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The 22nd Street Station Site (Site) is located at 2200 South Racine, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, in a mixed residential, commercial, and industrial area. The site is bordered to the north by Cermak Road, to the east by an electrical substation owned by Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), and to the south by the South Branch of the Chicago River. The Site is approximately 7.2 acres in size and is occupied by ComEd.
The Site is a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) that operated as an MGP facility from approximately 1862 to 1958. The Site was initially developed by Peoples Gas to produce coal gas. In 1934 it was modified to produce carbureted water gas and oil gas. In 1944, two production sets were modified to produce reformed natural gas. Peoples Gas began leasing portions of the site to ComEd in 1931 and sold the last portion to ComEd in 1959. The MGP facility at the Site stopped operating in 1958 and the plant was entirely dismantled by 1960.
A preliminary assessment of the Site was conducted by Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) in 1988. Peoples Gas performed site investigations between 2000 and 2002. A Remedial Objectives Report (ROR) was developed that recommended the removal of impacted material from several on-site locations.
Remediation activities, consisting of excavation and disposal of contaminated soils, were begun by Peoples Gas in April 2006 under the IEPA Site Remediation Program. Peoples Gas is the potentially responsible party (PRP) for this site. The PRP contractor remediating the Site is Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. (BMcD) along with their subcontractors.
Site activities by the PRP include excavation to depths ranging from 3 feet to 30 feet below ground surface (bgs). Other site activities by the PRP include daily air monitoring, continuous 24-hour perimeter air monitoring and sampling, confirmation soil sampling, and water treatment and discharge to Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) sanitary sewer.
Site features at the 22nd Street Station include active utility lines that must be supported during excavation work. One area of the site is considered a High Risk Evolution (HRE) area by ComEd. ComEd has placed restrictions on excavation in this area.
Prior to the U.S. EPA oversight at the Site, BMcD excavated impacted material in the east gas holder (to a depth of approximately 20 feet bgs) and portions of the former Throop’s Canal (to a depth of approximately 30 feet bgs). Please see the BMcD map of excavation areas under "documents" on 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 that are 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 mid-2008, while the 22nd Street Station Site remediation is expected to be completed by early 2009.
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 confirmation samples of soil to confirm that the PRP cleanup objectives are being met. Samples are being collected to identify the potential presence of the following site contaminants of concern:
• Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX);
• Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH);
• Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) lead, manganese, and selenium;
• Carbon disulfide [a volatile organic compound (VOC)];
• 2-Methylnaphthalene and 4-chloroanaline [semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC)]; and
• Total lead, manganese, and selenium.
Soil cleanup objectives for the 22nd Street Station Site are IEPA TACO Tier 1 industrial/commercial and construction worker standards for soil ingestion and inhalation, Tier 1 or Tier 2 soil migration to groundwater, and a non-TACO Tier 1 remediation objective for 2-methylnaphthalene.
START also collects or observes the collection of confirmation samples of treated water to be discharged to a MWRD sanitary sewer. Water samples confirm that the MWRD treatment 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 22nd Street Station Site are established by MWRD in the discharge permit issued for the site.
During the reporting period, the PRP excavated Area M, Area L and Area A1 (see BMcD map of excavation areas under "documents" on OSC website). ComEd contractors worked in Areas A1 and north adjacent Cermak Road for an unrelated electrical utility project. On December 24, 25, 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008, the site was closed for a holiday.
A summary of the activities performed during the reporting period by the PRP are as follows:
• Transported 464 loads of soil to CID Landfill in Calumet City, IL or Liberty Landfill in Monticello, Indiana; all trucks 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 December 18, 20 and 26, 2007 and January 4, 2008, elevated levels of benzene were detected. On December 19 and 27, 2007, elevated levels of benzene and dust were detected. On December 28, 2007 and January 7, 2008, elevated levels of dust were detected. Dust and benzene control measures were taken, or the re-sample was below action levels.
• Performed health and safety air monitoring during site activities
• Performed street sweeping activities on Racine Street
• Performed de-watering activities in excavation areas
• Performed water treatment
• Discharged 207,300 gallons of treated water to the MWRD sanitary sewer
• Transported 273,200 gallons of untreated water to the Ortek facility for disposal
• Excavated in Areas M, L and A1 and backfilled completed areas.
• Collected a monthly discharge water sample
On December 21, 2007, BMcD collected the monthly sample of the treated discharge water. The sample was analyzed according to the MWRD permit requirements. BMcD reported that results for the water sample met the required MWRD discharge levels as stated in the permit.
Planned removal actions at the 22nd Street Station Site are as follows:
• Excavate soil per the Remedial Action Plan (RAP)
• Transport excavated soil to CID Landfill or Liberty Landfill for disposal
• De-water excavation areas
• Treat water from de-watering activities and discharge to MWRD sanitary sewer, or transport untreated water offsite for disposal
The next steps to be carried out by the PRP are as follows:
• Continue excavation of Area M, Area L and Area R1
• Continue to de-water excavation areas as required
• Treat water from excavation areas and discharge treated water to MWRD sanitary sewer
• Continue 24-hour perimeter air monitoring and sampling
• Continue air monitoring in work zones
• Continue street sweeping activities on Racine Street
• Continue to decontaminate trucks prior to trucks leaving site
• Collect confirmation samples of Area M and Area R1 cells, when excavation complete
• Complete backfilling of Areas R and S with clean fill
None.
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