FINAL DRAFT COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN OSBORNE DUMP SITE PINE TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA Prepared for U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Office of Waste Programs Enforcement Washington, D.C. 20460 Work Assignment No. : C03039 EPA Region : III Site No. : 3B38 Contract No. : 68-W9-0004 COM Federal Programs Corporation Document No. : TES7-C03039-CR-BFCF-04 Prepared By COM Federal Programs Corporation Work Assignment Project Manager Deirdre O'Dwyer Telephone Number (215) 293-0450 Primary Contact Barbara Brown Telephone Number (215) 597-9871 Date Prepared August 24, 1989. TABLE OF CONTENTS Community Relation Plan Osborne Landfill Sits Pine Township, Pennsylvania SECTION PAGE Purpose of Plan 1 Section A — Site Background and Key Issues 1 1. Site History and Background 1 2. Community Profile . 7 3. History and Analysis of Community Involvement 9 4 . Summary of Key Issues and Community Concerns 11 . * Section B — Community Relations Techniques and Objectives 14 Section C — Schedule and Timeline 13 Appendix A — List of Interested Parties A-l A. Federal Representatives A-l B. Federal Agency Officials A-l C. State Representatives - A-2 D. State Officials A-3 E. Local Officials A-3 F. Local Media A-5 G. Other Interested Parties A-9 Appendix 3 — List of Sites for Information Repository and Public Meetings B-l ii COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN , OSBORNE LANDFILL SITE PINE TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA This Draft Community Relations Plan has been prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III Office as required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) OF 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1966. The plan describes community concerns related to the Osborne Landfill site, located in Pine Township, This Draft Community Relations Plan is designed to provide EPA with the appropriate mechanisms for responding to existing community concerns or concerns that arise during the RI/FS. The EPA Region III Office will oversee technical and community relations work at the Osborne Landfill site. Special emphasis has been placed on the need for communication and coordination among EPA, State, and local officials, and interested citizens in the community. The findings of the RI/FS and any actions subsequently taken may make it necessary to modify the community relations plan or specific activities detailed in this plan. Preparation of this Draft Community Relations Plan (CRP) involved the review of numerous documents about the site, as well . as personal and telephone interviews with local citizens and Federal, State, and local officials. The documents used include materials obtained from the EPA Region III site file, such as the Consent Order executed between the State of Pennsylvania and a potentially responsible party, the existing Revised CRP dated November 1986, and correspondence about site activities between EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PADER). Newspaper articles from The Herald, Allied Newsf and Thq Butler Eagle were also reviewed. A. SITE BACKGROUND AND KEY ISSUES The Osborn" " • e site is a 15-acr.*• e abandone' d waste disposal area located on Diamond Road in Pine Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. The site lies approximately one-half mile east of the Borough of Grove City. 1. Site Background and Histor.!'"•..y . The Osborne Landfill site originally was developed as an underground coal mine during the 1800s, and then as a strip mine in the 1940s. The extent of deep mining beneath the site is unknown. From the 1950s through the early 1960s, the site was operated as a waste disposal area. The site was sold to James Osborne in 1963, and continued to operate as a dump until December AR5000U8 31, 1937, when it was closed by PADER. The current owner purchased the site in 1979 as part of an 80-acre tract of land. The site is bordered on the east by a strip mine highwall remaining from previous surface mining operations and an adjacent cornfield; on the north by woods; on the west and southwest by swamplands, which serve as a habitat for migratory waterfowl and birds, and mine spoils, which are overgrown with small trees and vegetations; and on the south by Diamond Road. There is light residential development approximately one-quarter mile to the north. A small, intermittent stream emerges from the swamp area and flows under Diamond Road in a southeast direction. Several intermittent streams flow through the site to feed an unnamed tributary of Swamp Run, a local fishing area, which in turn flows into Wolf Creek. A 1,500-foot long pit that was excavated during the strip mining operation begins near Diamond Road and "extends in a southeast-to-northwest direction. The site has been roughly regraded, and remnants of the mining operation are still evident. (See the site map on the following page.) Three small ponds are situated at the base of the highwall. The largest pond, which covers an area of about one square acre, is located at the northeast corner of the site; it is estimated to be 30-35 feet deep. A small, intermittent stream enters this pond from the north. The second pond is located south of the large pond and is estimated to be one-half acre in size. The smallest pond is situated about 100 feet south of the second pond and is currently dry. The ponds receive surface water runoff and their water levels appear to fluctuate with the water table. After Mr. Osborne purchased the site property in 1963, he entered into an agreement to operate a landfill to dispose of plant wastes with the Cooper-Bessemer Company, a division of Cooper Industries Inc. (Cooper). Cooper is a Houston-based firm with local foundry facilities. Throughout the remainder of the 1960s and most of the 1970s, the Osborne Landfill site received industrial, hazardous, and municipal wastes, largely from Cooper's Grove City plant but also from other local manufacturing facilities. Wastes accepted during this period included paints, asbestos, solvents, waste coolants, spent foundry sand, acid, scrap metal, cooling system sludge, slag, and waste oils. The Pennsylvania Department of Health inspected the landfill operations on several occasions during the site's active period; reports from a March 1971 visit showed that in addition to disposing of industrial waste, the landfill contained an accumulation of garbage and discarded appliances. PADER first conducted on-site sampling of the environmental media on June 22, 1977, in response to a request by tha Department of Health. Samples were collected from the mine ponds and surface water runoff; analytical results showed iron, a heavy metal characteristic of acid mine drainage, in all threa pools at levels OSBORNE SITE LOCATION MAP HAARISBUAQ • PHILADELPHIA* wr • « •**» 9 ttc uu «o« err Thto map has b«*n adapted from documents prtpand by th« NUS Corporation. ranging from 260 to 6,020 parts per million (ppm) and in sita discharges at levels as high as 19,650 ppra. Phenols also were discovered at 133 ppm in the strip mine pool. On July 28, 1977, Cooper was informed in a meeting with Mercer County and PADER officials that the site was to be sold. The company also was informed that, because the landfill had been operating without a permit under Pennsylvania's 1963 Solid Waste Management Act, the Osborne site did not qualify as a State- approved landfill. Cooper was, therefore, instructed to discontinue dumping wastes in the landfill by December-31, 1977, and to install any needed monitoring or cleanup equipment during 1973. The State closed the site in 1973 for accepting hazardous wastes for disposal without an appropriate permit. At the time of closure, the site contained numerous drums, most of which were empty and crushed, while others contained liquids and solids. The site also had areas of contaminated soil. The next year, in 1979, Mr. Osborne sold the site. To follow up the site's closing, the PADSR Bureau of Solid Waste Management on April 17 and 13, 1979, conducted a site inspection. Additional samples of surface water collected from each pond showed the presence of a variety of heavy metals including zinc, lead, nickel, and copper. The inspection report filed at the time also recorded the inspectors1 finding that disposal of 55-gallon drums had continued after the site was closed. The report recommended that the site be referred to EPA for action as a hazardous waste site. The first major EPA involvement with the site occurred on July 6 and 7, 1931, when the Agency inspected it. Samples were taken from the two larger ponds and from the stream off site; these were tested for phenols, cyanides, and heavy metals. Test results from surface water samples showed elevated levels of manganese and iron as well as selenium at nearly three times the drinking water standard. Air samples collected at the same time showed low levels of organic vapors inside one drum but did not detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ambient atmosphere. A preliminary assessment of the Osborne Landfill site was conducted by PADER on August 19, 1931. As a result of these activities, the Osborne site was named to EPA'3 Interim Priorities List, the Agency's initial listing of sites eligible to receive Federal cleanup funds, in October 1931. EPA conducted a sita inspection on July 2, 1932, and used data to develop a Hazard Ranking System (MRS) score for the site. The site's HRS score was 53.41, and Osborne was added to the Expanded Eligibility List in July 1932, and to the National Priorities List (NPL) when it was originally announced in December 1932. Cooper subsequently AR5U005I challenged the MRS, score and asked EPA tovdelete the Osborne Landfill site from the NPL.