminant plume by creating a limited cone of influence and
removing. contaminants from the aquifer beneath the site.
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"The-com-pralht-Sought andtneconsent decree provides for
enhanced recovery and treatment of contaminated ground water
under the site.
Three wells will be pumped at a minimum:rate of
75 g~Jlons per minute to extend the existing cone of influence to
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perimeter monitoring wells and contain the further migration of
contaminants from the site.
Contaminated ground water will be
pumped continuously and treated by packed column aeration to
reduce effluent levels of TCE and PCE to 4.5 and 3.5 ppb
respectively.
The treated effluent will then be discharged to a
surface water course according to state stream discharge
requirements.
This recovery process will continue until such
time that the above treatment levels are attained in the ground
water beneath the site or contaminant levels stabilize over a
twenty-six month monituring period.
This on-site remedy is technologically feasible and reliable
,
and is the only measure which can effectively control contaminant
migration and remove contaminants from beneath the facility.
This remedy is consistent with on-site remedies developed pursuant
to 300.68(e-j) of the National Contingency Plan.
Off-site Remedial Measures
The complaint specifically sought protection of public health
by providing adequate treatment of contaminated ground water
supply wells operated by Hatboro and Warminster Heights.
These
remedial measures were appropriate because the contaminant plume
..
extended from the Fischer & Porter .site to the municipal supply
wells.
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"!'he--mun1.c1.-pal i ttes--con5idere-~-al tern-a1:e -.water. suppl ies.-and
alternate treatment technologies to remedy their water supply
problem.
Hatboro rejected alternate water supplies bec~use of
cost and because the available alternate water supply also
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contained unacceptable levels of contaminants.
Consequently,
treatment of the contaminated Hatboro wells was sought as the
cost-effective remedial alternative.
The consent decree requires
Fischer & Porter Company to provide funding ($500,000) to
Hatboro to be used for installation and operation of packed column
aeration towers which will reduce TCE and PCE levels in the
affected water supplies to 4.5 and 3.5 ppb respectively (currently
the 10-6 risk levels developed for these chemicals by the National
Academy of Sciences).
Warrninister He.ights sought similar treatment of their
contaminated wells because no alternate water supply was available.
~
The consent decree requires Fischer & Porter to provide funding
($46,200) to Warminster Heights for installation of a water
treatment system capable of reducing contaminated levels to the
treatment levels stated above.
Both water treatment systems will effectively abate the
endangerment to public health by reducing contaminant levels in
affected water supply wells to safe drinking water concentrations.
The off-site remedy achieved by the consent decree has been
developed consistent with the objectives of 300.68 (e-j) of the
National Contingency Plan.
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Community Relations
.- -. -... -.-.
. -- ---
Since the problem of contaminated ground water and drinking
water supplies was first identified at the Fischer , Por~er site in
1979J-the ~unicipalities of Hatboro and Warminster Heights have
been involved in discussions with EPA and the responsible party
concerning resolution of the problem.
The recommended alternatives
have been discussed with both communities on repeated occasions in
conjunction with settlement negotiations, and the communities have
indicated that they approve of the remedies sought for their water
- -..
supplies.
Further, representatives of the municipalities have
indicated that they will sign appropriate agreements documenting
their committment to implement the recommended off-site remedial
action.
Operation and Maintenance
Operation and maintenance requirements associated with the
"
recommended alternatives include a program of water level and water
quality monitoring to verify performance of the on-site ground
water recovery and treatment system.
These 0 & M costs will be
covered entirely by the responsible party.
o & M costs associated
with the treatment systems installed on the municipal wells include
normal operation and maintenance of the systems (utility costs for
pumps and blowers) and any water quality monitoring which might be
required to ensure performance of the treatment systems.
The
municipalities will assume responsibility~or these costs supplemented
by funds provided to them from the responsible party.
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t.t4ITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
~ 11/ 81111 w..... ,.,
~I"ION.. ~. "'01
SUBJECT: Recommended Remed1al~te . ative for the fischer and
Porter S1te. Warm1nster,. HI
FROM: Thoma. 1'. F.ichler -
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UNITED STATes ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTI9N ~GENq)"
- ---- n.g;... III - .... . .WI'", Ift..- --
"-.....-.. Pa. '8'01
SUBJECT:
FRO~:.
--
TO:
TH1W :
Request for Concurrence on Proposed Consent Decree
in U.S. v. F1s'cher and Porter Co., No. 80-3900
(!.D::Pa.. filed I~~~' Warminater Heights,
~O~..le . t(lD.~
Courtney M. Price
Aas1stant Administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring' (LE-133) .
Sheldon M. Nov~ck . 1 A~AIV\
Regional Counsel (~(!O')v \ \
.-DA TE:
PA- .
~r';' .:. '.
. ... '" ,. 't
Region III'technical and legal staff have reviewed the proposed Fischer
and Porter Consent Decree that 1. being 8ubmitted tor your signature.
BaDed on this review, the Region approvel the Consent Decree "5 an
acceptable resolution of U.S. v. Fischer and Porter Co.
-
I recommend that you 8ign the propoMed Con.cnt Decree.
~.
t. :
~
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"pr. S1..~
(~,
~,~
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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_h_- .- --_..-
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HAY
21984
OFFICE OF -
SOLID WASTE ANO-EMERGENCY RESPONSE
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MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
FROM:
Enforcement Decision Memorandum for Approval of
Remedial Action at the Fischer and Porter Site,
Warminster, pennSYlVanialtt
Russel H. Wyer, Director
Hazardous Site Control Divisi n (WE-548E)
TO:
Gene A. Lucero, Director
Office of Waste Programs Enforcement (WE-527)
The Enforcement Decision-Memorandum for the Fischer and
Porter Site has been reviewed by my staff.
I Concur
~
I Do Not Concur
I Concur With the
Attached Conditions
x
Date
Comments:
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