A manufactured gas plant operated at the Huntsville Gas Company (HGC) site from 1856 to about 1948. The facility originally operated in 1856 as the Huntsville Gas Light Company, and after several name changes, the facility became the Huntsville Gas company in 1932. In 1946, HGC became part of the Alabama Gas Corporation (Alagasco) and the facility was abandoned; it was later disassembled somewhere between 1950 and 1970. In the 1970s, the Searcy Homes development was constructed, a portion of which resides on property previously occupied by HGC.
The site is bordered on the west by an unnamed drainage ditch, which flows 200’ to the southwest into Pinhook Creek. Directly across the drainage ditch is a railroad line, from which coal and other raw materials were allegedly supplied to the HGC facility during its operation. Several current structures reside on the former HGC footprint: a 0.1 acre vegetable garden, a concrete basketball court, the Searcy Homes Office, and 5 duplex residential buildings.
EPA ERRB and a Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contractor, with assistance from ADEM, collected soil samples from the site and found elevated levels of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface soils, subsurface soils (depth of 24”), and sediments of the unnamed creek. PAHs are hazardous substances as defined by Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 101(14) and at least six PAHs are listed hazardous wastes under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) § 261.33(f). Site conditions meet the requirements for initiating a time-critical removal action according to criteria listed in Section 300.415(b)(2) of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
Informationabout the HGC site is available in POLREP #1 – Removal Site Evaluation. Information about manufactured gas plants and PAHs is available by clicking on the links tab at the top of this page.
