Hagen Farm Superfund Site
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JACOBS TESIV FINAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN HAGEN FARM TOWN OF DUNKIRK, WISCONSIN JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INC. JE ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS DIVISION IN ASSOCIATION WITH: TETRA TECH METCALF & EDDY ICAIR LIFE SYSTEMS KELLOGG CORPORATION GEO/RESOURCE CONSULTANTS BATTELLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABORATORIES DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TECHNICAL ENFORCEMENT SUPPORT AT HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES EPA REGION V CONTRACT NO. 68-01-7351 WORK ASSIGNMENT NO. 492 FINAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN HAGEN FARM TOWN OF DUNKIRK, WISCONSIN JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INC. PROJECT NUMBER: 05-B492-00 JULY 1988 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SECTION 1.0 Introduction............................................................................................... 1 SECTION 2.0 Site History................................................................................................ 4 SECTION 3.0 Community Profile................................................................................. 7 SECTION 4.0 Issues and Concerns............................................................................... 9 SECTION 5.0 Community Relations Objectives And Activities........................................................................................... 11 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: Regional Map.................................................................................................. FIGURE 2: Site Map..............................................^^ FIGURE 3: Implementation Timeline.......................................................................... APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Mailing List.............................................................................................. 18 APPENDIX B: Public Meeting Locations and Information Repositories.................................................................... 27 APPENDIX C: List of Acronyms and Glossary Terms....................................... 28 1.0 INTRODUCTION This community relations plan (CRP) has been developed to prepare for community relations activities to be conducted before and during the remedial activities at the Hagen Farm site in the Town of Dunkirk, Wisconsin. The purpose of this document is to provide information about community concerns and present a plan to enhance communication between local residents and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). This plan will be revised as the remedial activities at the site move toward completion and community concerns are » reassessed. Information presented in this document was obtained from the U.S. EPA; the Madison, Wisconsin public library; the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and interviews with township and county officials, and residents of the Town of Dunkirk. The interviews were conducted in January 1988. This community relations plan consists of the following sections: o A description and brief history of the site. o A profile of the Town of Dunkirk community. o A discussion of past community involvement with the site and present community concerns about the site. o A discussion of community relations objectives for the site and activities designed to implement them. The CRP contains several appendices, including a mailing list of interested parties and organizations; a list of suggested locations for public meetings and information repositories, and a glossary of acronyms and technical terms. 1.1 The Superfund Process In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, more commonly known as "Superfund"). CERCLA authorizes U.S. EPA to investigate and respond to releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health, welfare and the environment. The 1980 law also set up a fund of $1.6 billion to pay for the investigation and cleanup of sites where parties responsible for the problems are unable or unwilling to clean up the sites. Congress amended and reauthorized the Superfund law in October 1986, increasing the size of the fund to about $8.5 billion. After it is initially discovered, a potential site is inspected, usually by a state agency. The state, U.S. EPA, or a U.S. EPA contractor then scores the site using a system called the hazard ranking system (HRS) that takes into account: 0 Possible health risks to the human population; 0 Potential hazards (e.g., from direct contact, inhalation, fire, or explosion) created by the substances at the site; 0 Potential for the substances at the site to contaminate the air or drinking water supplies, and 0 Potential for the substances at the site to pollute or harm the environment. If site problems are potentially serious enough based on its HRS score, it will be listed on U.S. EPA's National Priorities List (NPL), a national roster of uncontrolled or abandoned and hazardous waste sites. Sites on the NPL are eligible for investigation and cleanup under the Superfund program. After placement on the NPL, a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) is planned and conducted. If one or more parties potentially responsible for contamination problems at the site are found and agree to cooperate, the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) may then conduct the RI/FS under U.S. EPA supervision. PRPs may be hazardous waste generators, transporters, site operators or site owners. If no PRP is fourrtl or a PRP does not agree to perform the RI/FS, the investigation is undertaken by U.S. EPA, which may, through legal action, recover costs from a PRP at a later date. The RI identifies the type of contaminants present at and near the site, assesses the degree of contamination, and characterizes potential risks to the community. The feasibility study (FS) evaluates several alternative remedies for problems at the site. Upon completion of the FS, a 30-day public comment period is held, after which a specific long-term action is then chosen and designed. Once these planning activities are finished, the actual cleanup begins. The time needed to complete each of these steps is different for every site. In general, an RI/FS may take from one to two years. Designing the long-term action, if it is indicated by the FS, may take an additional six months. The final long-term action typically takes one to two years to put in place, although treatment of contaminated ground water, if needed, may take decades. If the site poses an immediate threat to public health or the environment at any time during the remedial process, U.S. EPA will intervene with an emergency response action. 2.0 SITE HISTORY The Hagen Farm site occupies about five acres at 2318 County Highway A, approximately one mile east of the City of Stoughton, Dane County, Wisconsin (Figure 1). The predominant use of surrounding land is sand and gravel mining and agriculture. The Stoughton Airfield is located adjacent to the northwest corner of the site. The City of Stoughton municipal wells are located about two miles west of the site. Eight private wells are located within 1,200 feet of the site. The site is located in a former sand and gravel pit. A subsidy of Waste Management of Wisconsin, Inc. (WMI), hauled wastes from Uniroyal Plastics, Inc. to the site from late 1962 to 1966. These wastes included organic solvents, solid vinyl, and other organic compounds. WDNR estimated that as many as 5,000 drums of waste material may have been disposed at the site. WDNR records indicate wastes from the City of Stoughton and other sources were also disposed at the site. The site consists of one main disposal area and two smaller areas (figure 2). In October 1980, WDNR received a complaint about the site from a resident alleging that the site had been used for the disposal of barrels during the 1960s. WDNR investigated the site and observed that the land, (which was then in use as a sheep pasture) contained outcroppings of solid vinyl and other evidence of past disposal practices. The site owner also reported that there was a large fire in the pasture shortly after he purchased the property in about 1970. Dunkirk Township Wisconsin A^ r T ff Figure 1 Site Location Map Ha gen Farm Site Dunkirk Township, Wl Residential Figure 2 Site Map Hagen Farm Site Dunkirk Township, Wl Local residential wells were sampled in November 1980. Traces of acetone and butyl acetate were detected in two private wells. As a safety precaution, WDNR suggested residents obtain an alternate drinking water source until the water was retested. The wells were re-sampled in December, along with an on-site well. On this occasion, no contamination was detected in the residential wells, and the residents were informed by WDNR that their water was safe to drink. However, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including 1,2-dichloroethylene, acetone, and butyl acetate were detected in the on-site well. In March 1981, WDNR began a program of quarterly well monitoring at and near the site. Traces of 1,2-dichloroethylene and other compounds were detected in on-site wells and nearby residential wells during 1981 and 1982. The site owner discovered a barrel containing liquid on the property during 1981. Chemical analyses of the barrel contents indicated the presence of: Trans-l,2-dichloroethylene; Vinyl chloride; Tetrahydrofuran (THF); M-xyiene; Dichlorodifluoromethane; Tetrachloroethene; Acetone; N-Butyl acetate; Trlchloroethene; Toluene; Methyl ethyl ketone; Methyl Isobutyl ketone; Bromoform, and Ethyl benzene. In November 1982, Uniroyal conducted a hydrogeologic study to evaluate the ground-water quality at and near the site. Xylene, ethylbenzene, toluene,