U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region III
Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works
Superfund Site
Fairmont, West Virginia
Cleanup Continues - Redevelopment Plans Underway
April 2008
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continuing to monitor the progress of
the cleanup efforts at the Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works Site in Fairmont, West
Virginia (see site map, below). The Site looks very different now than it did during its nearly 60 years
in operation - old, dilapidated buildings have been torn down and a comprehensive environmental
assessment and cleanup effort is nearing completion. ExxonMobil, the company responsible for
addressing environmental issues at the Site, and EPA have worked cooperatively for more than a
decade to clean up the property and prepare it for redevelopment. Much of the work is being carried
out under EPA's Project XL - a program developed to test innovative environmental management
strategies. A key element of the cleanup is the recycling of waste materials from two historic landfills
- the materials are dug up and mixed with selected additives, and the resulting product is shipped
off-site and burned as fuel in a local power plant. This recycling work is continuing, and is expected
to be complete in early 2009. Several areas of the Site have already been confirmed as clean, and
the City of Fairmont's master plan for revitalizing the property includes construction of a hotel,
indoor water park, and convention center.
Site Description
The Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke
Works Site (Site) is located on the eastern bank of
the Monongahela River in the northeast portion of
the City of Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia
(see map).The Site, which is being cleaned up under
the Federal Superfund program administered by EPA,
covers about 107 acres, 57 of which were used for
coke production processes as well as waste disposal
and treatment operations.The remaining 50 acres
stretch across a wooded hillside that descends to the
Monongahela River at the southern portion of the
Site. Land surrounding the Site is a mixture of
industrial, commercial, and residential properties.The
Big John Salvage-Moult Road Site, another EPA
Superfund site, is located to the west, while
numerous residential and commercial properties
border the Site to the north and east.
Operational History
The Fairmont Coke Works facility was originally built
in 1920 by the Standard Oil Company (the corporate
predecessor to Exxon) for the production of coke -
a fuel derived from coal - and the refinement of its
associated by-products. In 1948, Sharon Steel
Corporation purchased the property and continued
coke production operations until closing the facility
in May 1979.
While the plant was in operation, wastes generated
during the coke and by-product production process
were disposed at various locations on the Site
property, and a fine dust known as coke breeze was
often mixed with certain waste to dry it out. During
normal plant operations, two ponds were used to
store accumulated waste sludge, and the wastes were
periodically excavated from the ponds and stored in
two nearby pits. These ponds and the other waste
disposal locations at the Site have been the focus of
the extensive cleanup work completed to date
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Cleanup Progress
Cleanup efforts have been underway at the Site for
nearly two decades. The first significant effort was
completed in August and September of 1990, when the
owner of the Site removed 2.2 million pounds of waste
tar from the on-site sludge disposal areas and
transported the materials to a certified off-site landfill.
In 1993, EPA started the comprehensive environmental
cleanup effort that is nearing completion today. Over a
three-year period, EPA stabilized the Site and addressed
a number of Site hazards by removing:
976 tons of coke works sludges
I 12,514 gallons of tank liquids
1,280 cubic yards of solid wastes
168 cubic yards of asbestos-containing material
60 pounds of mercury
221,955 gallons of wastewater
34,382 tons of oxidation pond sludges
I 1,850 cubic yards of acidic breeze material
from the breeze washout area (which included
portions of some citizens' back yards)
a number of dilapidated, old buildings
In addition, EPA stabilized acidic tar sludges from both
on-site waste ponds, graded the Site to effectively
collect and treat rain water before it enters the
Monongahela River, and covered the North Landfill with
a temporary soil cap. Collectively, these activities
resulted in the removal of contamination and address
obstacles to safe redevelopment of the Site.
Recent Efforts
Although EPA's efforts were extensive, more work was
necessary. The Site was designated as a Superfund Site
in 1996, which gave EPA formal authority over the
cleanup. Since Sharon Steel was liquidated in
bankruptcy court in 1991, EPA identified ExxonMobil as
the potentially responsible party for remedial work, and
the two parties signed an agreement on September 17,
1997 to implement a Remedial Investigation and
Feasibility Study. This agreement outlined the process
to be carried out at the Site and identified a range of
appropriate cleanup actions.
In November of 1997, ExxonMobil approached EPA
with a proposal to conduct a Project XL pilot at the
Site. Project XL was created by EPA to test the idea
that innovative environmental management strategies,
which allow more flexibility in scheduling and technical
approach, could result in a faster and more thorough
cleanup. In May 1999, EPA approved ExxonMobil's
proposal, making the Sharon Steel Corporation
Fairmont Coke Works Site the first Superfund site in
the country to be cleaned up under Project XL. EPA,
the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection (WVDEP), ExxonMobil, and the Fairmont
Community Liaison Panel signed the Final Project
Agreement, which outlined the process for the project.
As part of Project XL, ExxonMobil committed to
completing the cleanup of the Site, and developed a
phased cleanup approach to achieve the overall goal of
releasing the property for redevelopment.
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Recent Efforts, continued
ExxonMobil started the current phase of the cleanup
work in February 2003. The focus recently has been on
the North and South Landfills, where ExxonMobil's
contractor, ARC AD IS, is excavating waste material and
processing recovered material by blending it with coal
and other materials to produce a reusable fuel product.
Approximately 8,000 to 12,000 tons of material is
shipped off-site each month - more than 360,000 tons
to date - and burned at a local power plant. So far the
fuel produced in the recycling effort has been used to
generated over 385,000 megawatts of electricity, which
is enough to power more than 30,000 typical West
Virginia homes for one year.The landfill recycling effort
is currently scheduled to be complete in early 2009.
In other areas of the Site, rain water that comes into
contact with contaminated soils continues to be
collected and treated, a limited excavation effort in the
Process Area was completed in 2007, and investigations
to determine the amount of contamination at the Light
Oil Storage area were completed in February 2008.
Redevelopment Plans
The primary goal of the cleanup efforts is to prepare
the Site for potential redevelopment. The City of
Fairmont is working with The Water Works LLC to
develop a master plan, and efforts to secure financing
are underway.The current vision for the property -
depicted on the map below - includes construction of
a conference center, a 70,000 square foot indoor water
park big enough to accommodate 3,000 visitors, and a
six-story 300 suite hotel on the river front.
Excavating waste
materials from
the South Landfill
(top) and stock-
| piling the recycled
fuel (bottom)
prior to shipping
it off-site to be
burned at a local
power plant
Several areas of the Site - including the hillside at the
southern end of the property and portions of the land
across the northern end - have been confirmed as
clean and are ready for the first phase of the
redevelopment efforts. A number of other areas are
scheduled to be released for redevelopment activities
by mid-summer 2008. ERA and ExxonMobil expect the
entire Site to be confirmed clean and ready for the
City's revitalization plans in the first quarter of 2009.
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Current Master Plan for Redevelopment of the Sharon Steel
Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works Superfund Site
Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works Site
Project Contacts & Public Information
There are a variety of sources of information about the Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works site.You
can visit the Marion County Public Library or contact one of the project representatives listed below. In addition,
meetings of the Fairmont Community Liaison Panel, which take place on an as-needed basis, are open to the public.
The Panel gathers at the Circle W Building ,and announcements of upcoming meetings are provided to local media
outlets and are generally available in the local newspapers and on the local television and radio stations. If you
would like to be added to the project mailing list to receive periodic updates about the site, please contact Carrie
Deitzel, EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator.
USEPA Region III
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
24-Hour Superfund Hotline
800.553.2509 (toll free)
Mary Green
Facilitator
Fairmont Community Liaison Panel
800.250.3868 (toll free)
1274mgreen@anngreencomm.com
Carrie Deitzel (3HS43)
EPA Region III
Community Involvement Coordinator
215.814.5525
deitzel.carrie@epa.gov
Marion County Public Library
321 Monroe Street
Fairmont,WV 26554
304.366.1210
Eric Newman
EPA Region III
Remedial Project Manager
215.814.3237
newman.eric@epa.gov
Tom Bass
WV DEP Project Manager
Environmental Resource Specialist
304.926.0499 ext.
tbass@dep.state.wv.us
EPA's Update on the Sharon Steel Corporation - Fairmont Coke Works Superfund Site
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region III
Carrie Deitzel, 3 HS43
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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