«>EPA EPA Proposes Change to United States ' Groundwater Cleanup Plan United States Environmental Protection Agency Rockwell International (Allegan Plant) Site Allegan, Michigan June 2016 Share your opinion EPA encourages you to comment on the proposed change in the groundwater cleanup plan. The Agency will only select a final cleanup plan after reviewing comments received during the public comment period, which runs from June 10 to July 11. There are several ways to submit written comments: • Fill out and mail the enclosed comment form. • Send an email to Cheryl Allen at allen.cheryl@epa.gov. • Fax to 312-408-2234. Read the proposed plan More details are available on our website and at the local information repository (see back page). Contact EPA For more information about the site or to request a public meeting, contact one of these team members: Cheryl Allen Community Involvement Coordinator 312-353-6196 Allen .cheryl@epa.gov Jena Sleboda Braun Remedial Project Manager 312-886-0272 sleboda.jena@epa.gov You may call EPA"s Chicago office toll-free at 800-621-8431, 93© a.m. - 5:30 p.m. weekdays. On-site water treatment system. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, working with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, is proposing changes to the plan for cleaning up groundwater pollution at the Rockwell International (Allegan Plant) site.1 Groundwater is a term for underground supplies of drinking water. Quarterly groundwater monitoring has shown that removing the source of contamination significantly reduced groundwater pollution. Cleanup goals have been met, or will be met once groundwater and site use restrictions are in place. EPA plans to drop these three parts of the cleanup plan because they are no longer necessary to protect people or the environment: • Building a clay wall to surround the site (fully or partially) and restrict groundwater flow. • Installing what's known as a permeable reactive barrier within the clay wall that reacts with the contaminants in the water to treat the groundwater before releasing it to the Kalamazoo River. • A contingency plan to complete the clay wall and extraction and treatment of groundwater if needed. The rest of the plan is unchanged. Cleanup of the soil and sources of contamination included removing the former manufacturing buildings and associated foundations and infrastructure, and removing, treating and disposing of contaminated soil and sediment off-site. 1 Section 117(a) of the Comprehensive Emimnmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERLC4, requires publication ofa notice ami a proposedplanfor the site cleanup. The pmposedplan tmtstalso be made mailable to the publicfor comment. This fact sheet is a summary ofinformation contained in the remedial irnvstigation, feasibility study, and other documents in the administrative recordforthe Rockwell International (Allegan Plant) site. Please consult those documents for more detailed infom ration. ------- Site description The site is an inactive manufacturing facility on about 30 acres bordering the Kalamazoo River in Allegan. It is bordered on the east by River Street, on the south by North Street, on the west by the city of Allegan wastewater treatment plant and on the northwest and north by the Kalamazoo River (see map below). The site and immediate surrounding area are used for residential and industrial purposes. North Ward Elementary School is about 200 feet east of the site across River Street. Jaycee Park is immediately across a fonner railroad bridge to the south that has frequent foot traffic. Site history Allegan Mirror and Plate Glass Co. owned the site from 1901 to 1914. The company manufactured glass products. Blood Brothers Machine Co. purchased the site in 1914 for manufacturing universal joints and automobiles. Then in 1938, Standard Steel Spring purchased the site to manufacture dri vel ines. At that time, operations included steel heat-treatment and machining, and parts assembly. Heat-treatment processes included annealing, which is heating the metal to make it stronger. Oil quenching, which is the process of using oil to harden the steel, was also used. These processes continued until site manufacturing operations ceased. Case-hardening using cyanide-salt baths was conducted until 1947. Case hardening involves hardening the outer layer of the metal while the inside remains soft. Through a series of mergers, in 1953 Rockwell became the site owner and operator, hi 1981, as part of its responsibilities under a federal law regulating the use of hazardous waste, Rockwell submitted a report notifying EPA of hazardous waste at the site. As a result, in 1984, EPA conducted a preliminary assessment, which showed contamination at the site. On July 22, 1987, the site was placed on the National Priorities List, a list of Superfund sites nationwide. Rockwell began to scale back operations in the mid- 1980s, and decommissioning activities began in 1987, although Rockwell continued to operate at the site until 1996. In 1990, inventory materials were transferred to other Rockwell facilities, floor drains were plugged and asbestos was removed. Also in 1990, the western section of the site was sold to the Allegan Industrial Redevelopment Corp. In 1992, tanks from an on-site wastewater treatment plant were cleaned and filled with sand. The eastern section of the site was sold to Allegan Metal Finishing in 1995. In 1996, ownership of the western section of the facility reverted to the city of Allegan. The eastern portion of the site was sold to JML Real Estate LLC in 2014. Rockwell's automotive division spun off into Meritor Inc., which later merged with Arvin Inc. to form ArvinMeritor Inc. In 2011, ArvinMeritor changed its name back to Meritor, the current party considered responsible for the cleanup at the site. MortjwVardi )tlementanyl *8iSchooHU City of/Allegan, »»:i/Vastewaterm W^lmatmentU MfSlantm Former Manufacturing . Building Area [.oiinera IPrWelllinel lAssembM iBuilejingl TJortlfStreetj ISITE FEATURES MAR 500 feet I —I 2 ------- Use this space to write your comments EPA is interested in your comments on the proposed changes to the groundwater cleanup plan for Rockwell International (Allegan Plant) site. You may use the space below to write your comments and fold, stamp and mail to EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Cheryl Allen. Comments must be postmarked by July 11. If you have questions, contact Allen at 312-353-6196, or toll-free at 800-621-8431, Ext. 36196, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., weekdays. Name: Affiliation: Address: City: State: Zip: ------- Rockwell International (Allegan Plant) Site - Comment Sheet Fold on dashed lines, seal, stamp, and mail Name Address City State Zip Cheryl Allen Community Involvement Coordinator U.S. EPA Region 5 Superfund Division (SI-7J) 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 ------- Site investigation In 1989, Meritor Inc. began an investigation under EPA oversight. Meritor submitted draft reports of that investigation to EPA in 1990, 1993, 1997 and 1998. However, EPA took over the investigation in 1998. The Agency completed its investigation at the site in 2001. The results of EPA's investigation showed the site posed a risk to people and the environment and required cleanup. Cleanup decision In 2001, EPA evaluated several alternatives for cleaning up the soil, groundwater, sediment and surface water m the on-site wastewater treatment plant holding ponds. In 2002, EPA selected a cleanup plan for the site, which included: • Digging up and disposing of contaminated soil and holding pond sediment off-site. • Demolishing and removing the former manufacturing building and foundation. • Investigating and removing any contaminated drains, etc., found under the building. • Restoring the site to current grade, with the option of allowing the areas near the Kalamazoo River to return to their historical elevation. • Restricting development and access to contamination. • Building a clay wall to surround the site (fully or partially) and restrict groundwater flow.* • Installing permeable material within the clay wall that reacts with the contaminants in the water to treat the groundwater before releasing it to the Kalamazoo River. This is called a permeable reactive barrier.* • Installing additional monitoring wells and developing a groundwater monitoring program. • Restricting groundwater use. • A contingency plan to complete the clay wall and extraction and treatment of groundwater if needed.* *jNote, these are the three components EPA is proposing to eliminate. Cleanup activities Contaminated soil and sediment were dug up and removed from the site from April 2006 to November 2006 and then again from October 2010 to January 2011. A total of 32,571 tons of contaminated soil and sediment were disposed of off-site. The site was also leveled and graded. Any contaminated groundwater exposed during the digging was treated on-site and discharged to the city of Allegan wastewater treatment plant. Also removed from the site were utilities, a historical oil- water separator, catch basins, and sewer and other piping. All excavated areas were backfilled with clean soil. The former manufacturing building and foundation were also demolished, but some building foundations and slabs remain. No contamination was found during testing in these areas. However, because there could be contamination beneath these foundations and slabs, access restrictions need to be implemented in these areas to ensure people remain protected. EPA is determining what groundwater and site use restrictions will be needed. In October 2012, EPA approved the groundwater monitoring program. The purpose of the monitoring was to evaluate the effectiveness of cleanup. As part of that plan, 21 new monitoring wells were installed in the areas most affected by contamination. The results of the sampling of those and 29 existing wells is what prompted this proposed change in the cleanup plan at the site. From about 1950 to 1974, the city of Allegan operated a municipal landfill partially on the site. An investigation showed no current or future risk posed by the landfill. In July 1995. EPA concluded that no cleanup needed to be done at the landfill. Digging up contaminated soil and sediment at the site. 3 ------- Next steps Before making a final decision on the proposed changes in the groundwater cleanup plan, EPA will review comments received during the public comment period. Based on the comments, EPA, working with MDEQ, may modify its recommended changes, so your opinion is important. The Agency encourages you to review and comment on this proposed change in the groundwater cleanup plan. More detailed information on the changes being proposed is available in the official documents on file at the information repositories or EPA's website (see box, right). EPA will respond to the comments in a document called a "Responsiveness Summary." This will be part of another document called the "Record of Decision Amendment" that describes the final cleanup plan. The Agency will announce the selected cleanup plan in a local newspaper, place a copy in the information repositories and post it on the Web. For more information You may review site-related documents at: Allegan Public Library 331 Hubbard St. Allegan On the Web: www.epa.gov/superfund/rockwell-intl-allegan/ An Administrative Record, which contains detailed information that will be used in the selection of the cleanup plan, is also located at the Allegan Public Library. jBdOfj pBp\Dd}j uo paonpouday ueid dnueeio jejeMpuncxio oj se6ueijo sesodcxid Vd3 :31IS (lNV~ld NV93~I~IV) -IVN0I1VNU31NI n3M>100U 06SE-KI9091I 'oBeojiio PAIS uos>per M LI (rz-is) uojSjAiQ punjjsdns g uo|60y AousBv uouoeiojd |B}U0ujuoj!au3 salens ps)iun Vd3'cv ------- |