l/l/h/tehouse
Waste O/Z Pfts Site
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Jacksonville, Duval County Florida
On September 24,1998, following a
public comment period and public
meeting, EPA signed an Amended
Record of Decision (AROD) selecting
a cleanup remedy for contamination
at the Whitehouse Waste Oil Pits
Superfund Site ("the Site") in
Jacksonville, Florida. This fact sheet
describes the remedial design
recently approved by EPA, and the
significant differences between the
final design and the 1998 AROD.
Other topics covered in the fact
sheet include: findings of the
treatability study, sampling news,
negotiations with potentially
responsible parties (PRPs), and the
availability of a technical assistance
grant (TAG) from EPA.
The final design and other
information about the site can be
reviewed at the information
repository, which is located at the
Whitehouse Elementary School,
11160 General Avenue,
Jacksonville. Call the school at
(904) 693-7542 for more inform-
ation about school library hours.
EPA APPROVES
REMEDIAL DESIGN
On September 28, 2000, EPA
approved the remedial design for the
Whitehouse Waste Oil Pits Superfund
Site. The remedial design consists of
the plans, engineering drawings, and
specifications necessary to translate
the 1998 Amended Record of
Decision (AROD) into the remedy to be
constructed under the remedial action
phase.
The purpose of the cleanup is to isolate
the waste oil pits as a source of
groundwater and surface water
contamination and to reduce the risks
associated with exposure to the conta-
minated material. The remedial action
is designed to achieve the cleanup
goals specified in the Amended Record
of Decision.
Figure 1 illustrates several of the key
elements of the final design. The main
design elements include:
•	In situ (in place) stabilization/
solidification treatment of the upper
3 feet of material (23,000 cubic
yards) over the waste oil pits. About
4.8 acres will be stabilized;
•	Installation of a vertical barrier (soil
bentonite slurry wall) to isolate and
contain contaminated soil, sludge,
wetlands, sediment, and
groundwater. The wall will have an
approximate length of 3,100 linear
feet, a minimum width of 3 feet, and
an average depth of 65 feet;
March 2001
Construction of a multi-layer cap
over the contaminated area which
meets the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) closure
requirements. Figure 2 shows a
typical cap cross-section. The cap
will cover about 10.5 acres;
Realignment of about 1500 feet of
the northeast tributary of McGirts
Creek in the northern and western
portions of the Site. The realigned
creek area will be planted with trees
and wetland plants to restore the
wetlands disturbed by the cap
construction;
Extension of the city water supply to
25 properties along Machelle Drive
and four properties located to the
east of the Site on Chaffee Road;
and
Plugging of private drinking water
wells at each residence connected
to the municipal water supply.
Figure 1
Realigned
Tributary Of
McGirts Creek
Existing
Alignment of
Tributary of
McGirts Creek
Revegetated
Wetlands
Multi-layer
Cap
Perimeter of
Barrier Wall
(Capped Area)
Approximate Boundary of
Former Waste Disposal
Area to Be Stabilized
80 40 0 80 160
In Feet
March 2001
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Figure 2 - Typical Cap Sross-Section



Topsoil w/Grass
6"'

Top Soil
18"

Common Fill
Drainage Layer
~ (Geonetand
/ Geotextile Filter)
40 Mil LLDPE



v Synthetic Liner
X
\ Geosynthetic
Clay Liner
12"

Gas Vent Layer


Waste





The final design also includes
installation of a permanent security
fence around the containment area,
installation and maintenance of
stormwater management controls,
and imposition of deed restrictions to
control future land and groundwater
use.
Long-term groundwater monitoring will
be performed for a 30-year period to
verify the performance of the remedial
action. A network of 40 wells will be
used to monitor the natural
attenuation of contaminated
groundwater outside of the
containment system and to assess the
effectiveness of the barrier wall. The
groundwater monitoring schedule will
be quarterly for the first 2 years, semi-
annually for the next 3 years, and
annually thereafter.
Waste cap maintenance, including
mowing, watering, and fertilizing the
vegetation on the cap, will be
performed on a monthly basis for a
30-year period. In addition, long-term
maintenance will be performed on the
stormwater management system,
such as erosion monitoring and repair,
removal of sediment from drainage
ways, etc.
EPA ADOPTS
CHANGES TO THE
AROD
The final design was developed by
CDM Federal Programs Corporation
(CDM Federal) for EPA with review and
input by the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
Their ultimate goal is to ensure that the
final design meets the objectives of the
Amended Record of Decision (AROD),
signed in September 1998.
EPA is required to advise the public
when the final design differs
significantly from the remedy described
in the AROD. Explanations of the
significant differences are described
below.
Lime Curtain - The lime curtain has
been dropped from the design. The
purpose of the "lime curtain" was to
remove manganese from the
groundwater within the containment
system. However, further evaluation
indicated that adding lime to the
groundwater system would increase
the amount of calcium in the system,
which could adversely affect the soil
bentonite slurry wall. Furthermore,
groundwater modeling indicated that
the slurry wall will be protective without
the lime curtain. Additional physical
testing confirmed the long-term
compatibility of the slurry wall backfill
mix with Site groundwater.
Monitoring wells will be installed
outside the slurry wall in the southwest
corner of the Site. These wells will
monitor the pH of the groundwater over
time to verify that the low pH
groundwater is not significantly
affecting the groundwater outside of
the containment system. If the pH of
the groundwater outside of the barrier
wall decreases significantly, EPA will
evaluate options to address the
problem.
Vertical Barrier (Slurry Wall) - The
slurry wall is longer and deeper than
specified in the AROD. Sampling
performed during the design phase
revealed that groundwater
contamination extends further west
than previously known. As a result,
the slurry wall in the final design
encompasses additional contaminated
groundwater both north and west of
the Site. In addition, the results of the
design investigation indicated that the
slurry wall in the final design needs to
extend to a depth of 55 to 65 feet,
rather than 40 feet as estimated in the
AROD, to ensure that the wall keys into
the semi-confining unit.
Capped Area - The capped area has
increased from 9 acres to 10.5 acres.
The capped area is 17% larger than
estimated in the AROD due to the
increased size of the containment
area.
Tributary Realignment - An additional
900 feet of the McGirts Creek tributary
will be realigned. About 1,500 feet the
creek will be realigned instead of the
600 feet estimated in the AROD
because the cap and slurry wall were
expanded to the North. No
endangered plants or animals were
encountered in the proposed
construction areas during the
ecological survey of the creek and
surrounding wetlands. The final design
includes features to improve the
wetland habitat for plants and animals,
as well as erosion control measures to
protect the stream.
Present-Worth Cost- The present
worth cost has increased by $1.7
million. The design estimates the
present-worth cost of the remedial
action to be $10.1 million, in contrast
to $8.4 million estimated in the AROD.
Several major factors contributed to
this increase, including the extension
of the slurry wall into the western
portion of the Site and its extended
depth of 55 to 65 feet; an increase in
the overall size of the capped area;
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realignment of approximately 900
additional feet of the tributary; and
the permanent and/or temporary
acquisition of portions of properties
surrounding the Site which lie within
the expected area of construction
activities.
TREATABILITY
STUDY RESULTS
REFINE DESIGN
CDM Federal conducted a number of
tests during the remedial design
phase to refine the details of the
solidification/ stabilization (S/S) and
slurry wall called for in the 1998
AROD.
Vertical Barrier (Soil Bentonite
Slurry Wall)- Results from tests
conducted on slurry materials and
backfill mixes confirm that an
effective soil-bentonite backfill can be
prepared for the proposed barrier
wall at the Site. Two backfill mixes
tested are considered acceptable for
barrier wall construction.
S/S Additive - Three different S/S
mixes were evaluated for strength,
permeability, and leachability.
Only one mix (20%, by weight,
Portland cement as an additive) met
the minimum strength requirement.
This mix also passed permeability
and leachability testing.
Treatment using the additive in a
slurry form is recommended to limit
dust generation during treatment and
because the materials to be treated
lack sufficient moisture content to
hydrate the cement if applied in dry
form.
EPA BEGINS
NEGOTIATIONS
WITH PRPs
EPA initiated a new round of
negotiations with potentially
responsible parties (PRPs) for the Site
in November 2000. A PRP is a an
individual or company who may have
owned, operated, transported or
generated hazardous waste that
SITE HISTORY
The 7-acre Whitehouse Waste Oil Pits Superfund Site is an abandoned waste oil
sludge disposal facility located about 10 miles west of downtown Jacksonville,
Florida, in the community of Whitehouse. The Site is situated west of Chaffee
Road, less than a mile north of U.S. Highway 90 and immediately adjacent to a
suburban residential development.
From about 1956 to 1968, Allied Petro-Products, Inc. operated the Site as a
repository for waste oil sludges and acidic oil refinery by-products. Wastes were
dumped into seven unlined pits on Site. Allied ceased operations in 1968 and
filed for bankruptcy.
In 1968, the dike surrounding Pit 7 ruptured, resulting in a spill onto adjacent
properties and into McGirts Creek. In 1976, the EPA Region 4 Emergency
Response Branch responded to a waste oil spill from another pit. The City of
Jacksonville drained, stabilized and covered the pits, and surface water diversion
ditches were constructed. In 1979, the City capped the pits with clay and topsoil
under the supervision of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation
(FDER).
The Site was proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1981,
after monitoring results indicated the migration of Site contaminants to surface
and groundwater. The Site's listing on the NPL was finalized in 1983. Also in
1983, FDER completed a Remedial Investigation which characterized the Site
wastes and the extent of contamination. In 1985, EPA completed a Feasibility
Study which evaluated remedial alternatives.
In 1985, EPA signed a Record of Decision (ROD), selecting containment of the pit
areas and adjacent wetlands, and extraction and treatment of contaminated
groundwater. With the passage of the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act in 1986, EPA began to re-evaluate the 1985 ROD in search
of cleanup alternatives using treatment. EPA conducted additional studies from
1988 to 1991. In 1992, EPA issued an Amended ROD to change the remedy for
source materials to a combination of soil washing, bioremediation, and
stabilization/solidification.
In 1994, EPA and a group of PRPs signed an Administrative Order on Consent
(AOC) for new studies to better define waste materials in the pits. In January
1995, EPA modified the AOC to include requirements for a Supplemental
Treatability and Feasibility Study (STFS), which the PRPs completed in July 1997.
Results of the STFS indicated that the remedy outlined in the 1992 Amended
ROD would not be effective in addressing the Site contamination. EPA then
issued a second Amended ROD on September 24, 1998, incorporating elements
of both the 1992 Amended ROD and the original 1985 ROD.
CDM Federal Programs performed the design activities for the selected remedy,
beginning with ecological investigations in April 1999. Soil and groundwater
investigations as well as surface water and sediment sampling took place in May
and June 1999.
In September 2000, EPA approved the remedial design for the Site, and expects
construction activities to begin in late 2001.
March 2001
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contributed to contamination
problems at a Super-fund Site.
The Whitehouse Site is considered a
National Allocation Pilot Site. Under
this program, a neutral third party
assigned a percentage of the site
cleanup costs to each PRP based on
their contribution to the
contamination. EPA will pay the costs
assigned to bankrupt or defunct PRPs.
Although EPA will share the costs with
responsible parties, the Agency
expects the PRPs to perform the
remedial action. EPA received "good
faith offers" to perform the work from
a number of PRPs in January 2001.
Negotiations are expected to be
finalized in the next few months.
Construction of the remedial action is
expected to begin in late 2001.
EPA has contracted CDM Federal to
provide oversight of the responsible
parties and community relations
support during the remedial action
phase.
SAMPLING NOTES
During a previous sampling event,
offsite soil contamination was
detected on one residential property.
As a result, additional soil sampling
was done in December 2000 in
residential areas along McGirts Creek
north of U.S. Highway 90 to determine
if offsite contamination extends to this
point. The results of this testing will
be published in a report next month.
Any additional contamination will be
addressed during construction.
In response to concerns raised by
citizens during the last public meeting,
the Duvall County Health Department
sampled a number of private wells
along Maehelle Drive and in other
areas near the site. The Health
Department has advised that all
sampled wells met drinking water
standards.
GRANT AVAILABLE
FROM EPA
EPA provides community groups with
the opportunity to apply for Technical
Assistance Grants (TAGs) of up to
$50,000 per Superfund site. With TAG
funding, a community group can hire a
technical adviser to help interpret
existing information about the site or
new findings that develop during the
Superfund cleanup process.
Recent changes in the TAG application
process make it easier for a community
group to obtain a $50,000 grant.
Citizens who are interested in applying
for a TAG may obtain an application
package by calling or writing:
Rosemary Patton
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
1-404-562-8866
For More Information
Attend Future Public Meetings
A public meeting will be held to discuss the final design and remedy for
the Whitehouse Site. The public will be notified of the date and location
of this and all future public meetings via mailings and newspaper
announcements.
Call EPA's Information Line
If you have any questions about this project, call EPA at 1-800-435-9234
and speak with Mark Fite, Remedial Project Manager.
Visit the Information Repository
Reports and plans for the Whitehouse Site are located at:
Whitehouse Elementary School
11160 General Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida 32220
March 2001
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