North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Pat McCrory John E. Skvarla, III Governor Secretary October 1, 2013 MEMORANDUM TO: Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations The Honorable Phil Berger, Co-Chair The Honorable Thom Tillis, Co-Chair ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMISSION The Honorable Brent Jackson, Chair The Honorable Ruth Samuelson, Co-Chair The Honorable Mike Hager, Co-Chair Fiscal Research Jennifer Hoffman Timothy Dale FROM: Neal Robbins, Director of Legislative Affairs SUBJECT: 2013 Inactive Hazardous Sites Program report DATE: October 1, 2013 Pursuant to G.S. 130A-310.10, The Secretary of the Department shall prepare and submit to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Environmental Review Commission and Fiscal Research a report on Inactive Hazardous Sites Program. Please consider the attached as the formal submission of this report. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me by phone at (919) 707-8618 or via e-mail at [email protected]. cc: Mitch Gillespie, Assistant Secretary for Environment, NCDENR Dexter Matthews, Director, DWM, NCDENR Linda Culpepper Deputy Director, DWM, NCDENR 1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1601 Phone: 919-707-8600 \ Internet: www.ncdenr.gov An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer – 50% Recycled \ 10% Post Consumer Paper Report to the North Carolina General Assembly on the Division of Waste Management’s Inactive Hazardous Sites Program North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Waste Management http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/sf/ihshome October 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The N.C. General Assembly created the Inactive Hazardous Sites Program in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Division of Waste Management (DWM) to identify, investigate and clean up properties contaminated with hazardous substances. The program also manages the assessment and cleanup of old pre-regulatory landfill sites that have environmental contamination. The landfill sites addressed through the program are those that predate modern landfill standards designed to prevent contamination. This report satisfies the requirements, set out in G.S. 130A-310.10, for an annual report to the General Assembly. The report describes activities at voluntary remedial action sites, priority cases, orphan site actions, imminent hazard abatement and EPA National Priorities List sites. DWM has electronically compiled information on the contaminant type and environmental media known or believed to be affected at each site only for the Priority List sites in the Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory. That information continues to be included in this legislative report. Almost without exception, the "amount" of waste is unknown since there is rarely a record of the amount released. Generally, a complete site evaluation has to be completed before it is possible to reasonably estimate the volume of waste. A table with site status information for each cataloged site can be found in Appendix B of this report. A table with the location of the pre-regulatory landfills (organized by county) is available on the DWM website. These sites are being handled as prescribed in Session Law 2007-550. Since the program started in 1987, 3,106 chemical spill or disposal sites and old, unlined dumps or landfills (pre-regulatory) have been cataloged. Of this number, 2,623 still require work to address public health or environmental hazards. Of the 2,623 remaining open cases, 677 are old, unlined landfills that predate solid and hazardous waste permitting laws. Half of the proceeds of a statewide solid waste disposal tax are directed by statute to the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund to address contamination at these pre-regulatory landfills. DWM has established contracts with private firms to assess and remediate the pre-regulatory landfill sites. At the end of FY2012-13, the uncommitted cash balance in the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund (IHSCF) was $0. The fund has received approximately $400,000 each year from a portion of the Scrap Tire Tax since FY 2009-10. In FY 2013-14, this revenue source was replaced with a $400,000 appropriation. The program has recovered funds for assessment and remediation through bankruptcy claims for several sites over the years. In FY2012-13, $410,699 in additional proceeds was recovered from Lyondell (total $4.1 million recovered) for four sites, $98,010 from Kysor Fuel Systems for one site, $5,866 from Polylok for one site and $3,801 from Collins & Aikman for one site. Additional proceeds in the amount of $1,100 were received from the Pillowtex bankruptcy proceeding for two sites. In most cases, these new monies go into special trust funds, since the payments can only be used in accordance with the bankruptcy settlement agreements. Session Law 2011-186 authorized a new approach to remediating contaminated groundwater. The bill allows use of alternate risk-based groundwater remediation standards for cleanup at certain industrial properties. This remediation approach is only available on sites where the owner can show that contamination has not migrated off the property and will not in the future. DWM has three preliminary applications for risk-based cleanup at the end of FY 2012-13. A total of $67,500 has been collected in associated fees for review of these applications. The following provides a status of sites cataloged by the Inactive Hazardous Sites Program. Total Number of Inactive Hazardous Sites Cataloged 3,106 Chemical Spill or Disposal Sites 2,429 New Sites Cataloged This Reporting Year 35 (109 new sites screened; 35 added) Pre-Regulatory Landfills 677 Total Number Sites of Requiring No Further Action 483 Sites Completed In FY 2012-13 18 (18 reviewed; 18 were eligible) Remaining Open Sites 2,623 Oversight of Responsible Party Cleanup Actions 205 Registered Environmental Consultant (REC)-Supervised Remedial Actions 116 Staff-Supervised Remedial Actions Under Administrative Agreements 64 Spill Response Actions 25 Additional Priority Sites 142 (orphaned case actions, determining responsible parties, soliciting responsible party cooperation, enforcement actions and bankruptcy actions) Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund Actions in FY 2012-13 26 Sites Undergoing Contaminant Assessments 11 Sites Undergoing Contaminant Remediation 8 Homes Provided Alternate Water or Treatment Systems Maintained For 7 Sites 26 Water Supply Wells Sampled at Non-Landfill Sites 90 Pre-Regulatory Landfill (PRLF) Sites - FY2012-13 Actions 1st Phase Assessments Completed (receptor research, geophysical perimeter assessment) 5 Delineation Phase Assessments (can be multiple field events) 8 1st Phase Assessments Ongoing 5 Delineation Phase Assessments Ongoing 49 Remedial Design Ongoing 9 Remedial Action Ongoing 3 Remedial Action Completed 1 Homes Provided Alternate Water or Treatment Systems Maintained 21 Number of water supply wells sampled 147 Other program activities include groundwater and soil sampling to identify hazards, prioritization of sites, response to public inquiries (these generally run 2000 to 3000 each year), notification of responsible parties of their responsibility for assessment and cleanup, implementation of the Registered Environmental Consultant Program and the Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Program (BAP) (data for the BAP is provided in a separate report to the N.C. General Assembly) and conducting training events. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. The Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory and the Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites Priority List……………………………………………… ...............................................................1 II. Sites That May or Are Known to Require Use of the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund…………………...........................................................................................4 III. National Priorities List Sites Requiring a State Cost-Share...............................................11 IV. Responsible Party Voluntary Site Remedial Action ..........................................................16 V. Imminent Hazard Sites .......................................................................................................24 VI. Summary of the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund and the National Priorities List Cost Share Fund ..............................................................28 Appendix A: Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites Priority List………. .............................................32 Appendix B: Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory – Site Status…………………………………. 82 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory: List of New and Reactivated Sites FY2012-13............................................................................................................... 2 Table 2 Inactive Hazardous Sites Inventory: Sites Receiving No Further Action Status FY2012-13………….…............................................................................... 3 Table 3 Summary of Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund Expenditures FY2012-13... .4 Table 4 North Carolina National Priorities List Sites .........................................................12 Table 5 Voluntary Party Remedial Actions Under Administrative Agreements FY2012-13…………………………………………………………….................17 Table 6 Additional State-Directed Responsible Party Assessments/Cleanups Not Under Voluntary Administrative Agreements During FY2012-13.......................21 Table 7 Summary of Imminent Hazard Sites ......................................................................24