Contract No: EP-W-09-002 WA #: 016-RIC0-02HA Region 2 RAC2 Remedial Action Contract Final Community Engagement Plan Scorpio Recycling Inc. Superfund Site Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study Toa Baja, Puerto Rico July 2012 CDMthSm1 R2-0001397 Heading 1 (Section Number) HeadingTable of Contents1 (Section Title) Acronyms ............................................................................................................... ii Section 1 – Overview of the Community Engagement Plan .................................. 1‐1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1‐1 1.2 Objectives of the Community Engagement Program .................................................... 1‐3 1.3 Superfund Community Engagement Requirements ...................................................... 1‐3 Section 2 – Capsule Site Description .................................................................... 2‐1 2.1 Site Location and Description ...................................................................................... 2‐1 2.2 Site History ................................................................................................................. 2‐1 Section 3 – Community Background .................................................................... 3‐1 3.1 Community Profile ...................................................................................................... 3‐1 3.2 Chronology of Community Involvement ....................................................................... 3‐2 3.3 Key Community Issues and Concerns ........................................................................... 3‐2 Section 4 Highlights of the CEP ............................................................................ 4‐1 Section 5 Community Engagement Activities and Timing ..................................... 5‐1 Figures 1‐1 Site Location Map 1‐2 Site Layout Map Appendices Appendix A Locations for Information Repository, Administrative Record File, and Public Meetings/Hearings Appendix B List of Contacts and Interested Parties Appendix C Glossary Final Community Engagement Plan i R2-0001398 Acronyms ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry CDM Smith CDM Federal Programs Corporation CERCLA Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 CEC community engagement coordinator oC degrees Centigrade CEP community engagement plan EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ESI expanded site inspection FS feasibility study HRS hazard ranking system MCL Maximum Contaminant Levels NCP National Contingency Plan NPL National Priorities List OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response OU Operable Unit PCBs polychlorinated biphenyls ppm parts per million PRDOH Puerto Rico Department of Health PREQB Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board PSAs Public Service Announcements REAC Response Engineering and Analytical Contract RI remedial investigation RI/FS remedial investigation/feasibility study ROD record of decision RPM remedial project manager RS responsiveness summary SARA Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 SRI Scorpio Recycling Inc. SVOCs semivolatile organic compounds TAG technical assistance grant TAT technical assistance team TSP trisodium phosphate VOCs volatile organic compounds ii Final Community Engagement Plan R2-0001399 Section 1 Overview of the Community Engagement Plan 1.1 Introduction The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prepared this Community Engagement Plan (CEP) to identify efforts EPA will take to inform and involve the community in major decisions regarding investigation and cleanup activities at the Scorpio Recycling Inc. (SRI) Superfund Site (the Site) in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. The Site is located on State Road 2 at kilometer 19.7, interior (Acuna Street), in the Candelaria Ward of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico (Figure 1-1). The Site is approximately four miles west of the town of Bayamon and lies within a chain of limestone hills (or mogotes) which flank the southern margin of the Atlantic coastal plain of northern Puerto Rico. The SRI facility is in a commercial/residential area bordered by Mitsubishi Motors and a sinkhole to the south, La Grande Movers to the north, a mogote and the Pan American Gun Club to the east, and La Rosa del Monte Moving Company to the west (Figure 1-2). SRI is a metal recycling company that purchases, accumulates, and processes various types of scrap metal into reusable materials for sale within the United States, Colombia, China, Taiwan, and Indochina. From 1972 to the present, metals have been reclaimed from incoming scrap materials (automobiles including batteries and engines, piping, soda cans, and other items). Prior to the mid- 1990s, batteries were destroyed to reclaim lead resulting in the release of battery acids to site soils in an area at the southern end of the property adjacent to a sinkhole. The uncontrolled release of acids allowed leachate to percolate through soils and migrate into the sinkhole. The SRI Facility is currently inactive, receipt and processing of scrap material has ceased. Formerly the SRI facility employed approximately 40 employees and received scrap and other metals on a daily basis. Though scrap metal was still being received in 2010, batteries were not. On February 4, 2000, the Site was published in the Federal Register on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). In 2002, CDM Federal Programs Corporation (CDM Smith), on behalf of EPA Remedial Branch initiated a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for Operable Unit 1 (OU I) Groundwater, the RI/FS was completed in 2006. The groundwater investigation included the installation and sampling of several monitoring wells on and surrounding the Site. The RI/FS concluded that the groundwater has not been significantly impacted by site-related operations (CDM Smith 2006). EPA signed a “No Action” Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2006. 1-1 Final Community Engagement Plan R2-0001400 Section 1 • Overview of the Community Engagement Plan The Removal Action ceased in June 2004 and no work was performed in the large scrap pile areas. In July 2010 EPA initiated work on OU 2 to determine the nature and extent of contaminated soil associated with the Site. Sampling within the northern and southern areas of the Site and adjacent properties has concluded. The RI/FS reports are in progress. The Superfund program endorses the core values for public participation developed by the International Association for Public Participation. These core values form the foundation of EPA’s interactions with communities, and are stated as follows: . People should have a say in decisions about actions that affect their lives. Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision. The public participation process communicates the interests and meets the needs of all participants. The public participation process seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those who are potentially affected. The public participation process involves citizens in defining how they participate. The public participation process communicates to participants how their input was or was not used. The public participation process provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way. This CEP has been prepared as part of EPA’s efforts to develop and implement a community engagement program that meets the information needs of the affected community. This document is based primarily upon interviews conducted by EPA with affected residents, local government, health officials, and other interested parties in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Other sources for this CEP include site documents and other background materials contained in files maintained by the EPA. The CEP is organized into the following sections: 1.0 Overview of the CEP 2.0 Capsule Site Description 3.0 Community Background 4.0 Highlights of the CEP 5.0 Community Involvement Activities and Timing Appendices: A. Locations for Information Repository, Administrative Record File, and Public Meetings B. List of Contacts and Interested Parties C. Glossary 1-2 Final Community Engagement Plan R2-0001401 Section 1 • Overview of the Community Engagement Plan The EPA Region 2, Caribbean Environmental Protection Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico is currently leading the RI/FS for the Site. The EPA Communications Division will oversee all community involvement activities at the Site. 1.2 Objectives of the Community Engagement Program Preparation of a CEP is required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). On January 21, 1991, EPA issued a new directive through the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) which, among other things, emphasizes the objective that EPA should make every effort to fully incorporate the public’s concern into site decision making. Based upon this OSWER directive, EPA has established the following general community involvement objectives: . Keep the public well informed of ongoing and planned activities. Encourage and enable the public to get involved. Listen carefully to what the public is saying. Identify and deal responsibly with public concerns. Change planned actions where public comments or concerns have merit. Explain to citizens how EPA considered their comments, what EPA plans to do,