Community Involvement Plan
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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Former Manufactured Gas Plant Site Norfolk, Nebraska September 2012 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 7 30284730 i Superfund The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund Community Involvement Program is committed to providing communication between citizens and the Agency. Active public involvement is crucial to the success of any public project. EPA's community involvement activities at the Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Former Manufactured Gas Plant Site Are designed to; " Inform the public of the nature of the environmental issues associated with, the Site, Involve the public in the decision-making process that will affect them, Involve the public in the responses under consideration to remedy these issues, and Inform the public of the progress being made to implement the response actions. Table of Contents Section Page 1.0 Overview of the Community Involvement Plan 1 2.0 Capsule Site Description 1 2.1 Site History 1 2.2 Site Description/Location 2 2.3 Site Inspections and Cleanup Activities 2 3.0 Community Background 4 3.1 Community Profile 4 3.2 History of Community Involvement 4 3.3 Key Community Concerns 5 3.4 Response to Community Concerns 5 3.5 Summary of Communication Needs 5 4.0 EPA's Community Involvement Program 6 4.1 Goals 6 4.2 Objectives ...6 4.3 Key Messages 6 4.4 Target Audiences 7 4.5 Projected Schedule for Community Involvement Activities 7 4.6 Community Involvement Resources 7 Appendices: A Federal Elected Officials 9 B State Elected Officials ; . 9 C Local Contacts 10 D EPA Regional Contacts 10 E State Agencies 10 F Meeting Locations _'_ 10 G Local Media _• 11 H Repository Locations 11 I Community Interview Questions 12 1 Section 1.0 Overview of the Community Involvement Plan The EPA developed this Community Involvement Plan (CIP) to facilitate two-way communication between the community impacted by the Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Site and to encourage community involvement in Site activities. This is the first CIP developed for this Site. The EPA will utilize the community involvement activities outlined in this plan to ensure that residents are continuously informed and provided opportunities to be involved in the Superfund process. The CIP addresses the Site relationship to the community and the EPA (Section 2.0), provides a background ofthe community (Section 3.0), presents the EPA's community involvement program (Section 4.0), and provides a listing of resources available, (Appendices). The EPA drew upon several information sources to develop this plan, including community interviews and Site files. The EPA's Regional Office in Kansas City, Kansas, will oversee the implementation of the community involvement activities outlined in this plan. After October 15, 2012, the Regional Office will be located in Lenexa, Kansas. Section 2.0 Capsule Site Description 2.1 Site Background and History The Norfolk Light & Fuel Company began acquiring the parcels forming the Site in September 1902 and began operating a gasoline town plant in 1903. Both the gasoline town plant and the MGP operated between 1907 and 1909. The 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map is the first available that shows the MGP; however, it does not indicate the type of gas manufactured at the plant. The MGP originally produced gas by the Tenney water gas process. The Norfolk Light & Fuel Company manufactured utility gas until 1924 when the Nebraska Gas Co. took ownership. However, historical deed records indicate that the Central West Public Service Company of Nebraska purchased a portion of the Site from the Norfolk Light & Fuel Company in July 1927, currently referred to as the Black Hills (BH) parcel. The Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power (INLP) Company purchased the BH parcel in 1931 and switched the MGP to a carbureted gas process. The BH parcel was purchased in 1945 by Central Electric and Gas Company, who operated the Site until 1948 when it was converted to a propane-air plant. In 1976, Central Electric and Gas Company sold the Site to Minnesota Gas Company. People's Natural Gas Company purchased the BH parcel in 1993 from Arkla, Inc. (successor to Central Telephone & Utilities Corporation, Minnesota Gas Company and Minnegasco). In 2008, the property was purchased by Black Hills/Nebraska Gas Utility Company, LLC, the current owner of the Site, from Aquila (formerly Peoples Natural Gas Company, a division of Utilicorp United, Inc.). 2 In 1941, Consumers Public Power District, now Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), acquired from INLP Company, all properties and assets of INLP in the State of Nebraska used or useful in the production, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy, including the NPPD Parcel. Per the Bill of Sale between INLP and Consumers Public Power District, dated April 4, 1941, this purchase specifically excluded the sale of any property or assets of INLP situated in Nebraska which were used or useful primarily in the production, manufacture, storage, transmission, distribution or sale of natural or manufactured gas. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from 1909, 1916, 1925, and 1946 show that significant changes were made to the MGP during its operating life. Based on the 1955 Sanborn Fire Insurance map, all above-grade former MGP structures were removed from the Site. 2.2 Site Description/Location The City of Norfolk is in the east northern portion of the State of Nebraska in Madison County. The Site is west of 7th Street between Norfolk and Madison Avenues and is bisected by the alley running east-west between 7th and 8lh Streets. The east portion of the Site north of the alley, as well as the northeast portion of the area south of the alley (BH Parcel), is currently owned by Black Hills/Nebraska Gas Utility Company, LLC. The remainder of the Site, referred to as the NPPD parcel, is owned by the NPPD. The BH Parcel contains historical MGP buildings once used as office, warehouse, and maintenance areas. The NPPD Parcel contains administration offices, a maintenance building, an electrical substation, and a gravel-covered area used for parking and equipment storage (including transformers). The buildings located on the Site are currently not occupied. Commercial tenants occupy the buildings to the west of the BH Parcel north of the alley. The Site is in an area zoned for multiple uses, including downtown and mixed use, public facilities, retail, and single family residential. The commercial properties near the Site include a paint, wall covering, and carpet store, an equipment rental store, an antique store, a tattoo parlor, a tire repair shop, a pizza delivery restaurant, an abandoned restaurant, and a building supply center/lumber yard. The closest residences are located along the west side of 8th Street adjacent to the NPPD Parcel. 2.3 Site Inspections and Cleanup Activities Two environmental Site investigations were completed previously; a site investigation by HDR Engineering in 1992 (HDR 1992) and an Expanded Site Inspection (ESI) by the EPA in 2001 (EPA 2001). These investigation activities included the installation of three monitoring wells, numerous soil probes/borings, and the sampling and analysis of soil, ground water, and storm sewer samples. 3 The HDR site investigation included six soil borings, three of which were eventually converted to monitoring wells. Semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and VOCs including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes (BTEXs) were detected in each boring. The water removed from all three monitoring wells after purging and sampling had a sheen and odor. BTEXs and PAHs were detected in all of the ground water samples. The EPA ESI included the collection of soil and ground water data intended to determine the extent of soil contamination at the Site and the extent of ground water contamination downgradient and cross-gradient of the Site. The investigation also included collecting storm sewer samples and ground water samples from municipal, private and monitoring wells. ' , The soil samples analyzed by the EPA Region 7 laboratory contained detections of the PAHs including pyrene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, indeno( 1,2,3 cd)pyrene and chrysene. Background soil samples were collected from one probe advanced northwest of the Site. BTEXs and PAHs were not detected in any of these samples. At all sample locations with PAH detections, naphthalene was detected. A background ground water sample was collected from probe GP-8 between 33 and 37 feet below ground surface. The sample contained no PAHs or BTEXs. The only potential MGP- related analyte detected in the sample was barium at 74.4 micrograms per liter (ug/L). The sampled municipal wells located between the Site and the North Fork of the Elkhorn River are approximately 0.5 miles east ofthe Site. All of these municipal wells contained VOCs including benzene at concentrations ranging from 0.14 to 3.8 ug/L. Chlorinated VOCs were also detected in the municipal well samples. No PAHs were detected in any of the samples. The benzene contamination in municipal wells M-l and M-2 has been attributed to a leaking underground storage tank (LUST) near the city's water supply wells. Municipal well M-l 0, approximately 3.5 miles west of town, was sampled as a background well and did not have any detections of VOCs or PAHs (EPA 2001). No private wells were found to contain PAHs. The only private well to contain any BTEX compound was the Henningsen Food Well which contained 0.02 ug/L of benzene. This well at 324 North 3rd Street is-approximately 0.5 miles northeast and cross-gradient of the Site. Several LUST sites are located between this well and the Site.