U.S. EPA Announces
Modification of the Record of Decision
at the
Crater Resources Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 is announcing the addition of an Explanation of Significant
Differences (BSD) to the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Crater Resources Superfund Site located in Upper Merion
Township, Pennsylvania. The draft ESD presents two modifications to the ROD that was issued in September 2000.
The remedies selected in the ROD which are being affected by the ESD required:
• Dewatering of Ponds 1,2 and 3 located within Quarry 3 prior to sediment removal and transportation of the water to
an off-site disposal facility
• Excavating sediments at the bottom of the ponds and the Quarry 3 plateau area down to the bedrock layer or to a level
where contaminant concentrations in the soils and sediments are at levels protective of the groundwater, human
health, or ecological risk-based concentrations
Explanation of Significant Differences
The ESD will:
• Allow on-site treatment and disposal of surface water accumulated in ponds 1,2 and 3 within Quarry 3
• Remove any soils areas in Quarry 3 with contaminant levels above human health or ecological risk-based
concentrations and take them off-site for disposal.
The ESD is necessary first, because it has been determined that off-site transportation and disposal of several million gallons
of water from the ponds would be extremely costly, difficult and time consuming and would add another level of disruption to
communities along the truck route. Secondly, revised standards involving naphthalene will reduce the amount of soil that will
need to be excavated lowering costs and disruption of local traffic, while still protecting the ground water.
The ESD is available as a part of the Administrative Record at:
UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP BUILDING
175 W. Valley Forge Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406
610-265-2600
To access the ESD on the internet, please follow the instructions below:
The complete ESD and other documents related to the Crater Resources Superfund Site can be reviewed online at
http://www.epa.gov/arweb. Select 'PA' for State, 'Crater Resources' for Site Name, and leave AR Type blank. Select
'Search,' and on the next screen select 'Search Results.'
For more information regarding this ESD, please contact William Hudson (Community Involvement Coordinator) at 215-814-
5532 or by e-mail at hudson.william(g),epa.gov or Joseph Me Dowell (Remedial Project Manager) at 215-814-3192 or by e-
mail at mcdowell.iosephCfliepa.gov.
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