Ga EPD requested EPA assistance at a tornado damaged marina and pleasure craft business near Darien, Ga. Several drums of oil and hazardous waste have been reported to be scattered over a debris field which extends for two miles.
OSC Jeff Crowley arrived on site the morning of May 12th, 2008 and met with the Fire Chief for Darien and EPD. They conducted a site walkthrough to determine the extent of hazardous materials and oil that were scattered across the Site. The Site consists of four separate facilities: the Darien Volunteer Fire Department, a boat repair facility, a custom boat painting facility and the Gateway Behavioral Health Services facility. All four were a complete loss due to the tornado. There are approximately 10 drums of oil and at least two drums of acid strewn through the debris field. There are also hundreds of boat batteries, paint cans, HHW and various other smaller oil containers on the Site. There are also approximately 50-60 boats that have been destroyed in the storm that spilled their contents of oil and gas onto the soil. After speaking with the RP's, local EMA and EPD, it was determined that there was no other financial mechanism for handling the haz mat than for EPA to activate ERRS. ERRS arrived on site late in the day on 5/12 and will begin scouring the debris field and remove any hhw, oil containers, batteries and other hazmat and stage them for future disposal. ERRS will also replace any disposable boom placed by locals and provide a permanent solution for preventing offsite migration of runoff from the Site.
