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Fact Sheet

August 2005

EPA Announces Proposed Plan and Public Meeting, Missouri Electric Works
Superfund Site, Operable Unit 2, Cape Girardeau, Missouri

INTRODUCTION

EPA Region 7 and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) are releasing a Proposed Plan to address contaminated groundwater at the Missouri Electric Works (MEW) Superfund Site, Operable Unit 2 (OU2) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

The EPA and MDNR are asking for your comments on the Proposed Plan. Although EPA is recommending an action to address the contamination, a final decision will not be made until EPA reviews comments from the public. A 30-day public comment period will run from August 21, 2005 until September 19, 2005. A public meeting is scheduled September 8, 2005 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. The community is invited to attend and present comments at the meeting. Written comments will be accepted until September 19, 2005.

After all comments are evaluated, EPA and MDNR will make a decision, which will be published in a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD will also include a summary of EPA’s responses to the comments received during the public comment period.

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PUBLIC MEETING AND COMMENT PERIOD

The EPA and MDNR will hold a public meeting to give the
community the opportunity to make public comments
on the Proposed Plan for OU2.

The meeting will be held September 8, 2005, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
at the Drury Lodge, Lincoln Room, 104 South Vantage Drive
in Cape Girardeau. Written comments must be postmarked no
later than September 19, 2005, and should be sent to:

Dianna Whitaker
Office of External Programs
U.S. EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
whitaker.dianna@epa.gov
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SITE BACKGROUND

The MEW Site is located at 824 South Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Missouri Electric Works, Inc. conducted a motor and transformer sales and repair business at the site from 1954 until 1992. Transformers which contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were stored on the site. EPA discovered PCB contamination in site soils in 1984. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1990. A Remedial Investigation (RI) was conducted at the site during 1989 and 1990. Site soils and adjacent properties were found to be contaminated with PCBs. Groundwater contaminants detected during the RI included volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and PCBs.

As a Superfund project, the site was divided into three operable units:
1) OU1 focused on contaminated soils and was completed in 2000; 2) OU2 will address groundwater contamination; and 3) OU3 will address ecological risk to the wetland south of the MEW property caused by migrating soil and/or groundwater contamination.

The Proposed Plan presents the findings of a Feasibility Study (FS) performed by the Settling Defendants to a Consent Decree approved in Federal District Court in March 1998.

REMEDIAL ALTERNATIVES

The remedial alternatives that received detailed evaluation in the FS are identified below. Alternatives which address groundwater contamination in the fractured bedrock are identified with a “FB” prefix; those alternatives which address groundwater in the alluvium are identified with an “AL” prefix.

Fractured Bedrock Alternatives

Alternative FB-1 -- No Action

Alternative FB-2 -- Limited Action Includes Institutional Controls (ICs), Wellhead Treatment, and Long-Term Groundwater Monitoring.

Alluvium Alternatives

Alternative AL-1 -- No Action

Alternative AL-2 -- Limited Action
Includes ICs, Wellhead Treatment and Monitoring

Alternative AL-3 -- Collection
Includes ICs, Wellhead Treatment, Monitoring and Targeted Groundwater Collection, Treatment and Discharge (Collection)

Alternative AL-4 – Discharge
Includes ICs, Wellhead Treatment, Monitoring, Collection and Enhanced Bio-Degradation (EBD)

Alternative AL-5 – In-situ Treatment
Includes ICs, Wellhead Treatment, Monitoring, Collection, EBD and Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA)

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ICs consist of activity and use limitations typically imposed by restrictive covenants and easements. ICs may include a “special area” designation by the MDNR Geological Survey & Resource Assessment Division, which would restrict well placement in the area.

Wellhead Treatment systems, such as activated carbon or air strippers, would be used to remove contaminants from drinking water supply wells.

Monitoring would entail sampling and laboratory analysis of contaminated groundwater from a number of new and existing monitoring wells in the bedrock and alluvium.

Collection would remove contaminants from extracted groundwater using carbon adsorption technology with discharge of treated water into the Cape Girardeau Publicly Owned Treatment Works.

EBD is a treatment used to accelerate the breakdown of contaminants in the groundwater through introduction of a bio-degradation agent.

MNA refers to ongoing monitoring of groundwater to evaluate conditions and verify or confirm that contaminant levels are decreasing through natural processes and are on track to achieve targeted cleanup levels.
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THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES

For the Fractured Bedrock - Alternative FB-2 is recommended as the preferred alternative for contamination in the fractured bedrock. This alternative would include three components: Institutional Controls; wellhead treatment; and long-term groundwater monitoring.

For the Alluvium - Alternative AL-4 is EPA’s preferred alternative for addressing contamination in the alluvium. This alternative consists of four components: Institutional Controls; wellhead treatment, long-term groundwater monitoring, and the injection of a bio-degradation agent into the alluvium.

While AL-4 is EPA’s preferred alternative for addressing contamination in the alluvium, it appears that natural physical, biological, and chemical processes are acting to reduce contaminant levels in this aquifer. EPA expects that quarterly groundwater monitoring will show that these processes are working adequately to address this contamination.

Upon a demonstration that such processes are in fact occurring, EPA’s preferred alternative for addressing the contamination in the alluvium will become AL-5. The primary difference between AL-4 and AL-5 is that AL-4 requires injection of an agent into the groundwater to hasten contaminant degradation. With AL-5, contaminant levels degrade through naturally occurring processes without the introduction of a bio-degradation agent.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Proposed Plan and other site documents provide details of the nature and extent of contamination and work that has been completed at the site. These documents are part of the Administrative Record, available during regular business hours at the following locations:

Cape Girardeau Public Library
711 N. Clark Street
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Dianna Whitaker
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA Region 7
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
913-551-7003, Toll-free 1-800-223-0425
E-mail: whitaker.dianna@epa.gov

 

 

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