Superfund Five-Year Review Report South Jersey Clothing Company and Garden State Cleaners Sites Buena Borough, Atlantic County, New Jersey Prepared by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II New York, New York April 2004 500001 Five-Year Review Summary Form SITE IDENTIFICATION Site name (from WasteLAN): South Jersey Clothing Co. and Garden State Cleaning Co. EPA ID (from WasteLAN): NJD980766828/ NJD053280160 Region: 2 State: NJ City/County: Town of Minotola, Buena Borough, Atlantic County SITE STATUS NPL status: O Final G Deleted G Other (specify) Remediation status (choose all that apply): G Under Construction O ConstructedOOperating Multiple Ous?* O YES G NO Construction completion date: 3/18/1999 Are portions of this site in use or suitable for reuse ? YES 0.7 acres ‘ NO G N/A REVIEW STATUS Lead agency: EPA G State G Tribe G Other Federal Agency Author name: Brian Quinn Author title: Remedial Project Manager Author affiliation: EPA Review period:** 3/1999 to 3/2004 Date(s) of site inspection: N.A. Daily operating facility Type of review: G Post-SARA G Pre-SARA G NPL-Removal only G Non-NPL Remedial Action Site G NPL State/Tribe-lead Policy G Regional Discretion Review number: 1 (first) G 2 (second) G 3 (third) G Other (specify) Triggering action: ‘ Actual RA Onsite Construction at OU #1 9 Actual RA Start at OU# 1 Construction Completion 9 Previous Five-Year Review Report ‘ Other (specify) Triggering action date (from WasteLAN): 3/18/1999 Does the report include recommendation(s) and follow-up action(s)? yes G no Is human exposure under control? O yes G no Is contaminate under control? yes ‘ no Is the remedy protective of the environment? O yes G no [“OU” refers to operable unit.] 1 500002 I. Introduction This first five-year review for the South Jersey Clothing Co.(SJCC) and the Garden State Cleaners Co.(GSC) Superfund Sites (Sites), located in Buena Borough, Atlantic County, New Jersey, was conducted by Brian Quinn, the Remedial Project Manager, in accordance with the Comprehensive Five-Year Review Guidance, OSWER Directive 9355.7-03B-P (June 2001). The purpose of five- year reviews is to assure that implemented remedies protect public health and the environment and that they function as intended by the decision documents. This report will become part of the Sites files. These Sites were addressed by the remediation of source area soils and the treatment of contaminated groundwater. A policy review is triggered by the preliminary close out report, which was signed March 18, 1999. While the remedies are intended to restore the Sites to unlimited use without restriction, it will take more than five years to accomplish this level of clean up. II. Site Chronology Table 1 summarizes Site-related events from discovery to the present. TABLE 1 - Chronology of Sites Events Event Date(s) New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection January 1981 (NJDEP) investigated well water odor complaint at the Sites South Jersey Clothing Company (SJCC) owners removed May 1981 an area of contaminated soils from the Site SJCC signed an Administrative Consent Order with January 1984 NJDEP requiring the company to intensify monitoring and take measures to restrict migration of contaminants in groundwater SJCC installed and put into operation a groundwater July 1985 extraction and treatment system 2 500003 Public Water Supply system was installed, by Buena 1985 Borough, to alleviate the threat associated with contaminated groundwater Garden State Cleaners (GSC) placed on National March 1989 Priorities List SJCC placed on National Priorities List October 1989 Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study August 1991 Completed Records of Decision were signed September 26, 1991 Design of small-scale Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) August 1993 system completed for GSC (OU1) Construction of SVE at GSC completed May 1994 SVE operation at GSC June 1994 - March 1995 EPA determined soil clean-up goals were met at GSC March 1995 Completion of design for groundwater treatment August 1995 system for SJCC and GSC Approval of Remedial Action Report for GSC OU1 September 1995 United States Army Corps of Engineers (COE) awards October 1996 contract for demolition of SJCC building Demolition of SJCC building completed May 1997 COE awards contract for the construction of SVE June 1997 system for SJCC and groundwater extraction and treatment system for SJCC and GSC Construction of the SVE and groundwater extraction January 1999 and treatment system was completed Joint final inspection by EPA, NJDEP, and COE February 22, 1999 Preliminary Closeout Report Signed March 18, 1999 Operational and Functional demonstration period March 1999 - February 2000 Interim Remedial Action Report Approved September 26, 2000 Commence operation of Long Term Remedial Action September 27, 2000 First Five-Year Review March 2004 3 500004 III. Background Physical Characteristics The South Jersey Clothing Company and Garden State Cleaners are located in a predominantly rural residential area and one of New Jersey’s prime agricultural areas in Buena Borough, Atlantic County, New Jersey. Site Geology/Hydrogeology The geology in the region surrounding the Sites is known as the New Jersey Coastal Plain, which consists of a sequence of unconsolidated sediments composed of thousands of feet of clay, silt, sand and gravel layers. These deposits form an independent and isolated aquifer system, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Delaware River, and the rocky Appalachian Highlands of northern New Jersey. The aquifer is known as the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer System, a water table aquifer beneath the Sites, and consists of Tertiary-age Cohansey Sand and the underlying Miocene-age Kirkwood Formation. The base of the aquifer is defined by a clay bed lying within the Kirkwood Formation. This clay bed lies approximately 270 feet below the ground surface. The subsoil beneath the Sites is made up of four units. The uppermost hydrogeologic unit, unit 1, extends from the ground surface to approximately 70 feet below ground surface (bgs). The water table is located at approximately 20 feet bgs. The groundwater flows to the south at approximately 0.07 ft/day. The unit is composed of medium to coarse sand with little silt. Poorly sorted fine to coarse sand and discontinuous clay lenses were generally found within the upper half of the unit, between the ground surface and the water table. Unit 2 is composed of medium to fine sand and some silt with discontinuous layers of medium to coarse sand and thin lenses of gray silt or clay. The unit is located between 70 feet and approximately 130 feet bgs. Groundwater flows slower in unit 2 than in unit 1, as unit 1 is comprised of more transmissive sediments. Unit 3 is composed of fine to medium sand and clay. The unit is located between approximately 130 feet and 150 feet bgs. The thickness, elevation and lithology of unit 3 vary across the sites so that the layer is relatively impermeable to the vertical movement of groundwater and contamination. 4 500005 Unit 4 is comprised of medium to fine sand and clay lenses, similar to unit 2. Groundwater flow within unit 4 is to the southeast at approximately 0.06 ft/day. The bottom of the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer System likely occurs at approximately 270 feet bgs. History of Contamination On April 3, 1981, a resident of the town of Minotola, in Buena Borough, called the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and complained of a noxious odor emanating from her drinking water. A subsequent investigation by NJDEP revealed that water from the resident’s well had levels of trichloroethene (TCE) as high as 12,000 parts per billion (ppb), along with a lesser amount of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The investigation then focused on the adjacent SJCC manufacturing facility where it was discovered that liquid and solid industrial waste had been discharged onto the ground behind the facility. According to one of the company owners, the disposal method from 1972 until early 1981 was to discharge the waste on the ground in areas around the building and railroad tracks. Approximately 26,000 gallons of TCE were used at the facility from 1972 to 1982. In addition to TCE, tetrachloroethene (PCE), chloroform, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, p-dichlorobenzene, ethylbenzene, chlorobenzene, toluene, xylene, styrene, and 1,2-dichloroethane were subsequently detected in soil behind the facility. The source of these compounds was probably sludge or liquid waste containing TCE and mineral oil. In addition, SJCC’s owners reported that a fire at the facility in 1979 resulted in release of an estimated 275 gallons of TCE from and on-site storage tank. In May 1984, during the investigation by NJDEP of off-site groundwater contamination associated with SJCC, elevated levels of PCE from a well located east of GSC led NJDEP to suspect GSC as a possible source. During the ensuing inspection of GSC, which is two blocks south of SJCC, the owners acknowledged discharging wastes onto the ground without a NJPDES permit. Soil samples obtained from the immediate area of the discharge pipes contained PCE. This discharge ended as of February 1985, and all effluents were then disposed of in accordance with the guidelines established by NJDEP. Four soil samples were obtained from beneath two discharge pipes and a PCE recycle tank. The highest concentrations of PCE was 43,000 ppb and TCE was 16,500 ppb. 5 500006 Land and Resource Use South Jersey Clothing Company is bankrupt, out of business and no longer exists and the property is where the Long Term Remedial Action (LTRA) groundwater extraction and treatment building is located. Garden State Cleaners continues to operate as a dry cleaning facility. Currently, GSC only provides dry cleaning on- site and they send laundry service off-site.