COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN FOR THE HUNTERSTOWN ROAD SUPERFUND SITE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region HI Prepared by Dynamac Corporation On March 5, 1991 Under TES Vin Contract No. 68-W9-0005 Work Assignment No. C03053 For additional information, contact Amy Barnett Office of PubUc Affairs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 841 Chestnut Building Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 597-6915 flRSOOOOl HUNTERSTOWN ROAD COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page PREFACE .............................................. 1 1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN ........ 2 2.0 SITE DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY ........................ 4 2.1 Site Location ....................................... 4 2.2 Site History ........................................ 4 3.0 COMMUNITY BACKGROUND ............................. 10 3.1 Community Profile ................................... 10 3.2 Chronology of Community Involvement ................... 10 . 3.3 Key Community Concerns .............................. 12 4.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PROGRAM ... 15 5.0 COMMUNITY RELATIONS ACTTVITIES AND TIMING ......... 17 APPENDICES A Contact List of Key Community Leaders and Interested Parties (excluding residents for privacy protection) ........................................ A-l B Locations for Public Meetings and Information Repository ..................................... B-l C Media List .............................................. C-l D Technical Assistance Grant Information ........................ D-l E Sample Fact Sheets ........................................ E-l F Glossary of Technical Terms ................................. F-l II AR500002 1 Hunterstown Road Site Location Map .......................... 8 2 Hunterstown Road Site Layout ............................... 9 3 Timing Schedule for Community Relations Activities ............... 23 4 Steps in the Superfund Process ............................... 24 SR5GOOG3 PREFACE This Community Relations Plan for the Hunterstown Road Superfund Site was developed by Dynamac Corporation under Contract Number 68-W9-0005 (TES VIII), Work Assignment Number C03053, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region HI. This Community Relations Plan is a working document which serves as a guide to communication with the community of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The activities and schedules recommended in this plan are based on current concerns of the community. These concerns may change; when this occurs, different or additional community relations activities may be required to address these changes. This plan will be reviewed periodically and revised as needed. The goal of this Community Relations Plan is to establish meaningful communications between the community of Gettysburg and EPA The activities designated in this Community Relations Plan will be conducted at the Hunterstown Road Site in order to promote a better understanding of site activities and encourage community involvement. Throughout this Community Relations Plan, technical terms will appear in bold type. These terms are defined in the Glossary of Technical Terms located in Appendix F. flRSGOOQt* SECTION 1 OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN This Community Relations Plan identifies issues of community concern and interest related to the Hunterstown Road Site located in Gettysburg, Straban Township, Pennsylvania. This Community Relations Plan outlines community relations activities to be conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during remedial activities at the Site. Some of these activities are conducted as required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. All activities are tailored to address the needs of the community affected by the Hunterstown Road Site. The program outlined in this plan is designed to inform the public about the progress of EPA activities at the Site and give the public an opportunity to participate in the Superfund process. This plan also updates concerns and activities outlined in the EPA (EBASCO Services Inc., Consultants) Community Relations Plan prepared for the Hunterstown Road Site in February 1987. Community concern about the Site is high: there are several homes in close proximity to the Site and residents who live in this area are very knowledgeable about the situation at the Site and the work that EPA is conducting and has conducted at the Site. The community relations activities planned for this Site should inform the community about the Superfund process with specific emphasis on how this applies to the Hunterstown Road Site, while also keeping in mind that the residents are very familiar with the situation at the Site and require timely, accurate, and fairly technical information on a regular basis. These activities should consider the fact that there are two other Superfund sites, Shriver's Corner and the Westinghouse Elevator Plant, located in close proximity to the Hunterstown Road Site. This Community Relations Plan is divided into the following sections: SITE DESCRIPTION Included in this section is historical, geographical, and technical information about the Site. COMMUNITY BACKGROUND The background of the community surrounding the Site and specific concerns they have expressed are described in this section. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN Objectives developed for this Community Relations Program to address the specific concerns of the community listed in this section. AR500005 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; the information repository and public meeting places; a glossary of technical terms that have been highlighted throughout the body of the Community Relations Plan; and local media that may be used for the dissemination of site-specific information. Appendix D provides Technical Assistance Grant information. The information in this plan is based primarily on interviews EPA staff conducted during September and December 1990 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Interviews were held with residents from Straban Township, local officials from Gettysburg, Adams County, Straban Township, the state representative and senator for Adams County, and an aide from U.S. Congressman Goodling's Office. Site specific documents used in preparing this Community Relations Plan include: EPA (Paul C. Rizzo Associates, Inc. Consultants) Phase I Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Report, (August 4, 1989); EPA (Paul C. Rizzo Associates, Inc. Consultants) Work Plan, Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, (October 1989); and other documents provided by the EPA Remedial Project Manager for the Hunterstown Road Site. These documents provided information necessary for the Site description section of this Community Relations Plan. The EPA Region HI Office maintains lead responsibility for managing the Superfund remedial process at the Site. EPA Region HI also maintains lead responsibility for the community relations activities at the Site. <t flRSOOOOG SECTION 2 SITE DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY 2.1 SITE LOCATION The Hunterstown Road Site is located about one and one-half miles northeast of downtown Gettysburg in Straban Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania. The Site occupies approximately twenty-two acres located east and west of Hunterstown Road, (see Exhibit 1, page 8). EPA has broken the Site down into seven areas of specific interest: Drum Burial Areas 1 and 2, the North and South Cornfields, the Lagoon Area, Stressed Vegetation Area and the Borrow Area. The area immediately surrounding the Site is sparsely populated with homes and areas that are used for growing crops at various times during the year. 22 SITE HISTORY Mr. Fred Shealer, the owner of the Hunterstown Road property, originally used the property for agricultural purposes. Mr. Shealer also owns a waste disposal business, and from 1970 until 1980, placed wastes he transported for various businesses at the Site. In the course of operations, Mr. Shealer used seven different areas at the Site for disposing of different types of wastes, (see Exhibit 2, page 9). Paint sludges and colored pigmented clay sludges were disposed in the Lagoon area as well as the Stressed Vegetation area; liquid wastes, clay sludges and domestic septic tank sludges were sprayed onto the ground of the North and South Cornfields; drums of waste and insulation board containing asbestos were dumped in the Borrow area; and drums containing paint sludges and solvents were placed in four to five depressions located in Drum Burial Areas 1 and 2. In 1977, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PADER) initiated an investigation into alleged dumping at the property after receiving calls of concern from area residents. This investigation revealed approximately 600 drums containing various wastes and approximately 590 yards of paint sludge disposed of in various locations at the Site. Further investigations identified the Westinghouse Elevator Manufacturing Plant in Gettysburg as one of the generators of wastes found at the Site. Other waste generators included Spectra-Kote Corporation and Dal-Tile Corporation. Investigations and studies were conducted at the Site beginning with the initial site discovery in 1977 and continuing with subsequent studies