The site is located at 1904 Summit Avenue in Hastings West Industrial Park on the southwestern outskirts of Hastings, Nebraska. Between 1978 and 2002, the Dana Corporation utilized chlorinated solvents, including tetrachloroethene (PCE), during manufacturing processes at its Hastings facility.
In 1997, a sample from Hastings Municipal Well No. 13, located approximately 800 feet south-southeast of the former Dana Corporation facility, contained PCE at 17 micrograms per liter (µg/l). The Safe Drinking Water Act maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PCE is 5 µg/l. The well was subsequently taken off-line. Municipal Well No. 14, located approximately 1 mile east-southeast of the former Dana Corporation facility, was found to contain 7.3 µg/l of PCE in 2004. Other commercial and private wells in the vicinity have been found to contain PCE above the MCL.
Numerous on-site investigations have been completed at the former Dana Corporation facility between 1998 and the present, including a Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation completed by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in June 2005.
The general objective of the action is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) assumption of the operation of existing soil vapor extraction (SVE) and groundwater extraction systems. Activities included in this action will include assessment of the systems – including enhancements or system modifications, scheduled sampling to determine efficiency and effect, operational costs of the systems (i.e., electricity, gas, and water), and systems checks.
Remedial systems currently present at the site include a GET system and an SVE system. The GET
system includes four groundwater recovery wells: RW-1, RW-2, RW-3, and RW-4. Groundwater is pumped from each well and piped to a treatment building, where it is treated
via a ShallowTray® low-profile air stripper. (Initially, under Dana’s operation, the untreated flow from
these four wells was discharged to the Hastings Publicly-owned Treatment Works; the air stripper was
installed by EPA in March 2007.) The air stripper operates as a forced draft system, and consists of five
stainless steel stripper trays and a sump tank, forced draft blower, and a 5-horsepower (HP) centrifugal
discharge pump. The system is designed to operate at flow rates as high as 75 gallons per minute (gpm).
Treated water is discharged to an on-site surface impoundment (pond). At the time the system was
shutdown, recovery wells RW-1 and RW-2 each typically discharged at about 2 gpm. The pipes from
RW-3 and RW-4 are joined via a manifold outside the treatment building. Combined flow from these two
wells was approximately 8 to 11 gpm at shutdown. Total discharge from the system varied from
approximately 10 to 13 gpm. Notably, production from these wells had declined over the last several
years, apparently due to siltation of the filter pack. Redevelopment of the wells and cleaning of the
screens was last completed in October 2017, with minimal improvement in production. Well inspections
conducted in January 2023 did not indicate appreciable fouling of the pumps or screens, even as well
production rates continued to decline.
The SVE system includes four vapor extraction wells (SVE-1, SVE-2, SVE-3, and SVE-4) that penetrate
the floor near the former Phillips vapor degreaser on the south side of the HEM building, and two vapor
extraction wells (SVE-5 and SVE-6) that penetrate the floor near the former northern vapor degreasers
along the west wall of the HEM building (see Appendix A, Figure 2). Vacuum to the wells is applied via
a positive displacement blower (Sutorbilt 4L-RHC) powered by a 20-horsepower (HP) motor.
The blower is sized to provide up to 400 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of process air. Piping for the
individual wells and combined effluent is equipped with sample ports, pressure indicators, and differential
pressure gauges for sampling and flow calculations. Soil vapor from extraction wells SVE-5 and SVE-6
is combined via a manifold before entering the equipment building. Therefore, collection of separate
samples from these two wells necessitates use of sample ports at the individual well heads inside the
HEM building (west wall).
In the original (Dana) operation, vapors from the six SVE wells were combined to pass through a catalytic
oxidation (catox) unit and scrubber for treatment of the contaminated vapors. However, contaminant
levels in the vapor stream subsequently decreased such that treatment of the vapors was no longer
required (in accordance with state air regulations) prior to discharge.
Work performed during the period between January 2022 through August 2024 included:
• Near daily systems checks
• Paid monthly utilities to run systems
• Completed quarterly sampling of the SVE and GET systems
• Conducted routine maintenance such as SVE air filter replacement, oil changes for the SVE blower, and greasing blower motors
• Replaced the magnehelic gauge on the SVE system
• Prepared and submitted an updated QAPP and HASP for continued quarterly sampling of the SVE and GET systems
• Repaired the northern-most ventilation fan within the remedial equipment building
• Replaced indicator bulbs on the air stripper control panel
• Performed pump/well inspection and pump cleaning at all four GETs wells
• Replaced flow meters for all four GETs wells
• Installed a drain port for the piping associated with SVE well SVE-5/SVE-6 inside the equipment building
• Repaired cracked polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping associated with the SVE system
• Cleaned the air stripper, which included complete breakdown of the 5-tray system and manual removal of scaling from the trays and sump
• Replaced the north heater inside the remedial equipment building
• Responded to a ruptured (frozen) water service pipe inside the remedial equipment building
• Shutdown SVE and GET systems and shuttered remedial equipment building.
Both systems operated under EPA removal program from 2007 until August 2024.
The GET system removed approximately 644 pounds of PCE from 2006 until 2024.
The SVE system removed approximately 1,046 pounds of PCE from 2006 until 2024.
On August 15-16, 2024, EPA contractors conducted shutdown of the SVE and GET systems and prepared the
remedial equipment building for long-term dormancy. Closure activities included general clean-up of the
equipment building; shutting off all electrical systems inside the building and locking out the power
switch outside the building; draining all water lines associated with the GET system inside the building:
and modifying discharge pipes (above the roofline) for the SVE and Get systems to prevent moisture and
wildlife or debris from entering the discharge line. Lastly, utilities were disconnected by the City of Hastings.
Both SVE and the GET Systems were shuttered, but not removed. If needed, both systems may be turned on and operated again in the future.
Transfer from Removal Program to Remedial Program
Remedial Program to provide oversight for OU1, conduct Focused Feasibility Study, develop proposed plan to address contamination.
None Noted
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