United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region III
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

In January, 2005, the USEPA RCRA division received a request from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ)RCRA division for assistance with an abandoned fertilizer facility. The fertilizer production/packaging facility had been abandoned for several months, and contained multiple tailing piles of unknown materials.  The adjacent property owner, Titan America, had recently conducted a Phase 1 & 2 environmental site assessment on the property and found various types of contamination. Titan America’s site assessment found elevated levels of Lead in the groundwater and in several areas of soil. Titan America had notified the VADEQ about their findings and requested assistance to determine cleanup measures that were necessary to determine if purchase of the property would be feasible. The VADEQ and the Chesapeake Fire Marshal’s Office inspected the facility and found the building in poor structural integrity and discovered multiple piles of “unknown” tailings. The Chesapeake Fire Marshall’s Office condemned the facility due to poor structural integrity. The VADEQ forwarded the Titan America assessment to the USEPA and requested the USEPA to conduct a site assessment to determine if any additional hazards were present that could effective the public or the environment.  

A. On March 24, 2005, OSC Brescia performed an Responsible Party (RP) search and found that the land owner was Chesapeake Products, Inc. OSC Brescia contacted Chesapeake Products. Chesapeake Products informed OSC Brescia that all hazardous material had been removed from the facility and granted OSC Brescia verbal/written access to the facility to conduct further assessment. OSC Brescia informed Chesapeake Products that the USEPA would conduct a removal assessment to determine if any hazardous chemicals were on site, and to assess if any soil/water contamination existed. OSC Brescia explained to Chesapeake Products the potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), if any hazardous chemicals, hazardous waste, or contaminant were found, or were found migrating into a navigable waterway.

B. On March 30, 2005, the OSC met with VADEQ personnel Jeffrey Deibler, Chesapeake Deputy Fire Marshall Don Fowler, and the Chesapeake Fire Departments Hazardous Material Team on site to conduct a visual assessment. The visual assessment involved surveying the 7.1 acre parcel of land and buildings. The assessment conducted involved visual identification of any hazardous chemicals, identification of any runoff from the site into the Elizabeth River, and to locate local drinking water wells in the immediate area. Multiple piles of “unknown” tailings were observed inside buildings, and an area of storm water runoff was observed entering into the Elizabeth river. No private water wells were found in the surrounding area. OSC Brescia and Don Fowler interviewed previous Chesapeake Products Employees to determine if any hazardous materials were still present on site, to discuss past releases of sulfuric acid, and to determine why lead concentrations were present from the Titan America site assessment.  From the interviews, the employees informed OSC Brescia and Fowler that no hazardous materials remained on site, and that storm water sampling was conducted regularly. The employees also mentioned that the high lead concentrations found were from a previous Sulfuric Acid production facility on site that contained lead pipes and tanks, and that had several releases/spills into the environment during its production period.

After reviewing the Phase 1&2 Site Assessment performed by Titan America, OSC Brescia determined that elevated lead concentrations were present in the ground water and in the soil at the site. OSC Brescia will be returning to the site during April, 2005, to conduct sampling operations of the remaining piles of tailings and to further assess the areas with elevated levels of lead in the soil.