U.S. EPA Proposes $1.9 Million Cleanup Plan for Koppers Pond in N.Y.

July 28, 2016
EPA to hold public meeting, accept public comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a plan to address contaminated soil and sediment at Koppers Pond, which is a part of the Kentucky Avenue Wellfield Superfund site in Horseheads, N.Y. The pond is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. EPA plans to cap the pond bottom to prevent exposure to the pollutants and restrict activities that could damage the cap.

EPA will hold a public meeting Aug. 4, 2016, to explain the proposed plan. EPA is encouraging public comments. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y., at Peterson Chapel in Cowles Hall, which is located at the corner of Washington Avenue and Park Place. Written comments will be accepted until Aug. 22, 2016.

Koppers Pond—approximately 12 acres in area—is part of the Kentucky Avenue Wellfield Superfund site located in the village of Horseheads in Chemung County, N.Y. The Kentucky Avenue Wellfield site was added to the federal Superfund list in 1983 following detection of trichloroethylene (TCE) in a public water supply operated by the Elmira Water Board. Since the 1980s, several cleanup actions have been taken at the site. The wellfield was closed, and residents that had used private wells were connected to the public water supply. As part of earlier cleanup actions, soil that was contaminated with TCE was removed, and a system to treat contaminated groundwater was installed. In addition, PCB-contaminated sediment in the ditch connecting to Koppers Pond was removed.

The proposed plan would require a 6-in. thick underwater cap on the pond’s bottom and continued restrictions on how the capped area can be used to ensure that activities at the site do not damage the cap. Long-term monitoring of the sediment and fish will be conducted. Fish advisories that have been in place since the late 1980s will be revisited and updated as needed. EPA will conduct a review of the completed action within five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters, rather than taxpayers, fund the cleanups. This phase of the cleanup will cost approximately $1.9 million. EPA expects to enter into negotiations with a group of potentially responsible parties for performance of the work at the site.

To view the proposed plan and more information about the site, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/kentucky-avenue.

Written comments may be sent to:

Isabel R. Fredricks, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway
20th Floor
New York, NY 10007

[email protected]

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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