PROPOSED EXPLANATION OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES JULY 2023 WOODBROOK ROAD DUMP SUPERFUND SITE Site Name and Location Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund Site Borough of South Plainfield, Middlesex County, New Jersey EPA ID# NJSFN0204260 Introduction The purpose of this proposed Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) is to explain changes to the remedy selected by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the September 30, 2013, Record of Decision (2013 ROD), as modified by the February 5, 2018, ESD (2018 ESD) for the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund Site (Site). The major components of the remedy include excavation and off-site disposal of soil and debris with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations greater than 100 parts per million (ppm) at an approved disposal facility, excavation and off-site disposal of soil and debris that contain PCBs at concentrations greater than 1.0 ppm at an approved disposal facility, and establishment of institutional controls, such as a deed notice or covenant, to prevent a change in land use to an unrestricted use such as residential. The estimated cost of the remedy was identified in the 2013 ROD as $24.4 million. However, based upon further soil sampling conducted during the remedial design, EPA concluded that a higher volume of contaminated material than estimated in the 2013 ROD would need to be removed. In addition, the remedial design included on-site waste management costs that had not been included in the 2013 ROD estimate. As a result, the estimated cost for remediation increased to $45.3 million and this cost change was documented in the 2018 ESD. By memorandum dated November 12, 2020, then-Administrator Wheeler directed EPA Region 2, in consultation with EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), to conduct a review of the remedy selected in the 2013 ROD and the 2018 ESD. The Administrator's direction was based on recommendations in a November 11, 2020, memorandum (November 2020 Memorandum) from the then-Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management. EPA Region 2 conducted a focused feasibility study (FFS) to reevaluate the remedy and provide EPA with the basis and rationale to determine whether a modification to the remedy selected in the 2013 ROD and modified in the 2018 ESD is needed to address contamination at the Site. During the FFS process, the original risk assessments, performed under EPA oversight by the performing party, were reevaluated as directed by the November 2020 Memorandum, and EPA determined that the risk assessments had been conducted in accordance with EPA guidance. EPA concluded that the receptors evaluated in the human health risk assessment, including trespassers and utility workers, while conservative, are supported by Site conditions, and are consistent with CERCLA guidance and scenarios evaluated for similar sites in New Jersey. EPA also concluded that even if the receptors evaluated in the risk assessment had not included 652558 ------- trespassers, and the reasonably anticipated future use had been identified as "industrial" instead of "recreational," the basis for action would still exist and the soil remediation goal of 1 ppm PCBs identified in the 2013 ROD would have remained appropriate. The FFS considered the remedial alternative selected in the ROD among other remedial alternatives. The FFS analysis did not yield any new information or conclusion that would have led EPA to select a new remedy. The FFS did, however, establish that the estimated remedy cost has increased since the 2018 ESD, based on increased disposal costs due to inflation. In addition, during the FFS process, EPA updated the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs) and concluded that the remediation goal of 1.0 ppm for PCBs should be changed to 1.1 ppm. Finally, in 2021, the area where the Site is located was designated by New Jersey as the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, a 660-acre conservation area consisting of freshwater wetlands, forested uplands, and meadows in the highly urbanized, densely populated Middlesex County. Based on the above, EPA Region 2 is not proposing a new remedial alternative or any fundamental change to the remedy selected in the 2013 ROD and 2018 ESD. However, this proposed ESD documents the increased costs, the change in the remediation goal from 1 ppm to 1.1 ppm and the Site's location within the newly designated Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve. Under Section 117(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA or Superfund), EPA is required to publish an ESD when, after issuance of a ROD, the remedial action taken differs significantly, but not fundamentally, from the selected remedy. Sections 300.435(c)(2)(i) and 300.825(a)(2) of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) set forth the criteria for issuing an ESD and require that an ESD be published if the remedy is modified in a way that differs significantly in either scope, performance, or cost from the remedy selected in the ROD for the Site. For this Site, a reassessment of the remedy selected in the ROD resulted in an additional cost increase, and changes in the remediation goals and ARARs. This proposed ESD provides a brief history of the Site, describes the remedy as selected in the 2013 ROD and modified by the 2018 ESD, and explains how, subsequent to the finalization of the 2013 ROD and 2018 ESD, updated cost estimates were developed. This proposed ESD provides the basis of the modified cost estimate, remediation goals and ARARs, and acknowledges the Site's location within the newly designated Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve. This proposed ESD will be incorporated into the administrative record for the Site in accordance with Section 300.825(a)(2) of the NCP. The administrative record is available for review during business hours at EPA Region 2, 290 Broadway, New York, New York, at the information repository in the South Plainfield Public Library located at 2484 Plainfield Avenue in South Plainfield, New Jersey and online at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/woodbrook-road. Site Location, History, Contamination Problems, Selected Remedy The Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund Site is located primarily on two industrial-zoned properties in South Plainfield north of Woodbrook Road identified as Block 388, Lots 1 and 26, in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The properties cover approximately 70 acres of heavily 2 ------- wooded and undeveloped land within the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, formerly known as the Dismal Swamp. Dumps were operated on the two properties by previous owners during the 1940s and 1950s, accepting household and industrial wastes until reportedly shut down by the State of New Jersey in 1958, although aerial photography analysis indicates that dumping subsequently occurred at the Site. Texas Eastern Terminal Company (TETCO) acquired the properties in 1971 and 1972. The surrounding area consists of a mixture of undeveloped/open space and residential and industrial properties. The Site is transected by the northwest-flowing Bound Brook, which ultimately discharges to Green Brook and the Raritan River. Three tributaries and a body of standing water also bound portions of the Site and discharge to Bound Brook. See Figure 1. In September 1999, members of the non-profit organization Edison Wetlands Association discovered weathered electrical capacitors on the western portion of the Site. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) sampled material inside one capacitor and recorded greater than 50 ppm of PCBs with a field screening kit. NJDEP also observed the name "Cornell Dubilier" on small phenolic ballast containers. Cornell-Dubilier Electronics, Inc. (CDE) used PCBs in the process of manufacturing capacitors from 1936 to 1962 at a South Plainfield facility, another Superfund site located approximately 0.75 miles northwest of the Site. NJDEP requested EPA take the lead for the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund Site in October 1999. In March 2000, the owner of the majority of the Site, TETCO, removed and disposed of 26 capacitors, installed a fence and posted warning signs surrounding Disposal Area 1, with EPA oversight. Soil sampling performed by EPA during this time near Disposal Area 1, located on Block 388, Lot 26, indicated the presence of PCBs in the soil. In April 2000, Disposal Area 2, containing capacitor parts, was discovered on Lot 26. Soil samples collected in this area by EPA indicated elevated PCB concentrations. Additional preventative security measures were implemented by TETCO, including installation of additional fencing, warning signs and road- side barriers to limit access by all-terrain vehicles, which periodically trespassed on the Site. In 2000, EPA performed test pit excavations and sampling of surface water, sediment, domestic well water, groundwater and soil throughout both lots and at some off-site locations. Based on the results of these investigations, the Site was placed on the National Priorities List on April 30, 2003. In August 2003, TETCO entered into an administrative order on consent with EPA to further investigate and study the Site through a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) and to implement additional Site security measures. A contractor for TETCO, TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC), initiated the RI in 2007, which included sampling of groundwater, potable water, surface water, sediment as well as surface and subsurface soil on- and off-site. Under EPA oversight, TETCO, through TRC, completed a baseline human health risk assessment for the Site in July 2011 and a screening level ecological risk assessment in February 2012. The Draft Final RI Report, which summarizes the data and risk assessments, was approved by EPA in July 2012 and the Final Draft FS was approved by EPA in July 2013. In 2009, a Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) was formed to keep the public apprised of activities at the Site. The CAG meets every three to four months or as needed for 3 ------- updates, presentations and discussions about progress at the Site. In August 2013, based on the results of the RI, risk assessments, and FS, EPA issued a Proposed Plan identifying EPA's preferred alternative for the Site cleanup. The RI designated soil and debris with PCB concentrations >100 ppm as hot spots. After receiving and evaluating public comments, in September 2013, EPA issued a ROD that describes the selected remedy for the Site. The selected remedy satisfies the requirements of CERCLA Section 121 and the NCP's nine evaluation criteria for remedial alternatives, 40 CFR §300.430(e)(9). The selected remedy includes the following major components: Excavation and off-site disposal of an estimated 4,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains capacitors, capacitor parts and PCB-contaminated soil and debris with PCB concentrations greater than 100 ppm to an approved off-site disposal facility. Excavation and off-site disposal of an estimated 120,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains PCBs at concentrations greater than 1.0 ppm to an approved off-site disposal facility. The establishment of institutional controls, such as a deed notice or covenant, to prevent a change in land use to an unrestricted land use such as residential. EPA conducted the remedial design (RD) from 2014 to 2017, which included a robust soil sampling program to delineate the remediation zone for excavation. The RD concluded that utilizing rail transportation, as preferred by the public during the public comment period, rather than trucks to transport excavated materials for disposal would be cost effective. When designing the remedy, EPA determined that elements of the remedy were not included in TETCO's cost estimate in the feasibility study, including surface water controls/management, wetland rehabilitation and underestimated disposal costs. The estimated cost of the remedy increased from $24.4 to $45.3 million. EPA issued an ESD in 2018 to document the basis for the revised cost and additional work. Description of this Significant Differences and the Basis for the Differences The 2013 ROD estimated that the remedy would cost $24.4 million. As described above, based on the RD, the estimated cost for remediation increased to $45.3 million and this increase was memorialized through a 2018 ESD. This proposed ESD further modifies the cost of the selected remedy, specifically the component that addresses excavation and off-site disposal of soil and debris contaminated with PCBs. In response to the November 2020 Memorandum, EPA Region 2 conducted an FFS to reevaluate the selected remedy in the 2013 ROD and 2018 ESD. Based on the FFS, EPA has determined that the analysis of the remedial alternatives conducted in the original 2013 FS remains valid. The FFS analysis did not yield any information identified subsequent to 2013 that would cause EPA to select a different remedy. However, primarily due to inflation, costs have increased for all the alternatives considered and the selected remedy cost is now estimated at $70 million (see Table 1). 4 ------- During the FFS reevaluation, EPA determined that the land use and ARARs identified in the ROD needed to be revised. In 2021, the New Jersey state legislature enacted New Jersey Bill A5822, renaming the Dismal Swamp to honor Peter J. Barnes III, a late New Jersey state politician. The Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preservation Act indicates that the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve is a 660-acre conservation area consisting of freshwater wetlands, forested uplands, and meadows in the highly urbanized, densely populated Middlesex County. The act calls for the local governing bodies of Edison Township, Metuchen Borough, and South Plainfield Borough to establish a Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preservation Commission to review, approve, reject, and/or modify all applications for development within the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve. The act defined the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve as the area located within Edison Township, Metuchen Borough, and South Plainfield Borough in Middlesex County as delineated by a metes and bounds description approved by a resolution adopted by the respective local governing bodies of those municipalities. In addition, in 2021, NJDEP promulgated revised soil remediation standards pursuant to New Jersey law, renaming the standards and separating direct contact soil remediation standards into one set of standards for ingestion-dermal exposure, and another set for inhalation exposure. The standards formerly known as the New Jersey non-residential direct contact soil remediation standards (NJNRDCSRS) are now known as the New Jersey non-residential soil remediation standards (NJNRSRS). The NJNRSRS for ingestion-dermal exposure for PCBs was increased in this process, from 1.0 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg), the NJNRDCSRS in 2013, to 1.1 mg/kg. Based on this update to the NJDEP standards, EPA will change the remediation goal for the Site to 1.1 mg/kg, as opposed to the goal of 1 mg/kg identified in the ROD (where it was referred to as 1.0 ppm). This change in the standard will cause only a slight decrease to excavation volumes from those set forth in the 2018 ESD. EPA has conducted the FFS in response to the November 2020 Memorandum and to determine if there should be a change to the original alternative selected in the 2013 ROD, which was Alternative 6. As described above, based on the findings of the FFS, EPA will not change the original remedy; however, EPA acknowledges with this proposed ESD that there have been updates to the original remedy since the 2013 ROD and 2018 ESD. The remedy selected in the 2013 ROD equates to Alternative 5 in the FFS. Support Agency Comments The State of New Jersey concurs with this proposed ESD, which modifies the cost estimate for the remedy selected in the 2013 ROD, as modified by the 2018 ESD, and also identifies a new remediation goal and an acknowledgement of the Site's location within the newly designated Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve. Affirmation of Statutory Determinations EPA, after consultation with NJDEP, is issuing this proposed ESD. The proposed ESD modifies the estimated cost to implement the remedy, identifies a new remediation goal for PCBs of 1.1 mg/kg and acknowledges the Site's location within the newly designated Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve. The scope and performance of the remedy is not being modified by this 5 ------- proposed ESD. The remedy is protective of human health and the environment and will comply with federal and State requirements that are legally applicable or relevant and appropriate to the remedial action. The remedy is technically feasible, cost-effective, and satisfies the statutory requirements of CERCLA by providing for a remedial action that permanently and significantly reduces the toxicity, mobility and volume of hazardous substances at the Site. Because this remedy, as modified by this proposed ESD, will result in hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants remaining on site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, a statutory review will be conducted no less often than each five years after the initiation of the remedial action to ensure that the remedy is, or will be, protective of human health and the environment. Public Participation Activities In accordance with Section 117(d) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Section 9617(d) and Section 300.435 of the NCP, 40 CFR Section 300.435, EPA published a public notice in the Home News Tribune newspaper on July 13, 2023, informing the public of the availability of this proposed ESD for review and comment. EPA is providing the public an opportunity to comment on the changes described in this proposed ESD. A thirty (30) day public comment period is established with the issuance of this proposed ESD, and EPA will accept comments from July 14 through August 14, 2023. EPA's responses to comments received during this period will be documented in a Responsiveness Summary, which will be included as an attachment to the final ESD. This proposed ESD, and the documents which form the basis for the decision to modify the ROD by including the updated cost estimates associated with excavation of soil and debris contaminated with PCBs and identifying a new remediation goal for PCBs of 1.1 mg/kg are part of the administrative record maintained for the Site in accordance with Section 300.825(a)(2) of the NCP. The administrative record is available for review during business hours at the EPA Region 2 offices, 290 Broadway, New York, New York; at the information repository in the South Plainfield Public Library located at 2484 Plainfield Avenue in South Plainfield, New Jersey; and online at www.epa.gov/superfund/woodbrook- road. EPA recommends calling the EPA Region 2 Superfund Records Center at (212) 637-4308 to confirm an appointment time before visiting. In addition, EPA will announce the availability of the proposed ESD under "Announcements" on the same webpage, www.epa.gov/superfund/woodbrook-road. Pat Evangelista, Director Date Superfund and Emergency Management Division 6 ------- Table 1 - Cost Estimate Summary for 2018 ESD Remedy (Updated to Current Dollars) Woodbrook Road Dump Site, South Plainfield, New Jersey March 2023 Description Unit Quantity1 Unit Updated Unit Cost (Current Dollars)2 Updated Line Item Cost (Current Dollars) General Requirements $8,371,400 General Conditions 1 LS $6,357,300 $6,357,300 Safety, Health & Emergency Response 1 LS $154,000 $154,000 Temporary On Site Facilities 1 LS $625,500 $625,500 Site Security 1 LS $823,000 $823,000 Surveying 1 LS $411,600 $411,600 Site Preparation $6,345,700 Pre-Excavation Sampling 1 LS $105,000 $105,000 Clearing and Grubbing 1 LS $147,500 $147,500 Soil Erosion Sediment Controls 1 LS $285,700 $285,700 Flood Control Installation 1 LS $248,500 $248,500 Access Roads / Bridges 1 LS $1,413,800 $1,413,800 Soil Containment Area 1 LS $330,100 $330,100 Rail Spur / Loadout Area 1 LS $3,023,600 $3,023,600 Sheet Pile Installation 1,330 LF $576 $766,100 Monitoring Well Abandonment 1 LS $25,400 $25,400 Dewatering / Water Treatment $2,234,800 Water Treatment System 1 LS $586,300 $586,300 Operation of Water Treatment System 1 LS $1,648,500 $1,648,500 Excavation, Waste Handling, and Disposal $34,400,500 Excavation 143,090 BCY $49 $7,011,400 Excavation /Grading Uncontaminated Material 29,250 BCY $45 $1,316,300 T&D TSCA Waste3 16,470 TON $358 $5,896,300 T&D Non-TSCA Waste3 169,550 TON $119 $20,176,500 Restoration $6,074,100 Backfill / Grading Excavation Areas 62,300 ECY $35 $2,180,500 Removal Site Infrastructure 1 LS $2,875,000 $2,875,000 Wetland Restoration 13.5 AC $54,700 $738,400 Upland Area Seeding 20.4 AC $3,100 $63,200 Wetland Restoration Monitoring & Maintenance 5 YR $43,400 $217,000 Subtotal $57,426,500 Contingency (10%)1 $5,742,700 Project Management & Support (12%)1 $6,891,200 Total Capital Cost $70,060,400 1. Line items (including contingency and project management and support) and associated unit quantities and percentages within this updated estimate were unchanged from the remedy cost estimate previously presented in the 2018 ESD. 2. Unit costs (except those line items noted in Footnote 3) were revised to reflect March 2023 dollars using composite escalation indices for Qtr 2 FY18 and Qtr 2 FY23 within Table 1 (Quarterly Cost Indices) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Construction Cost Index System (CWCCIS), EM 1110-2-1304, latest edition published September 30, 2022. No additional adjustment was made for the revised unit costs, beyond rounding. 3. Unit costs noted in Footnote 3 for transportation and disposal of wastes originally identified in the 2018 ESD were revised to reflect March 2023 dollars using December 2021 vendor quotes, which were escalated from 1Q22 to 2Q23 using Table 1 (Quarterly Cost Indices) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Construction Cost Index System (CWCCIS), EM 1110-2-1304, latest edition published September 30, 2022. The vendor quotes were normalized to reflect costs typically borne by a remedial action contractor consistent with other line items. 7 ------- SITE BOUNDARY BOUND BROOI^i L*ŤO0 BOUND BROOK FIGURE 1 - From TRC Environmental Corporation, June 08, 2012 8 ------- |