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                   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                   Office of Inspector General

                   At  a   Glance
                                                            09 -P-0029
                                                     November 19, 2008
                                                                Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Why We Did This Review

The Office of Inspector
General (OIG) is testing long-
term monitoring results at
Superfund sites the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has deleted
from the National Priorities
List to ensure that EPA has
valid, reliable, and accurate
data on the conditions at these
sites. Delatte Metals
Superfund Site (Delatte),
Ponchatoula, Louisiana, is one
of eight sites that we are
evaluating.
EPA's Safety Determination for
Delatte Metals Superfund Site Was Unsupported
Background

Soil and water at Delatte were
contaminated with metals
from battery recycling and
smelting operations.  EPA
deleted Delatte from the
National Priorities List in
2005, signifying clean-up
goals were achieved through
remedial action. In November
2007, EPA Region 6
completed a required review
(Five-Year Review) of the Site
to determine if it still
protected humans and the
environment from
unacceptable risks.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.

To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2009/
20081119-09-P-0029.pdf
 What We Found
EPA's protection determination for the Delatte Metals Superfund Site was not
supported by its data.  Despite evidence of potential remedy failure, EPA Region 6
determined in November 2007 that conditions at Delatte protect humans and the
environment in the short-term. Our review showed:

   •   The permeable reactive barrier (PRB) was not treating all of the shallow
       contaminated groundwater before it discharges to surface water and
       migration of metal contaminants was uncontrolled.
   •   Metal concentrations in surface water greatly exceeded site clean-up
       standards.
   •   Site access was uncontrolled and public warning that the Site is restricted
       to industrial use was limited.
   •   Region 6 did not perform sufficient testing of the groundwater and surface
       water to determine whether contaminants were controlled.
   •   Region 6 did not perform the required inspection of the PRB.

EPA research scientists also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the PRB in
controlling the migration of all metals and recommended that Region 6 conduct
additional testing. The data available to Region 6 when it conducted its November
2007 Five-Year Review, combined with the OIG's results, show that the Site's
safety cannot be determined until the effectiveness of the PRB and the risk posed by
the migration of metals are assessed.
 What We Recommend
We made eight final recommendations to Region 6. The Region agreed with
seven OIG recommendations to ensure that the Delatte clean-up remedy is
performing as intended and is protective to human health and the environment.
Region 6 disagreed with our recommendation to amend its 2007 Five-Year
Review determination to state that the protectiveness of the Delatte remedy cannot
be determined without further information and analysis. We believe this action is
needed.  The recommendation is open and unresolved.

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