COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN Du PONT
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" \>"' COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN FOR Du PONT - NEWPORT SITE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region HI Prepared for EPA Region HI By Dynamac Corporation Under TES Vffl Contract No. 68-W9-0005 Work Assiguntnt No. C03007 For additional information, contact William Toffel Office of Public Affairs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (215) 597-6180 DU PONT - NEWPORT SUPERFUND SITE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN Table of Contents SECTION PAGE Preface 1 Section 1 - Overview of the Community Relations Plan 2 Section 2 - Site Description 4 Section 3 - Community Background 7 Section 4 - Highlights of the Community Relations Plan 10 Section 5 - Community Relations Activities and Tuning 12 APPENDICES Appendix A - Mailing last for Officials and Key Individuals A-l Appendix B - Information Repository Location and Possible Meeting Place B-l Appendix C - Media List C-l Appendix D - Technical Assistance Grant Information D-l FIGURES Figure 1 - Site Map 6 HR500QI3 PREFACE This Community Relations Plan for the Du Font-Newport Superfund Site was developed by Dynamac Corporation under Contract Number 68-W9-0005 (TES Vm), Work Assignment Number C03007, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IE. This Community Relations Plan is a working document which serves as a guide to communication with the affected community. The activities and schedules contained herein should be altered according to future circumstances that may dictate different or additional community relations activities. SECTION 1 OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN This Community Relations Plan ("CRP") identifies issues of community concern and interest related to the Du Font-Newport Superfund Site ("the Site"), located in Newport, New Castle County, Delaware and in unincorporated New Castle County. The CRP outlines community relations activities to be conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Region IQ Office during the Superfund remedial process at the Site. The community relations activities outlined herein are designed to provide information about Site developments and processes to interested citizens and officials of the area surrounding the Site and to highlight several specific areas of community concern. EPA conducts community relations activities to ensure that the local public has input to the decisions regarding Superfund actions in its area and is well-informed about the progress of Superfund actions in its area. This CRP is divided into the following sections: • SITE DESCRIPTION This section provides the basic historical, geographical, and technical details related to the Site. • COMMUNITY BACKGROUND This section describes the community in the area surrounding the Site and the public's concerns and interests. • HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN This section describes the CRP that has been developed to address community concerns at the Site. • COMMUNITY RELATIONS ACTIVITIES AND TIMING This section specifies the types of community relations activities that will be conducted at the Site and when these activities will be conducted. • APPENDICES The appendices provide names, addresses, and telephone numbers for: Federal, State, and local officials (elected and non-elected); potentially responsible parties; the public water supply companies; the information repository; and jJoeahuv^ia that may be used for the dissemination of site-specific information. AR5000I5 The information contained in this CRP is based primarily on Federal data obtained from Site investigations conducted by contractors and EPA officials, community interviews with government officials from the town of Newport and New Castle County, and community. interviews with private citizens from the town of Newport and the County of New Castle. Site-specific documents used in this CRP include: Du Pont (Woodward-Clyde Consultants) Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study Work Plan, Phase 2 (April 7, 1988); Du Pont (Woodward-Clyde Consultants) Chemistry Report (June 8, 1988); Du Pont (Woodward- Clyde Consultants) Wetlands Investigation (March 23, 1989); Du Pont (Woodward-Clyde Consultants) Data Sufficiency Memorandum, Phase 2 (April 7, 1989); and Du Pont Data Sufficiency Supplement, Remedial Investigation, Phase 2 (November 8, 1989). This data provided information necessary for the Site description and Community Background sections of this CRP. A mailing list of local officials and other key individuals who have expressed interest in Site activities is included in Appendix A. In addition, individuals consulted during the preparation of this CRP are included on this list, including EPA officials and elected public officials in the Newport and New Castle County, Delaware area. Public water supply companies with production wells located within a three-mile radius of the Site are listed in Appendix A as well. A list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of private citizens who have shown an interest in Site related activities is not included in Appendix A, but will be maintained at EPA Region IQ Office. Appendix B identifies the location of the information repository and a possible public meeting(s) place. Appendix C provides a list of media that may be used for the dissemination of Site-specific information. Appendix D lists information on Technical Assistance Grants. The EPA Region HI Office maintains lead responsibility for managing the Superfund remedial process at the Site and receives support from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). EPA Region Ed also maintains lead responsibility for the community relations activities at the Site. SECTION 2 SITE DESCRIPTION 2.1 SITE LOCATION The Du Font-Newport Superfund Site ("the Site") is located in Newport and New Castle County, Delaware, along the banks of the Christiana River, adjacent to Interstate 95 and Delaware Route 141. The Site includes the Du Pont Holly Run Plant, the CIBA-GEIGY Newport Plant, two landfills along the north and south banks of the Christiana River, adjacent wetlands, and the River (see Figure 1). The north landfill is a seven-acre parcel of land bounded to the north by the Du Pont Holly Run Plant and the CIBA-GEIGY Newport Plant and to the south by the Christiana River. The south landfill is a 15-acre parcel of land bounded to the north by the Christiana River, to the south and southwest by automobile salvage businesses along Old Airport Road, and to the east by Basin Road. The entrance to the Site is located at James and Water Streets. 22 SITE HISTORY The Site was originally owned by Henrik J. Krebs from 1902 to 1929. Activities conducted at the Site during this time period included the production of Lithopone, a white paint pigment In 1929, the Site was purchased by E J. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. (Du Pont), who continued the Lithopone production. Other activities were initiated by Du Pont during this period including the production of quinacridone and copper phthalocyanine pigment and the production of chromium dioxide magnetic tape. In 1984, CIBA-GEIGY Corporation (CIBA-GEIGY) bought the part of the Site used to produce paint pigments. The remaining part of the Site was retained by Du Pont, who continues to produce chromium dioxide magnetic tape at its Holly Run Plant. The two landfill areas were used primarily to dispose of pigment muds, by-products of the pigment production. Also disposed in the landfills were such products as trash, magnetic tape, and thoriated nickel. In 1973, the south landfill was closed and capped with soil. In 1974, the north landfill was closed and capped with clay. No landfilling has occurred at the Site since 1974. After 1974, Du Pont disposed its waste off-Site at a hazardous waste landfill. Since 1984, CIBA-GEIGY has also disposed its waste off-Site at a hazardous waste landfill. The Site was listed on the National Priorities List for inclusion in the Superfund Program on February 16,1990, after Site investigations conducted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in the early 1980's revealed the possibility of contamination at the Site. In 1988, Du Pont signed a Consent Order with EPA, requiring a detailed study of the contamination at the Site and its effect on human health and the environment This study is called a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) and is used at all Superfund sites to adequately determine the magnitude and extent of contamination. The RI/FS process at this Site involves an identification of the contaminants in the soil, ground water, surface water, and air and investigates how contaminants in these media affect the public and the environment This information will be used to determine what remedial actions may be required for the timely cleanup of the Site. Data collected for the Site has shown that the ground water flowing beneath the Site and the subsurface soil are contaminated with the inorganic elements barium, cadmium, and zinc and the organic substances tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The wetlands investigation has shown slightly elevated concentrations of lead in fish taken from the Christiana River near the Site and metals contamination in the sediments. The risk assessment will determine how these contaminants of concern will impact human health and the environment Currently, Phase HI of the RI is in progress. This Phase involves a detailed study of the above mentioned contaminants to determine the source and extent of contamination. Additional groundwater monitoring wells will be installed at the Site and sampled along