Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund Site Community Update August 2012 Need more information? Here are three ways to get what you need: Call or e-mail: EPA personnel will be happy to answer your questions or add you to our Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Site mailing list. You can call or e-mail: Michael Basile Community Involvement Coordinator 716 551-4410 Basile.Michael@epa.gov Jennifer LaPoma Remedial Project Manager 212 637-4328 LaPoma.Jennifer@epa.gov Surf the net: EPA has information on the superfund process, the Lehigh Valley Derailment Site and other hazardous waste sites in our region on our Web site. You can also join our Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment mailing list to receive updates on EPA's activities at: http://www.epa.gov/region2/ superfund/npl/lehighvalley/ Current Status: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 (EPA) is providing this notice to inform you of the status of activities at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund Site, located in the Town of LeRoy, Genesse County, NY. Unicorn Management Consultants, LLC (UMC) hired by Lehigh Valley Railroad Company (LVRR) will be conducting additional investigations in the August of 2012. In May 2012, EPA approved UMC's plan to install one (1) monitoring well clusters in LeRoy, NY to provide a better delineation of the site related contamination north of the Spill Area. This plan also included the installation of three (3) monitoring well clusters east of Spring Creek and three (3) well clusters to be installed east of North Street in Caledonia, New York. These six (6) monitoring well clusters in Caledonia are expected to more specifically identify the eastern edge of contamination. Samples which measure the amount of trichloroethene (TCE) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the soil gas (the air space between soil particles) will be collected in a designated pathway along North Street in Caledonia, NY. The results of the soil gas and additional monitoring well sampling will help to determine whether site related contamination migrates beneath Spring Creek. Site Background: The Lehigh Valley Derailment Superfund Site is the location of a December 6, 1970 train derailment, where approximately one ton of cyanide crystals and approximately 35,000 gallons of TCE spilled on to the railroad right-of-way. The spilled TCE contaminated the soil and ground water beneath the site. The plume of contaminated ground water extends approximately four miles to the east and southeast of the site. The cyanide crystals were removed from the frozen ground surface immediately after the derailment by the LVRR; the TCE was not recovered. After the spill, drinking water wells in the area were found to have TCE contamination. LVRR, working with County and State health officials, provided drinking water to ------- Community Update August 2012 Read: You can review documents on the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Site at EPA's Records Center located at: EPA Region 2 Superfund Records Center 290 Broadway, 18th Floor New York, NY 10007- 1866 Caledonia Library 3108 Main St. Caledonia, NY 14423 Woodward Memorial Library 7 Wolcott St. LeRoy, NY 14482 residents with contaminated wells. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation conducted a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study of the site from 1992 to 1997. NYSDEC selected a remedy in 1997, which included the construction of a waterline, excavation of TCE contaminated soils in the immediate spill area and extraction of vapors from the bedrock. At the state's request, the EPA proposed the site to the National Priorities List in 1998 and was formally listed in 1999. Working with NYSDEC, the construction of a waterline was completed in 2003 to provide a more permanent solution to those who previously had individual filtration systems installed on their private wells. The EPA and the Lehigh Valley Railroad reached an agreement in 2006. Since that time a remedial investigation for groundwater has been underway. As part of that effort, LVRR has also sampled for contaminated vapors in nearby homes and installed vapor intrusion mitigation systems in homes that needed them based on testing results. The mitigation systems have been effective in controlling the vapors. The EPA continues its work to ensure that the vapors from this contamination are not seeping into homes or buildings, similar to the way that radon gas can, and causing vapors at unacceptable levels. What's Next: LVRR will be submitting to EPA a draft Remedial Investigation Report, which will detail the extent and nature of ground water contamination. This report is expected to be submitted to the EPA by the end of 2012. As this report is finalized it will be made available to the public and incorporated into the site repository. The remedial design to address contaminated soils at the site is additionally underway. Please join the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund Site mailing list to be kept informed about any updates related to the site. For more information on the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Site: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/lehighvalley/ ------- |