Pollution Report Profile - EPA OSC Response

Peoples Gas Hough Place Station Site
Chicago, IL - EPA Region V
POLREP #9

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On-Scene Coordinator - Tom Cook	12/14/2007
Time-Critical - Removal Action	Pollution Report (POLREP) #9
Start Date: 6/18/2007

Site Description
The Hough Place Station Site (Site) is located at 2500 South Corbett Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, in a mixed residential, commercial, and industrial area.  The site is approximately 4.5 acres and is bordered to the north by the South Branch of the Chicago River, to the east by a paper storage and distribution facility, to the south by railroad property, and to the west by vacant property.  The vacant property to the west and the Site are currently owned by Crowley’s Yacht Yard, which previously operated a sailboat storage, sales, and repair facility at the Site.

The Site is a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) that operated as an MGP facility from approximately 1886 to 1934.  The Site was built in 1985 by the Equitable Gas Light and Fuel Company and in 1892 began producing “Pintsch gas,” a relatively high quality gas produced by an oil gas process, for the Pintsch Compressing Company.  Production of Pintsch gas occurred until about the early 1920s.  In 1897 Peoples Gas acquired the facility and dismantled the station in 1934.  Portions of the property were subsequently leased to other companies who used the property for storage of building materials and the production of asphalt, concrete, and other paving materials until approximately 1950.  In 1953, Chicago Title and Trust Company took possession of the property as trustee.  From approximately 1953 and 1978, the J.M. Corbett Company operated an asphalt mixing plant on the property.  In 1978, Crowley’s Yacht Yard bought the property.

From 2000 to November 2006, several investigations were conducted by Peoples Gas at the Site.  These investigations included the excavation of test pits, the installation of shallow monitoring wells, the collection of soil borings, the collection of soil and groundwater samples, a geotechnical investigation, and borings into river sediments.  Test pits revealed staining and odors, and black asphalt tar at 2 feet below ground surface (bgs).  Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX); polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); metals, and cyanide were detected in several surface and subsurface soil samples.  BTEX, PAHs, and metals were also detected in groundwater samples collected at the Site.  Soil borings indicated tar at levels below the water level in the filled-in boat slip.  The river investigation revealed sheens, odors, tar coated/stained material, and traces of tar in some of the sediment borings.

Remediation activities by Peoples Gas began in November 2006 under the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Site Remediation Program.  Peoples Gas is the potentially responsible party (PRP) for the site.  People’s Gas contracted Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. (BMcD) to remediate the Site, along with their subcontractors.

Remediation consists of excavation and disposal of contaminated soils.  Excavation depths range from approximately 3 feet to 24 feet bgs.  Other site activities conducted by the PRP include daily air monitoring, continuous 24-hour perimeter air monitoring and sampling, confirmation soil sampling, and water treatment, sampling, and discharge.

Prior to the U.S. EPA oversight at the Site, BMcD completed excavation of impacted material in excavation cells CF01 to CF58 (see BMcD map of excavation areas under “documents” on the OSC website).  An Administrative Order on Consent was signed by Peoples Gas in early June 2007 prompting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to begin PRP oversight activities at the Site.

On June 12, 2007, a kick-off meeting was held at the 22nd Street Site between U.S. EPA, START, Peoples Gas, and BMcD, to discuss future oversight activities, documents required, and logistics for transmitting data and documents.  The meeting addressed three MGP sites that U.S. EPA would be overseeing, all located within one mile of each other:  22nd Street Station, Hough Place, and Pitney Court.  Note that one START member is to cover oversight of these three sites and will rotate to a different site each day.  Both Hough Place and Pitney Court remediations are expected to be completed by end of 2007 while the 22nd Street Station Site remediation is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

On June 18, 2007, U.S. EPA began PRP oversight activities at the three Peoples Gas MGP sites:  Hough Place Station, Pitney Court, and 22nd Street Station.  The U.S. EPA Superfund Technical and Response Team (START) contractor is performing PRP oversight during the removal activities at the sites.  As part of the removal activities, START collects or observes the collection of soil confirmation samples to confirm that the PRP cleanup objectives are being met.  Site contaminants of concern are:

•    BTEX;
•    PAHs;
•    Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) lead, chromium, and selenium.

Cleanup objectives for the Hough Place Station Site are as follows:
1. For the 0 to 3.5 foot depth interval, remove all soil that exceeds IEPA TACO Tier 1 residential standards for soil ingestion and install a 3 foot engineered barrier.
2. For the 0 to 10 foot depth interval, remove all soil that exceeds IEPA TACO Tier 1 residential standards for soil inhalation and where necessary, install a 10 foot engineered barrier.
3. For soil deeper than 10 feet bgs, remove all soil that exceeds IEPA TACO Tier 1 and Tier 3 residential standards for soil ingestion, and use the 10 foot overburden as an engineered barrier, if necessary, to prevent exposure via inhalation.
4. Invoke a construction worker notice and the City of Chicago Ordinance prohibiting installation of potable wells on the Site to eliminate the construction worker and groundwater exposure pathways.

In August 2007, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) finalized the discharge permit that authorizes treatment and discharge of treated Site water to an onsite MWRD sanitary sewer.  START collects or observes the collection of treatment water samples to confirm that the MWRD objectives are being met. Samples are being collected to identify the potential presence of the following site contaminants of concern:

•    Target Compound List (TCL) VOC;
•    PAH; and
•    Target Analyte List (TAL) Metals.

Treated water objectives for the Site are established by MWRD in the discharge permit issued for the site.

Current Activities
During the reporting period, the PRP excavated cells 076, 086, 089, 088, and 087.  The PRP conducted confirmation sampling of confirmation cells 076 and 086.  The PRP also assessed the east adjacent Centerpoint property to define the boundaries of investigation and remediation activities for the Hough Slip area.  On October 12, 2007, BMcD began a geotechnical and environmental soil boring investigation in the former Hough Slip area.

A summary of the remediation activities performed during the reporting period are as follows:

•    Transported 332 loads to CID Landfill in Calumet City, Illinois; truck tires decontaminated prior to leaving site.
•    Performed perimeter air sampling and air monitoring on a continuous basis (24-hour air samples and air monitoring is conducted around the perimeter).  On October 9-12 and 15, 2007, elevated dust air levels were detected.  Dust control measures were taken.  On October 15, 2007, elevated benzene air levels were detected. Benzene control measures were taken.  During the week of October 7, 2007, one of the perimeter air monitoring stations was relocated to the new east fence line.
•    Performed health and safety air monitoring during site activities.
•    Performed street sweeping activities in front of the Site and along Senour Street.
•    Performed daily de-watering activities in excavation areas.  Performed water treatment and discharged 147,960 gallons of treated water to the MWRD system.
•    Performed dust suppression activities on-site and along Senour Street with use of a water truck.
•    Collected confirmation soil samples from excavation cells 076 and 086.
•    Backfilled completed excavation cells.

On October 3, 2007, START personnel collected one confirmation soil sample from the floor of excavation cell 076, along with BMcD.  START personnel also observed as BMcD collected one soil sample each from the east and north wall of 076.   The samples were analyzed for BTEX and PAHs.  The north wall sample was also analyzed for SPLP metals.  The START and BMcD soil sample results met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the Remedial Action Plan (RAP).

On October 3, 2007, BMcD excavated a test pit at the south fence-line east of Corbett Street (Test Pit 54) and collected characterization samples. The samples were analyzed for BTEX and PAHs.  The soil sample results indicated the presence of PAHs at the shallow and deeper intervals.

On October 4, 2007, BMcD collected one soil sample from the floor of 086.   The sample was analyzed for BTEX and PAHs.  The soil sample results met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.

Analytical results from previous sampling events have been received and evaluated by START:

On September 20, 2007, BMcD collected a second soil sample from the floor of 079 and submitted it for BTEX, PAHs and SPLP metals.  The sample results again indicated that BTEX and PAH objectives were exceeded, and an engineered barrier is required to meet the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.  SPLP metals met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.

On September 25, 2007, BMCD collected one soil sample each from the north wall of 073, and the floors of 074 and 075 and submitted them for BTEX and PAHs.  The soil sample results met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.

On September 26, 2007, START and BMcD collected one confirmation soil sample from the floor of excavation cell 085.  BMCD also collected one soil sample from the north wall of 074.  The samples were analyzed for BTEX and PAHs.  The results for soil sample 085, collected by START, met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.  The BMcD results for both samples also met the PRP cleanup levels as stated in the RAP.

On September 26, 2007, BMcD collected a treatment water sample from the discharge hose of the water treatment system, and submitted it for SDA-002 parameters specified by MWRD.  The water sample results met the MWRD treatment objectives as stated in the discharge permit.

START is awaiting laboratory results for the following:

On August 3, 2007, BMcD collected one soil sample from the floor of 068, and submitted it for BTEX, PAHs and SPLP metals analysis.   Results for SPLP metals have not yet been reported by BMcD.

Planned Removal Actions
Planned removal actions at the Hough Place Station Site are as follows:

•    Excavate soil per the RAP
•    Transport excavated soil to CID Landfill for disposal
•    De-water excavation areas
•    Treat and dispose water onsite to the MWRD system
•    Backfill completed excavation areas

Next Steps
The next steps to be carried out by the PRP are as follows:

•    Complete excavation of cells 087, 088, and 089; including disposal of soil
•    Begin excavation of cell 090
•    Continue to de-water excavation areas as required
•    Treat water and discharge to MWRD system
•    Continue dust suppression activities with water truck
•    Continue 24-hour perimeter air monitoring and sampling
•    Continue air monitoring in work zones
•    Continue street sweeping activities
•    Continue to decontaminate trucks prior to trucks leaving site
•    Collect confirmation samples of cells 087-089, when completed
•    Backfill completed excavation cells with clean fill when confirmation results are received
•    Complete the Hough Slip environmental and geotechnical drilling investigation

Key Issues
None.

Disposition Of Wastes

Waste Stream	Quantity	Disposal Facility
Non-hazardous Soil - November 2006	4,830 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - November 2006	238,200 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - December 2006	12,600 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - December 2006	72,000 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - January 2007	17,280 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - January 2007	48,700 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - January 2007	34,000 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - February 2007	13,425 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - February 2007	20,200 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - February 2007	22,600 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - March 2007	15,645 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - March 2007	203,500 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - March 2007	94,600 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - April 2007	18,450 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - April 2007	178,100 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - April 2007	79,200 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - May 2007	20,025 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - May 2007	134,400 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - May 2007	20,025 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - June 2007	16,320 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - June 2007	384,955 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - July 2007	14,535 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - July 2007	544,300 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - July 2007	164,700 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - August 2007	17,130 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - August 2007	297,600 gallons	Ortek, Inc., McCook, IL
Non-hazardous Liquid Waste Water - August 2007	340,900 gallons	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL
Non-hazardous Soil - September 2007	10,260 yd3	CID RDF, Calumet City, IL