The Stallworth Timber facility was a wood treating operation which treated power poles using creosote, pentachlorophenol (PCP), and cromated copper arsenate (CCA). The facility is located at 27 Bryan Street, Beatrice, Monroe County, Alabama. It is located within the city limits. The property is approximately 15 acres in size. The property is bordered by several residential and commercial properties and is close to an elementary school. The site is bordered on the west side by Robinson Creek, which appears to be receiving off-site migration of creosote waste.
Stallworth Timber began the use of PCP and CCA in its wood treating process at this location in 1974. The primary structures on Site include a one-story office building, numerous small buildings that house equipment, three (3) pressure vessels, approximately twenty-three (23) storage tanks/vats, thirty-three (33) fifty-five gallon drums, two dryer buildings and several pieces of heavy equipment for moving logs. There are two log transfer trenches located on the site that are used to move logs into the pressure tanks. These trenches measure approximately 50-75 yards long, 6-8 feet wide and approximately 2 feet deep. A treatment tank exists on the western side of the property that treats waste before discharging into Robinson Creek. Several bare earth log staging areas are located throughout the property. An administrative building is located adjacent to the main complex.
The facility contains numerous tanks and other storage vessels that contain hazardous substances. One tank has a 6,391 gallon capacity and there are eight (8) tanks with a 3,375 gallon tank capacity or greater. Numerous other tanks are on site that hold varying degrees of material ranging from 5% to 100% capacity. Over eighteen-thousand (18,169) gallons of CCA, creosote, PCP and phosphoric acid remain on the premises.
These contaminants, if released from the site, pose a potential hazard to the general public. Contaminated storm/waste water from the site flows down-gradient towards the center of Beatrice and is adjacent to a elementary school. The OSC has determined that the site meets the criteria for initiating a Removal Action under Section 300.415 of the NCP. The threats posed by the site are documented further in the approved Action Memorandum written by the OSC.
