The Browning Lumber Company operated a pressure treatment facility at the site location until 1996 and a sawmill at the site location until 1998. Chromated Copper Arsenate was utilized during the pressure treatment processing of lumber and the company obtained an EPA ID number for hazardous waste activity in 1987; the company also received a WV/NPDES Permit for operation of the treatment facility.
Since the facility's abandonment in 1998, a fire destroyed portions of the facility. However, during an inspection conducted by WVDEP in July, 2002, to evaluate compliance with the West Virginia Hazardous Waste Management Act, residual products from the operations conducted at the facility were observed on the site. WVDEP observed that human trespassing was occurring at the site by evidence of dumped materials and trash. WVDEP conducted TCLP sampling and determined that elevated TCLP values for arsenic were present in one of the pressure treatment vessels and in the soil below the vessel.
WVDEP contacted EPA Region III and requested that they take the lead in conducting a full assessment at the site and take any necessary actions in mitigating the threats at the site.
On June 19, 2006, the OSC activated a removal action at the site under his delegation of authority for $250,000. Initial actions included the installation of an entrance fence and coordination with the Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) for assistance in design/construction of an access bridge across Pond Fork stream.
OSC received Stream Crossing Plan from ACOE on 06/20/2006.
EPA has notified current and former owners and/or operators of the Site that they may be potentially liable for the costs incurred by EPA for the Site clean-up.
On September 13, 2006, a Removal Action Memorandum for the amount of $2,516,339 was signed to address the environmental issues at the Site.
Access Road Activities:
ERRS completed spreading and compacting the final layer of crushed rock on the access bridge.
Vessels and Pad Decontamination Activities:
ERRS began clearing non contaminated debris from the concrete pads of the wood treatment area. OSC and ERRS developed a game plan for removing the piping from the tanks/and pumps. The plan involves the cutting of the pipe into 3 foot sections and staging for disposal.
ERRS began the removal of the fallen roof and trusses covering the drying pad area. This material was staged at the north end of the concrete pads. During the demolition of the roof, ERRS used water from a portable storage tank for dust suppression. The materials were sorted based on visual contamination. The contaminated materials were staged on the concrete pad.
START setup DataRams for monitoring particulate levels at the edge of the hot zone on the north, south, and east sides of the operations. A hillside occupies the west side of the area. The wind was predominately from the south. The maximum reading was recorded on the northern air monitor at 562.6 ug/m3 with a TWA of 58.2 ug/m3. The air readings to the east averaged 44.75 and the readings to the south 37.85 ug/m3. Action Level for needing additional dust control is 2500 ug/m3.
At the OSC’s request, the former plant operator arrived onsite. The plant operator provided details on the wood treatment process, tank contents, and the functional areas around the concrete pads. The operator helped identify an area of elevated arsenic anomaly discovered to the north of the concrete pads as an additional drying/storage area for treated lumber awaiting shipping.
ERRS completed the removal of the fallen roof and trusses. This exposed the drainage area consisting of carts and rails which extend north from the pressure vessel. This formerly covered area was where the treated lumber was allowed to drain immediately after removal from the pressure vessel and staged prior to being packaged for shipment.
ERRS measured the contents of the 8000 gallon AST in three different places and found the tank to contain solids sloping from 3 inches at one end to 28 inches thick at the other end. These dimension were used to roughly estimate the volume to be 180 ft of material.
The daily air monitoring TWAs ranged from 56.0 to 69.8 ug/m3.
START to develop and implement an extent of contamination sampling plan to include subsurface soil sampling and groundwater flow determination.
START to subcontract Geoprobe services for accomplishing the sampling.
OSC will continue to coordinate site activities with State and local authorities.
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