ARKANSAS CITY DUMP KANSAS EPA ID# KSD980500789 EPA Region 7 City: In southeast Arkansas City, 3 and 1/2 miles north of the Oklahoma State Line County: Cowley County Other Names: Millikin Refinery 08/20/2008 SITE DESCRIPTION The Arkansas City Dump is a 200-acre site in southwestern Arkansas City. From 1916 until the mid-1920s, an oil refinery on site created an acidic sludge waste. Operators disposed of about 1 million cubic feet of sludge in the northern waste area. Municipal wastes were disposed of at the site after an explosion and fire in 1927 destroyed the oil refinery. Between 500,000 and 1 million gallons of residual oil product from the refinery operation were present in the subsurface soils which contain polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Much of the organic contamination was related to the release of petroleum products and could not be addressed under the Superfund program because the Superfund "Petroleum Exclusion" excludes cleanup of petroleum products. In addition, there is no indication of migration of the petroleum components to any other media. Therefore, the organic contaminants do not present a threat to public health or the environment. The remainder of the wastes at the site consisted of domestic and municipal solid wastes. These wastes also do not appear to present a threat to public health or the environment. The site lies within the 100-year flood plain of the Arkansas River and is separated from the river by a levee. The surrounding land includes commercial and residential areas. Approximately 6,500 people live within a 3-mile radius of the site. About 60 homes are located within 1 mile of the eastern boundary. A city park lies to the west, and several nearby businesses employ up to 100 people. There are no known or suspected uses of groundwater near the site at risk of contamination by the site. Municipal drinking water, which is available to all homes near the site, is obtained from a well field on the other side of the Arkansas River, upriver of this site. The drinking water supply was not at risk of contamination by this site. Site Responsibility: This site was addressed through Federal and State actions. NPL LISTING HISTORY Proposed Date: 12/30/82 Final Date: 09/08/83 ------- Deleted Date: 03/01/96 THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS 03 The undisturbed sludge contained sulfuric acid, significant concentrations of PAHs, other organics, heavy metals, ammonia, and sulfur which could have been toxic to humans if exposed. Contaminants were not detected in the Arkansas River. Groundwater and sediments are contaminated with oil, but do not pose a risk to the public or environment. No drinking water wells were at risk of contamination. CLEANUP APPROACH Response Action Status Groundwater and Sediments: By 1991, the EPA had assessed the oil-contaminated sediments and groundwater, and determined that they did not pose a threat. Therefore, no further cleanup action was selected for this site. Source Control: In 1988, the EPA selected a remedy for the northern waste area to cleanup acidic sludges by neutralizing them with high pH materials and covering the area with soil after treatment was complete. Cleanup began in 1991 and was completed in 1992. Site Facts: The EPA lacks jurisdiction to clean up petroleum-related problems under the Superfund program due to the "Petroleum Exclusion" clause in the ------- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS In 1997, EPA completed a Five-Year Review evaluating the effectiveness of this remedial action. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) completed several borings into the treated sludge as part of the Five-Year Review and found that the treated sludge is still not acidic. EPA found that the remedial action continues to be protective of health and the environment. All construction has been completed at the Arkansas City Dump site and, in 1996 the EPA deleted the site from the NPL. The KDHE conducted a second Five-Year Review of the remedial action at the site in 2002 and found no significant change from the previous five-year review. The third Five-Year Review completed by the KDHE found that the site continues to be protective of human health and the environment and was signed July 20, 2007. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT EPA held a public meeting on October 6, 1982, at the City Hall in Arkansas City to report on the Phase I investigation completed for the site. EPA completed a Community Relations Plan for the site in April 1987. KDHE and EPA held a public meeting at the City Hall in Arkansas City on August 21, 1989, to provide details about the final remedy selected for Operable Unit 2 of the site. EPA hosted a public availability session at Northwest Community Center in Arkansas City on September 19, 1991, to update the public on remedial work at the site. EPA distributed Fact Sheets with updates about site activities to the local community in Arkansas City in November 1988; April 1992; August 1992 and March 1996. On September 14, 1995, EPA placed an notice in The Federal Register and The Arkansas City Traveler to announce the proposed deletion of the site from the National Priorities List and to provide the public with thirty days to comment on the proposed deletion. On March 1, 1996, EPA placed a notice in the Federal Register to announce the deletion of the site from the NPL. ------- SITE REPOSITORY Arkansas City Public Library Superfund Records Center 120 E. Fifth Ave. 901 N. 5th St. Arkansas City, KS 67005 Kansas City, KS 66101 Mail Stop SUPR (913)551-7166 REGIONAL CONTACTS SITE MANAGER: E-MAIL ADDRESS: PHONE NUMBER: COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR: PHONE NUMBER: E-MAIL ADDRESS: STATE CONTACT: PHONE NUMBER: Catherine Barrett/SUPR/R7/USEPA/US barrett.catherine@epa.gov (913)551-7704 Dianna Whitaker (913)551-7003 whitaker.dianna@epa.gov Maura O'Halloran, KDHE (785)291-3255 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION STATE: KS 0701 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: 04 EPA ORGANIZATION: SFD-SUPR/MOKS MODIFICATIONS Created by: Karla Created Date: 11/13/97 04:20 PM Asberry/SUPRFUND/R7/US EPA/US Last Modified by: Catherine Last Modified Date: 08/20/2008 02:34 PM Barrett/R7/U SEPA/U S ------- |