![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090515073011im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Fact Sheet
November 2007
EPA Announces Record of Decision (ROD), FAR-MAR-CO Subsite, Hastings Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site, Hastings, Nebraska
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces the Record of Decision (ROD) for contaminated ground water cleanup at the FAR-MAR-CO Subsite of the Hastings Groundwater Contamination site was signed on September 7, 2007. A public comment period was held July 9 - August 9, 2007. On July 18, 2007, a public meeting was held at the Hastings Public Library in order to give the public an opportunity to comment on the Proposed Plan.
EPA is the lead agency for the Hastings Site, and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is the support agency. In consultation with NDEQ, EPA selected the Final Remedy, after considering all comments received on the Proposed Plan.
The ROD is available to the public at the Hastings Public Library, 4th and Denver streets, Hastings, Neb. The ROD, along with other documents used to make this decision, has been included in the Administrative Record for this site, and is currently available in the EPA Region 7 Records Center, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan. The Administrative Record will be available in the Hastings Public Library in the near future.
BACKGROUND
The FAR-MAR-CO Subsite is one of the seven subsites that constitute the Hastings Groundwater Contamination Site. The FAR-MAR-CO Subsite is located on the north side of Highway 6 on the eastern edge of Hastings. The Subsite covers about 70 acres in an industrial area which has been used for storage and handling of agricultural products for more than 50 years.
Morrison-Quirk owned the Subsite from 1953 to 1975. During this period, Morrison-Quirk used a liquid grain fumigant containing carbon tetrachloride (CT) and ethylene dibromide (EDB). FAR-MAR-CO, Inc. purchased the property in 1975. FAR-MAR-CO and its successor, Farmland Industries, also used grain fumigant CT and may have used EDB. The Subsite is currently operated by Cooperative Producers, Inc., as a grain storage facility.
An EPA ground water investigation at the Subsite in 1985 found both EDB and CT in on-site ground water at levels above the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). Other chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethylene (TCE), were also detected. A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study was started in 1992. An Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis was completed in 1995, and provided an analysis of the nature and extent of ground water contamination. In 1996, Morrison Enterprises, acting under an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), began the implementation of a ground water removal action to address the threat posed by the migration of the FAR-MAR-CO ground water plume to users of the Community Municipal Services, Inc. (CMS) public drinking water supply system.
In 1999, the city of Hastings extended a water supply line east of the Subsite and began providing city water to the CMS users, eliminating potential human exposure to contaminated water through the public drinking water system. The City’s action made the need for a short term removal action unnecessary. EPA then determined that a long term ground water response action would be necessary to address the contaminants in the ground water that remained above their MCLs. Morrison Enterprises, acting under an AOC, completed a Feasibility Study which evaluated alternatives for a final remedial action.
FINAL REMEDY SELECTED
The final remedy includes ground water extraction at Well D and enhanced in-situ bioremediation in the source area.
The final remedy was selected over the other alternatives because it provides an additional level of long-term protectiveness and a high degree of long-term effectiveness for protection of human health and the environment. It will also provide for an expanded monitoring program. The monitoring program will include monitoring wells located in a manner that will allow for the measurement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the ground water extraction system to hydraulically control FAR-MAR-CO's dissolved contaminant plume.
Based on the information available at this time, EPA and the state of Nebraska believe this final remedy will be protective of human health and the environment, will comply with ARARs, will be cost effective, and will utilize permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies to the maximum extent practicable.
SCOPE AND ROLE OF THE ACTION
This action will be the final action for the Subsite. Source control actions were implemented at FAR-MAR-CO between 1990 and 2002, and the ground water removal action has successfully reduced contaminants in the ground water.
Because the Subsite is located within the Hastings Institutional Control Area (ICA), institutional controls (ICs) are in place and are being maintained. The ICs within the ICA include monitoring the wells, posting warning signs regarding the contamination, and providing alternate water to any resident whose private well is contaminated above health-based levels. In addition to these ICs, the City has enacted an ordinance which restricts the installation of wells within the ICA.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
If you have questions on the Record of Decision, the Final Remedy, or the site in general, please contact:
Beckie Himes
Community Involvement Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913/551-7253
Toll Free: 800/223-0425
e-mail: himes.beckie@epa.gov
