Cleaning Up New England FIVE-YEAR U P DAT E SUPERFUND FIVE-YEAR REVIEW Powal Tannery Superfund Site Pownal, VT U.S. EPA I HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM AT EPA NEW ENGLAND MAINTAINING AND MONITORING SUPERFUND SITES: After a Superfund Site or portion of a Superfund Site has been cleaned up, EPA continues to monitor the site to ensure the cleanup is operating effectively over time. Five-Year Reviews provide an opportunity to fully evaluate the implementation and performance of a cleanup and determine whether it remains protective of human health and the environment. SITE BACKGROUND: The Pownal Tannery site is located between Route 346 and the Hoosic River in the Village of North Pownal, in Bennington County, Vermont. The site which was a former hide tanning and finishing facility owned by the Pownal Tanning Company, Inc. has been inactive since 1988 when the company declared bankruptcy. The site consists of three contamination sources: the tannery building complex, a sludge lagoon system, and the tannery's sludge landfill. In total, the Pownal Tannery site encompasses approximately 28 acres. All protective remedial measures have been completed at the site and long-term operation and maintenance activities to ensure the protection of human health and the environment continue. FIVE-YEAR REVIEW START: The US EPA has begun the second Five Year Review of the remedy at the Pownal Tannery Superfund site. Five Year review of Superfund site remedies are required part of EPA's commitment to long term monitoring at the site. The purpose of the Five Year Review is to evaluate the current remedy to ensure that it continues to be protec- tive of public health and the environment. The Five Year Review of the site remedy is expected to be complet- ed by September 2014. Once the Five Year Review is complete, EPA will issue a report of its findings and that report will be made available on the EPA web site and in the Pownal Tannery Superfund site information reposi- tory located in the Pownal Public Library. Requests for email updates may be sent to white.sarah@epa.gov. SITE REMEDY: The final cleanup remedy included excavation/stabiliza- tion/consolidation of tannery lagoon waste, construction of a low permeability cap over the consolidated wastes on site, long-term monitoring of river sediments/groundwa- ter/residential water and institutional controls to prevent future contact with site contaminants and to protect the Remedial Action EPA has completed the Remedial Action at the site to consolidate and cap the lagoon sludge and to finalize the Institutional Controls. Initiation of construc- tion activities began in July 2003. Cleanup of the Lagoon Area was completed in September of 2004. All necessary land use restrictions were finalized in 2013. Operation and Maintenance activities are currently being conducted by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. SITE HISTORY: From approximately 1937 until 1962, untreated tanning process wastewater was directly discharged into the Hoosic River, A lagoon system comprising six lagoons, was constructed in several stages between 1962 and 1971 to receive the tannery's wastewater. In 1982, a state permitted lined landfill was constructed on site which received sludge dredged from a portion of the lagoons. The tannery landfill Is situated on a parcel of land across from the Hoosic River and southwest of the tannery building complex. In 1987, two-thirds of the landfill was covered and closed. The remaining portion remained uncovered until 2001. The area is a rural and residential community with approximately 3,500 resi- dents. The nearest residences are approximately 200 feet from the site and rely upon groundwater from private wells for their water supply. While some site related contaminants have been detected in residential wells in the past, current sampling data indicates that safe drinking water standards are not being exceeded. KEY CONTACTS: LESLIE MCVICKAR EPA New England Project Manager (617) 918-1374 mcvickar.leslie@epa.gov SARAH WHITE EPA New England Community Involvement Coordinator (617) 918-1026 white.sarah@epa.gov GENERAL INFO: EPA NEW ENGLAND 5 Post Office Square Suite 100 Boston, MA 02109-3912 (617) 918-1111 www.epa.gov/region1/ EPA TOLL-FREE CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-888-EPA-7341 LEARN MORE AT: www.epa.gov/ne/superfund/ sites/ pownal &EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ) printed on 100% recycled paper, with a minimum of 50% post-consumer waste, using vegetable-based inks February 2014 SDMS Doc ID 551696 ------- The Superfund Process: Discovery and Cleanup for a Long-Term Site Discover a new site. Evaluate site's contamination level & determine required cleanup type. Brownfields Program Cleanup Site complete and ready for future use! Pownal Tannery Superfund Site is currently in the stage of: Short-term actions may be taken to eliminate immediate public health or environmental threats. Determine type & extent of contamination; evaluate options Identify those responsible for contamination Include site on National Priorities List (NPL). investigate Choose Cleanup Plan. ------- |