Third Five-Year Review Report for the Tar Creek Superfund Site Ottawa County, Oklahoma
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Five-Year Review Report Third Five-Year Review Report for the Tar Creek Superfund Site Ottawa County, Oklahoma September 2005 PREPARED BY: CH2M HILL Contract Number 68-W6-0036 Work Assignment Number 133-FRFE-06ZZ PREPARED FOR: Region 6 United States Environmental Protection Agency Dallas, Texas TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE THIRD FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT THIRD FIVE-YEAR REVIEW Tar Creek Superfund Site EPA ID# OKD980629844 Ottawa County, Oklahoma This memorandum documents the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) performance, determinations, and approval of the Tar Creek Superfund Site (site) third five-year review under Section 121(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 United States Code (USC) §9621(c), as provided in the attached Third Five-Year Review Report prepared by CH2M HILL, Inc., on behalf of EPA. Summary of Five-Year Review Findings The third five-year review for this site indicates that the remedial actions set forth in the decision documents for this site continue to be implemented as planned. A Long-Term Monitoring program for the Roubidoux Aquifer is being conducted by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to determine the effectiveness of the well plugging program as required by the Operable Unit (OU) 1 Record of Decision (ROD). Additional abandoned Roubidoux wells have been plugged by the ODEQ, and both the ODEQ and EPA continue to evaluate the need to plug abandoned Roubidoux wells, once identified and located, as required by the OU1 ROD. There are also several diversion channels and dikes, constructed as part of the surface water remedy for OU1, present at the site. As noted in previous five-year reviews, the discharges of acid mine water to Tar Creek have not decreased significantly since the construction of the dikes and diversion channels. This five-year review continues to find that the fund-balancing Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) waiver related to environmental risks, as determined by the OU1 ROD, is appropriate for the site. Additional hydrologic modeling and a passive treatment pilot study (through constructed wetlands) are being conducted that may address surface water issues at the site. Until the results of these efforts are available, a determination on the feasibility of passive treatment technology to address the environmental risks associated with surface water cannot be made. It would still be cost prohibitive to institute additional engineering remedies to address environmental risks, and this cost would potentially drain the Superfund and impact the EPA’s ability to address other releases under CERCLA and the National Contingency Plan (NCP). Residential yard and High Access Area remediation continues at the site as required by the OU2 ROD. The OU2 ROD stated that a five-year review for the Remedial Actions (RA) being implemented under the ROD will not be required. However, the EPA has issued an Explanation of Significant Difference (ESD) for the OU2 ROD that requires five-year reviews of the OU2 remedy. TC_5YR_2005-0925_TEXT.DOC PAGE A SEPTEMBER 2005 TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE THIRD FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT OU3, regarding abandoned laboratory chemicals at the former Eagle-Picher Office Complex, located in Cardin, Oklahoma, was addressed through a removal response action. No further action is necessary. The EPA has entered into an Administrative Order on Consent with three Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for OU4. OU4 addresses the undeveloped rural and urban areas of the site where mine and mill residues and smelter wastes have been placed, deposited, stored, disposed of, or otherwise come to be located as a result of mining, milling, smelting, or related operations. OU4 includes rural residential yards located in Ottawa County outside of city or town limits except for yards that were addressed under OU2. In general, OU4 does not include roadways, alleyways, sinkholes, or mine shafts. The underground mine workings are not included as part of OU4, except as possible disposal locations for mining related wastes. After completion of the OU4 RI/FS and risk assessments, the EPA will evaluate the site condition and determine if any further actions are required. The EPA will perform the risk assessments (both human health and ecological) for OU4 using data gathered by the PRPs and by EPA. Based on the data review, site inspection, interviews, and technical assessment, it appears the remedies are generally functioning as intended by the decision documents, except as noted above for OU1. To ensure continued protectiveness, seven issues are identified in the third five-year review for this site. These issues do not currently affect the protectiveness of the remedy, but need to be addressed to ensure continued protectiveness. These issues include: (1) The ODEQ’s Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan for the dike and diversion channel constructed at the Admiralty Mine Site as part of the OU1 remedy dates to 1987. The ODEQ is responsible for maintaining the dike and diversion channel at the Admiralty Mine Site. There is not an O&M Plan for the dikes and diversion channel constructed at the Muncie and Big John Mine Sites, located in the State of Kansas, although EPA plans to inspect the dikes and diversion channel at the Muncie and Big John Mine Sites as part of each five-year review. Any necessary maintenance identified during each inspection will be reported to the State of Kansas for appropriate action. (2) The second five-year review recommended that the EPA review the need for updated monitoring of the contamination of Tar Creek in order to confirm that contaminant concentrations have not increased and to evaluate human health impacts. Soil data from the Tar Creek flood plain was TC_5YR_2005-0925_TEXT.DOC PAGE B SEPTEMBER 2005 TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE THIRD FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT collected by the EPA in 2001. Sediment and surface water data has or will soon be collected from the Tar Creek watershed by the ODEQ and United States Geological Survey (USGS). (3) The ODEQ conducted a fish tissue study in 2002-2003 to determine if fish from waters at the site and the Neosho and Spring Rivers are safe for consumption. This study was performed in response to concerns expressed by local residents and Native American Tribes. Native American Tribes from the Tar Creek area indicated that traditional local customs involve eating whole fish, including bones, which are prepared and canned by means of pressure cooking. Based on the results of the study, the ODEQ concluded that skinless fish fillets were safe to consume at a rate of up to six eight-ounce meals per month while bones from fish, whether whole-eviscerated or whole-uneviscerated, were not safe to consume. The ODEQ also recommended that another study be conducted, using lower detection limits, to verify the results of the initial study and to determine the downstream extent of metals uptake in fish. At the date of this Five-Year Review Report, the additional study had not yet been conducted. The ODEQ is pursuing plans to initiate the additional fish studies. (4) The OU1 ROD called for monitoring of the Roubidoux Aquifer to evaluate the effectiveness of the well plugging activities at preventing acid mine water migration into the aquifer. Acid mine water has been detected at several Roubidoux wells. Data collected to date are inconclusive as to whether the cause of this influx of mine water is faulty well casings or represents more widespread infiltration of mine water into the Roubidoux Aquifer. The effectiveness of the well plugging program cannot be determined at this time because ground water monitoring continues to indicate exceedences of the secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), tolerance limits, or background concentrations for the indicator parameters (iron, sulfate, and zinc) used to monitor the Roubidoux Aquifer at some locations. It should be noted that neither the EPA nor ODEQ have identified any wells at the site that fail to meet the drinking water standards (known as MCLs) established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. That is, the drinking water at the Site is safe for all uses. (5) The OU1 ROD recognized that additional abandoned Roubidoux wells might be identified and require plugging in the future. This requirement remains an issue to be addressed in future five- year reviews. TC_5YR_2005-0925_TEXT.DOC PAGE C SEPTEMBER 2005 TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE THIRD FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT (6) Remediation of residential yards and High Access Areas (HAAs) at the site is not yet complete. There are still properties remaining at the site where remediation is necessary. The residential yard remediation resumed in the summer of 2005 and is ongoing at the time of this Five-Year Review Report. (7) The RI/FS, Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment (BHHRA), and ecological risk assessment (ERA) for OU4 are currently in the planning phase and have not yet been completed. Actions Needed To address the issues identified during the third five-year review, the following recommendations and follow-up actions have been identified for the site: (1) The ODEQ has indicated that the last O&M Plan developed for the diversion dike and channel at the Admiralty Mine Site was prepared in 1987. This O&M Plan prepared for the Admiralty Mine Site should be updated. The ODEQ also indicated as part of this five-year review that the 20-year property easement for the dike and diversion channel at the Admiralty Mine Site should be extended and updated. Regarding the Muncie and Big John Mine Sites, the EPA will inspect the dikes and diversion channel at the Muncie and Big John Mine Sites as part of each five-year review. Any necessary maintenance identified during each inspection will be reported to the State of Kansas for appropriate action.