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


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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.


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