BIG RIVER SAND COMPANY KANSAS EPA ID# KSD980686174 EPA Region 7 City: Wichita County: Sedgwick County Other Names: 06/10/2008 SITE DESCRIPTION The Big River Sand Company site is a 123-acre sand and gravel mining operation that lies 1/2 mile west of the Arkansas River and next to the Wichita Valley Center Floodway. The western half of the site has been, and continues to be, extensively mined. The eastern half belongs to the former owner of the entire property. During the 1970s, roughly 2,000 drums of paint-related waste were disposed of on the site next to a 5-acre sand quarry lake. In 1978, the Big River Sand Company bought 80 acres of the site and, in 1982, under the sales agreement and a court order, the previous owner started moving the drums to his side of the property. Nearly 200 drums had been transferred before the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE) stopped the action. The facility was not licensed to store or dispose of the waste and on-site workers did not use protective equipment. The State's intervention in 1982, showed that drums on site were damaged, corroded, and leaking. Waste solvents and paint sludges from several drums contained metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which were flammable. In 1984, the State and the property owner completed a surface cleanup. All paint wastes were taken off site, as were about 2,000 barrels and four large solvent storage tanks. State analysts found solvents and heavy metals in nearby residential wells in 1982 and 1984. Approximately 25 homes lie within 1/4 mile to the west of the property. Two offices and three homes are located on the site's southern edge. An estimated 1,000 people draw drinking water from wells located within a 3-mile radius of the site. Ground water also is used for crop irrigation and industrial processes. Site Responsibility: This site was addressed through Federal and State actions. NPL LISTING HISTORY Proposed Date: 10/15/84 Final Date: 06/10/86 ------- Deleted Date: 10/14/92 THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS This site presents no significant threat to human health or the environment, since cleanup actions and natural processes have reduced contaminant levels; however, people using private wells in the area should be advised that the natural levels of iron, manganese, and selenium in their wells are higher than State and Federal standards recommend. CLEANUP APPROACH Response Action Status Remedial investigations were conducted by EPA in 1986 and 1987. Based on information and data obtained by the investigations, EPA and the state determined no further action was necessary. Site Facts: The State ordered a potentially responsible party to conduct cleanup of surface contamination in September 1982. From 1982-1987, the state provided oversight of cleanup activities performed by the party. Approximately 40 cubic yards of hazardous paint sludges were removed and 10,000 gallons of solvent were recycled from over 2,000 drums found at the site. ------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS After intensive investigations, EPA and the State determined that the Big River Sand Company site does not pose a threat to the community or the environment. In a Record of Decision signed in June 1988, EPA and the state determined no further actions was necessary. The site was deleted from the NPL on October 14, 1992. When the second five-year review was conducted in 2003, it was determined that the ground water no longer had levels of selenium contamination above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). It was recommended, and accepted, that no further five-year reviews be conducted. Before this site is archived, EPA needs to ensure that any monitoring wells which had been installed at the site have been abandoned in accordance with KDHE regulations. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT December 2003 - Fact sheet mailed announcing start of second five-year review and a display ad was place in the Wichita Eagle . ------- SITE REPOSITORY Wichita Public Library Superfund Records Center 223 S. Main Street 901 N. 5th St. Wichita, KS 67202 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: Bill Gresham gresham.bill@epa.gov (913)551-7804 Beckie Himes (913)551-7253 himes.beckie@epa.gov Fred Molloy (785)296-1682 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION STATE: KS 075N CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: 04 EPA ORGANIZATION: SFD-MOKS/SUPR MODIFICATIONS Created by: Karla Created Date: 10/20/97 03:23 PM Asberry/SUPRFUND/R7/U S EPA/US Last Modified by: Beckie Last Modified Date: 06/10/2008 03:18 PM Himes/R7/USEPA/US ------- |