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EPA Region 5 Records Ctr. 3S0900 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN FOR ASARCO TAYLOR SPRINGS SITE TAYLOR SPRINGS, ILLINOIS Prepared for: UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Superfund Division Region V 77 W. Jackson Boulevard Chicago, IL 60604 Prepared by: WESTON SOLUTIONS, INC. 20 N. Wacker, Suite 1210 Chicago, IL 60606 Date Prepared November 28, 2008 Technical Direction Document Number S05-0003-0711-016 Document Control Number. 339-2C-ACDH Contract Number EP-S5-06-04 START Project Lead Tonya Balla Telephone Number (847)918-4094 ' U.S. EPA Community involvement Coordinator Janet Pope Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE Section 1 Overview of the Community Involvement Plan 1-1 A Brief Explanation of the Superfund Process 1-1 Section 2 Site Background 2-1 Site Description 2-1 Site History 2-1 Sections Community Background 3-1 Community Profile 3-1 Chronology of Community Involvement 3-1 Key Community Comments and Concems 3-2 Health Concems 3-2 Contamination Throughout the Village 3-3 Information 3-3 Pleased Contamination Being Cleaned Up 3-3 Concern About Potential Contamination of the Lake 3-3 Section 4 Highlights of the Community Involvement Program 4-1 Enlist the Support and Participation of Local Officials and 4-1 Conununity Leaders Identify and Assess Citizen Perception of the Site 4-1 Provide Follow-up Explanations about Technical Activities and 4-2 Contaminants Inform the Community about the Procedures, Policies, and the 4-2 Requirements of the Superfund Program Sections Community Involvement Techniques 5-1 Maintain Contact with Local Officials and Community Leaders 5-1 Maintain Contact with Area Residents 5-1 Provide Site and Superfund Program Information on the Intemet 5-2 Maintain an Information Repository 5-3 Write and Distribute News Releases 5-3 Prepare and Distribute Fact Sheets or Update Reports • 5-4 Hold Public Meefings ^ 5-4 Publish Notices or Newspaper Advertisements 5-4 Public Meeting Transcript 5-4 Responsiveness Summary 5-5 Assist in the Development and Activities of a Community 5-5 Advisory Group — Revise the Community Involvement Plan - - -^ 5-5 Program Evaluation 5-5 Section 6 Timeframe for Community Involvement Activities 6-1 This document was prepared by Weston Solutions, Inc., expressly for EPA. It shall not be released or disclosed in whole or in part without the express, written permission of EPA. FINAL i Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDICES PAGE Appendix A Glossary A-1 Appendix B Informafion Repository and Public Meeting Locations B-1 Appendix C List of Contacts C-1 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE Figure 1 Site Location Map 2-3 Figure 2 Timeframe for Community Involvement Activities 6-1 This document was prepared by Weston Solutions, Inc., expressly for EPA. It shall not be released or disclosed in whole or in part without the express, written permission of EPA, FINAL ii Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site 1. OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Community Involvement Plan (CIP) in preparation for community involvement activities to be conducted during the investigation and cleanup activifies at the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) Taylor Springs Site in Taylor Springs, 111. This document provides information about community concems and presents a plan to enhance communication between local residents and EPA as the investigation and cleanup at the site progresses. (Words appearing in bold are defined in Appendix A.) The objective of community involvement is to involve the public in activities and decisions related to the investigation and cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The community involvement program promotes two-way communication between rnembers of the public and EPA. EPA has leamed that its decision-making ability is enhanced by actively solicifing comments and information from the public. Public input can be useful in two ways: • Communides provide valuable information on local history, citizen involvement and site conditions. • By expressing its concems, the community assists EPA in developing a response that more effectively addresses the community's needs. The information in this plan is based primarily on individual contact and public meetings between residents and local officials and EPA from February 2006 until April 2008. 1.1 A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE SUPERFUND PROCESS In 1980, the United States Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also called Superfund. CERCLA authorizes EPA to investigate and respond to hazardous substance releases that may endanger public health and the environment. Congress amended and reauthorized the Superfund law in October 1986 as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). If the site poses an immediate threat to pubhe-health or the environment, EPA can intervene with an emergency response action. Up until the time of the publishing of this document, staff from EPA's Emergency Response and Removal program have been overseeing the activities at the ASARCO Taylor Springs Site. The goal of EPA's This document was prepared by Weston Solutions, Inc., expressly for EPA. It shall not be released or disclosed in whole or in part without the express, written permission of EPA. FINAL 1-1 Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNfTY INVOLVEMENT PLAN Emergency Response and Removal Program is to protect the public and the environment from immediate threats posed by the release or discharge of hazardous substances. In addition to performing emergency response and removal actions at various sites, EPA conducts long-term cleanup actions at hundreds of seriously contaminated hazardous substance sites. These cases can take several years to fiilly study the problem, develop the best remedy, and clean up the contamination. At this time, the site is being turned over to the long-term cleanup program, which is called the remedial program. Under this program a more thorough investigation will be conducted. The investigation at the site, called a remedial investigation (Rl), will involve identifying the types of contaminants present at and near the site; determining the amount and level of contamination; and determining the potential risks to the community and environment. Upon completion of the investigation, EPA will develop a feasibility study (FS) to evaluate various alternatives to clean up the site. EPA will hold a public comment period on the cleanup altematives. At the end of the public comment period, the final cleanup plan will be approved and designed. The design and cleanup phase is referred to as the remedial design/remedial action (RD/RA). At the ASARCO Taylor Springs Site, EPA is currently negotiating with ASARCO and Blue Tee Corp., companies considered potentially responsible (called PRPs) for the contamination to conduct the investigation and design a way to clean up the contamination under EPA supervision. Photo of the site. This document was prepared by Weston Solutions, Inc., expressly for EPA. It shall not be released or disclosed in whole or in part without the express, written permission of EPA. FINAL 1-2 Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site 2. SITE BACKGROUND 2.1 SITE DESCRIPTION The ASARCO Taylor Springs site is a zinc oxide plant and a former primary metals plant located on the south side of the village of Taylor Springs, 111. The site occupies nearly 673 acres, of which 303 acres are wooded and 189 acres are used for agriculture. The former and current site operational area is on the remaining 181 acres. 2.2 SITE HISTORY The 181-acre Taylor Springs site is owned by ASARCO who purchased the property in 1971. Previously, the zinc oxide facility was operated by American Zinc Lead and Smelting Company (now Blue Tee Corp.) and more recently by Midwest Zinc. As part of the zinc smelting process, slag (a by-product of the smelting process) was produced and placed in waste piles or spread on the ground. In addition, particulate emissions containing cadmium, lead, zinc, and other substances were also produced. As part of the zinc oxide production process, various grades of slab zinc products, sulfuric acid, copper, aluminum, lead, coal combustion wastes (clinker) and slag were produced. A significant amount of slag within the facility is stored in a waste pile that occupies approximately 2.5 acres and a shallow waste pile that occupies approximately 9.1 acres. Over time, much of this slag and clinker material was placed on residential yards and driveways as fill. Contaminated soil outside of the plant was first identified by Illinois EPA in 2001 through a site assessment and soil testing. Illinois EPA has asked EPA to sample residential yards to further understand the extent of the contamination and initiate removal of the lead contamination in the yards. On September 26, 2006 EPA added the ASARCO Taylor Springs site, in Taylor Springs, 111., to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfiand hazardous waste sites. Sites on the NPL are eligible for additional study and resoiu-ces under EPA's Superfiind program. The 181-acre Taylor Springs site was.proposed for addition to.theNPL in April 20.06 followed by a public comment period. At the request of Illinois EPA, EPA's Emergency Response branch conducted a site assessment of soil lead concentrations in residential and pubhc areas in the village of Taylor Springs. Access was obtained at This document was prepared by Weston Solutions, Inc., expressly for EPA, It shall not be released or disclosed in whole or in part without the express, written permission of EPA. FINAL 2-1 Community Involvement Plan for ASARCO Taylor Springs Site SITE BACKGROUND approximately half of the residential properties in Taylor Springs, and sampling was conducted in June 2006. Results of this sampling found that 20 residential or public areas exceeded U.S.