Niagara River Toxics Management Plan (NRTMP) Reports

Reduction of Toxics Loadings to the Niagara River From Hazardous Waste Sites in the United States

NOVEMBER 1998

A Report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix:
Priority Niagara River Hazardous Waste Sites

• Occidental Chemical -- Buffalo Avenue
• Niagara County Refuse Disposal
• DuPont Necco Park
• CECOS International
• Occidental Chemical -- Hyde Park
• 102nd Street
• Bell Aerospace Textron
• Occidental Chemical -- Durez Division, Niagara Falls (formerly BTL Specialty)
• Occidental Chemical, S-Area
• Stauffer Chemical
• Solvent Chemical
• Vanadium Corporation of America (formerly SKW Alloys)
• Olin Corporation
• DuPont -- Buffalo Avenue
• Buffalo Color Corporation
• Buffalo Color -- Area D
• Bethlehem Steel Corporation
• River Road (INS Equipment)
• Niagara Mohawk -- Cherry Farm
• Frontier Chemical, Pendleton
• Frontier Chemical, Royal Avenue
• Occidental Chemical -- Durez Division, North Tonawanda
• Gratwick Riverside Park
• Mobil Oil
• Iroquois Gas-Westwood Pharmaceutical
• Booth Oil

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Since 1987, the Niagara River has been the focus of attention for four environmental agencies in the United States and Canada ("The Four Parties"). In a Declaration of Intent, the Four Parties committed to reducing toxic chemical inputs to the Niagara River. Hazardous waste sites were considered the most significant non-point source of toxics to the River. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) identified 26 U.S. sites responsible for over 99% of the estimated input from all such sites on the U.S. side of the basin, and put them on ambitious remediation schedules. Remediation of the sites is intended to virtually eliminate the migration of toxic pollutants from the sites.

All remedial construction has been completed at 9 of the sites. The remedial technology will be operated and monitored for effectiveness for years to come at those sites. Remedial actions are underway at 13 sites. Five of these are interim remedies, including 4 sites under interim remediation while final remedies are being designed or investigated, and one site where an interim remedial action was completed and an effort to identify potentially responsible parties is underway. At 9 of the 13 sites where remedial actions are underway, significant remedial controls are already operating. For many of these sites, the load reductions are substantial. The remaining sites are under design or study.

Based on various simplifying assumptions, EPA estimates that remediations to date have reduced the potential inputs into the River by at least 25%. This estimate is based primarily on the sites where the final remedial action is completed. It does not include the load reductions at all the sites where remedial controls are operating, though the reductions may be substantial. Therefore, the actual reductions to date exceed 25%. EPA also estimates that remedial activities to be completed through the first quarter of 1999 at several of the most significant sites will reduce the potential inputs into the River by approximately 80%. Revised remediation schedules call for all of the sites to be completed by 2003. Work by EPA and DEC is underway to improve reduction estimates.

Recent accomplishments in remediation of the priority waste sites include the following: Construction and optimization of the remedial systems has been completed at the Olin Corporation site and Buffalo Color - Area D. The groundwater stabilization programs at the Occidental Chemical Corporation's Buffalo Avenue site are nearly complete. Occidental is enhancing its new treatment plant for contaminated groundwater to allow increased groundwater extraction rates, and has converted an abandoned sewer line to an overburden groundwater collection system. This system is being augmented by installation of a tile drain collection system. Construction of remedial systems is also nearly complete at the 102nd Street site. The final landfill cap was recently completed. The leachate pump-and-treat system is under construction and due to be completed in December 1998. Site landscaping will be completed in March 1999. At Occidental's S-Area site, the new Niagara Falls Drinking Water Treatment Plant (DWTP) was completed and is now supplying the community with its drinking water. This allowed construction to begin on the remedy for the old DWTP area. The old DWTP was demolished, the final portion of the perimeter barrier wall was completed, and the cap and groundwater collection system are being installed. All remedial work is complete at the River Road and Niagara Mohawk - Cherry Farm sites, except for sediment removal. The remedial action includes fish and wildlife habitat enhancements. At Occidental's Hyde Park site, additional extraction wells were completed, and more are being installed, to ensure effective hydraulic containment. Remedial construction recently began at several sites, including Niagara County Refuse Disposal. The remedy at this site includes a perimeter clay barrier wall, leachate collection with off-site treatment, a final landfill cap, and other actions. At the Vanadium Site, an interim remedial action was initiated by one of the potentially responsible parties. The action involves capping portions of the site and control of storm water runoff.

Estimates of the cost of remediation are available for most of the 26 priority hazardous waste sites. Based on these estimates, the costs incurred to date are at least $ 316,900,000. Additional costs expected in the future are estimated at $ 312,700,000.

INTRODUCTION

Since 1987, the Niagara River has been the focus of attention for four environmental agencies in the U.S. and Canada, called "The Four Parties". The Four Parties signed a Niagara River Declaration of Intent, pledging cooperation to achieve significant reductions of toxic chemical pollutants in the Niagara River. The Declaration of Intent and a work plan form the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan (NRTMP).

Under the NRTMP, the Four Parties identified 18 persistent toxic chemicals as "priority toxics". Actions to reduce the inputs of these priority toxics to the Niagara River have been aimed at point sources and non-point sources. Significant point sources on both sides of the River have been identified and are being addressed in U.S. and Canadian point source plans. The Four Parties summarize progress in controlling point sources in an annual report, last issued in February 1998 (Niagara River Secretariat, 1998).

Non-point sources of toxic chemicals to the River (e.g., leachate from hazardous waste sites, storm water runoff, atmospheric deposition) are more difficult to quantify and control. Given the limited information available about non-point sources, the U.S. has proceeded with its actions based on the assumption that hazardous waste sites are the most significant non-point sources of toxic chemicals to the River.

In 1988, an EPA study estimated potential toxic pollutant loadings to the River from U.S. hazardous waste sites (Gradient Corp/Geotrans Inc 1988). All known U.S. waste sites in the Niagara River area were considered. To help EPA/DEC focus actions on the sites that have the most significant potential for polluting the River, the report produced a list of 70 most-significant U.S. sites. The agencies treated the 70 sites as 33 site clusters, largely based on the manner in which data have historically been collected. Figure 1 shows the locations of these 33 clusters, and several additional hazardous waste sites.

The study showed that an estimated 694 lbs (315 kg)/day of toxic chemicals have the potential of migrating from the sites to the Niagara River. Because collection of site-specific transport data is ongoing, estimates were made based on certain assumptions -- for instance, that groundwater flow is horizontal, and that pollutants behave in a conservative manner. These assumptions yielded conservative estimates (i.e., estimates of toxic loadings that are expected to be higher than the actual loadings).

Figure 1 Location of Significant Niagara River Hazardous Waste Sites

Figure 1: LEGEND

EPA and DEC issued a report in November 1989 prioritizing the 33 site clusters in order of their potential for polluting the River (EPA/DEC 1989). Table 1 presents the 33 site clusters divided into three categories, based on Gradient/Geotrans estimates of their potential toxic loads to the Niagara River:

Category I: Sites with greater than 50 lb/day loads
Category II: Sites with 1 to 50 lb/day loads
Category III: Sites with less than 1 lb/day loads

Sites from Category I and II collectively represented 99.9% of the total estimated loadings.

In keeping with the strategy to reduce inputs from the sites with the potential for contributing the largest amounts of pollutants to the River, the EPA/DEC report presented ambitious remediation schedules for the Category I and II sites. The report's best estimates indicated that the potential inputs of all toxic chemicals from these sites to the River would be reduced by 99% by 1996, if remediation schedules were met. However, the 1989 schedules were estimates based on limited knowledge of site conditions and average negotiation periods with Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs). Delays in the schedules have occurred, because of lengthy legal proceedings with PRPs or complex site conditions that were unanticipated. Thus, many of the sites have exceeded their original 1996 targeted completion date. In each progress update, EPA and DEC explain the circumstances surrounding the slippages in the site-specific reports in the Appendix.

Since 1989, EPA and DEC have also reevaluated the hazardous waste sites to identify those that new information shows are significant sources of toxic chemicals to Niagara River. Two sites have been removed as insignificant sources of toxics, and four sites have been added as significant sources. This November 1998 update reports on remediation progress at the resulting 26 significant hazardous waste sites.

EPA estimates that a reduction of 25% or more in potential toxic chemical inputs from all sites to the River has been achieved by the site remediations to date. The estimate is based on the percentage of remedial actions in place at some of the 22 sites with completed or on-going remedial actions (Table 2). A 100% reduction was assumed for the 9 sites with all remedial actions in place, and a percentage reduction was estimated for two other sites with partial implementation of remedial actions. Since estimates could not be made for many of the sites with on-going remediation, actual reductions to date are greater than the estimated 25%. Remedial systems are functioning at 9 of the 13 sites where remediation is underway, and these systems are expected to have already substantially reduced the off-site loadings. For example, groundwater pump-and-treat systems are operational at several sites, thus substantially reducing potential loadings to the river. Table 2 identifies the sites where remediation is not yet completed, but which have operational remedial systems that are expected to have reduced contaminant loads to the river.

Completion of final remedial actions are expected within the next several months at two of the most significant sites (OCC Buffalo Avenue, 102nd Street). Based on the expected implementation of the final remedial actions at these sites in 1998 and the first quarter of 1999, EPA's best estimates are that, by the end of this period, the estimated toxic chemical inputs from all sites will be reduced by approximately 80% from the 1989 inputs. Revised schedules call for all sites to be remediated by 2003.

Efforts are underway by EPA and DEC to improve estimates of the chemical loadings to the Niagara River from the 26 waste sites. The focus of the efforts is to develop loading estimates for the 18 NRTMP priority toxic chemicals. The estimates will incorporate information that was not available at the time the Gradient/Geotrans estimates were developed, for example, improved information on chemical concentrations in groundwater and groundwater flow. At EPA's request, several site PRPs agreed to use existing information collected under EPA and DEC approved programs to develop loading estimates for several of the sites. EPA and DEC are reviewing a report submitted by the PRPs. DEC has completed data collection addressing the remaining sites. The efforts are expected to be completed in 1999. EPA and DEC expect that the results will confirm the significant progress in reduction of toxic chemical loadings.

In addition to remediation efforts at the waste sites themselves, it is also important to recognize the role of the Niagara Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant in reducing toxic inputs from a number of waste sites to the River. Based on information available in 1987, the U.S. identified the Falls Street Tunnel as the largest source of toxic pollutants from any of its point sources. The Tunnel was once a major unlined industrial sewer cut into the bedrock under the City of Niagara Falls. By the mid-1980s, it only received overflows of wastewater from the sewers of a Niagara Falls industrial area and contaminated groundwater from major waste sites infiltrating through cracks in the bedrock. Unlike flows from other point sources, flows from the Falls Street Tunnel entered the Niagara River untreated. In 1993, EPA and DEC required the City of Niagara Falls to treat the contaminated water flowing in the Falls Street Tunnel during dry weather at the Niagara Falls treatment plant. The data gathered by the U.S. show that this action has reduced, through wastewater treatment, the input from the Falls Street Tunnel into the River of mercury by 70%, tetrachloroethylene by 85% and four other priority toxic chemicals by almost 100%, relative to the 1980s inputs.

Since the Falls Street Tunnel captures portions of the upper Lockport bedrock groundwater flow from seven hazardous waste sites, the actions taken to control discharge from the Tunnel reduce the inputs from the following sites to the River:

For this report, reductions in toxic chemical inputs to the River due to the treatment of Falls Street Tunnel flow are not included in the estimate of the reduction in toxic inputs.

TABLE 1

Gradient/Geotrans Prioritization of Waste Sites According to Potential Toxic Loadings to Niagara River in 1988

Category I: greater than 50 lb/day

• Occidental Chemical - Buffalo Ave.
• Niagara County Refuse Disposal
• DuPont Necco Park
• CECOS International
• Occidental Chemical - Hyde Park

Category II: between 1 - 50 lb/day

• Occidental Chemical - 102nd Street
• Bell Aerospace Textron
• Occidental Chemical - Durez, Niagara Falls (formerly known as BTL Specialty Resins)
• Occidental Chemical - S-Area
• Stauffer Plant (PASNY)
• Solvent Chemical
• Vanadium Corp. (formerly SKW Alloys)
• Olin - Buffalo Avenue Plant
• DuPont - Buffalo Avenue Plant
• Buffalo Harbor Containment
• Buffalo Color, including Area D
• Bethlehem Steel
• River Road (INS Equipment)
• Frontier Chemical - Pendleton
• Occidental Chemical - Durez, North Tonawanda
• Small Boat Harbor Containment
• Gratwick Riverside Park
• Mobil Oil

Category III: less than 1 lb/day

• Alltift Realty
• Dunlop Tire and Rubber
• Charles Gibson
• Columbus-McKinnon
• Great Lakes Carbon
• Love Canal
• Huntley Power Station
• Times Beach Containment
• Tonawanda Coke
• Allied Chemical
• Tonawanda Landfill

SUMMARY OF REMEDIATION PROGRESS

Overview of Remediation Status

Table 2 and Figure 2 give overviews of remediation status at the 26 waste sites. In summary:

• All remediation is in place at 9 of the sites. The remedial technology installed at those sites will be operated and monitored for effectiveness for years to come.
• Remedial actions are underway at 13 sites.
  • 5 of these are interim remedies, including 4 sites under interim remediation while final remedies are being investigated or designed, and one site where an interim remedial action was completed and PRP search efforts are underway.
  • Construction of the final remedy is underway at 8 sites.
• Remedial actions are under design or investigation at 8 sites (including 4 of the sites under interim remediation).

Highlights of Recent Actions

For each site, a detailed description of progress is presented in the Appendix. The highlights of progress made, with emphasis on accomplishments since the last progress report in May 1997, are summarized below.

Occidental Chemical -- Buffalo Ave

• Final completion of the groundwater stabilization programs in December 1998 will effectively eliminate future off-site contaminant loadings.
• A recently constructed plant to treat contaminated groundwater is being enhanced by increasing plant capacity and adding additional treatment measures. Once this is complete, the extraction rates of the bedrock groundwater recovery system will be increased.
• Conversion of abandoned sewer line to an overburden groundwater collection system, and a groundwater collection trench to expand the capture zone, was completed and began operation December 1997. The system is now being augmented by installation of a tile drain system to further enhance groundwater capture.
• Occidental Chemical will submit a comprehensive, site-wide, Final Corrective Measures Study in November 1998.

Niagara County Refuse Disposal

• EPA approved the Final Design Report in September 1997.
• The municipalities responsible for site remediation completed the requirements for state assistance in the remediation in May 1998.
• Remedial construction began in fall 1998. The remedy includes a perimeter clay barrier wall, leachate collection with off-site treatment and disposal, removal of field tile drains to the west of the landfill, a final landfill cap, and other actions.
• Completion of the Remedial Action is expected by September 2000.

TABLE 2 - STATUS OF SITE REMEDIATIONS

DuPont Necco Park

• The Proposed Plan was released to the public in July 1996.
• Extensive public comments on the Proposed Plan, leading EPA to revise the plan and provide an additional public comment period, contributed to delays. A Record of Decision was issued in September 1998.
• The following are among the measures included in the Final Remedy:
  • Upgrading the existing cap;
  • Containment of the overburden source area using hydraulic measures or a physical barrier;
  • Containment of the bedrock source area using hydraulic measures;
  • Treatment of the extracted groundwater on-site or off-site;
  • Collection and off-site disposal of DNAPL;
  • Comprehensive monitoring and additional site characterization.
• Remedial Design began in October 1998.
• Remedial construction is expected to begin December 1999. RA completion is expected September 2001.

Occidental Chemical -- Hyde Park

• Though the RA is not completed, the remedial systems are already containing most of the contaminated groundwater on site, thus greatly reducing the potential contaminant loading to the Niagara River. All of the overburden groundwater is being contained. In the three bedrock groundwater zones, at least 80% of contaminated groundwater is being contained. Remedial work to achieve full containment is continuing.
• Phase III of the bedrock groundwater treatment system was installed (pumping and monitoring wells, and force mains connecting the wells to the treatment plant), in mid-1997.
• However, complex site conditions and difficulties in pumping NAPL continue to result in the need to install additional wells. Three additional pumping wells were installed in Spring 1998, and the connecting force main will be completed in December 1998. Completion of all remedial systems, including optimization, is expected by September 2000.
• Sampling of fenced groundwater seeps in the Niagara River Gorge Face was conducted in 1997. Results indicated no need for additional control or remediation of the seep areas.

102nd Street

• The final landfill cap was completed in 1998.
• The potential for contaminants to enter the River from this site will be eliminated with the completion of the leachate pump-and-treat system in December 1998.
• The remedial design was modified to take advantage of excess capacity at the Love Canal Treatment Plant. Instead of on-site leachate treatment, a force main is being constructed to pump leachate from the 102nd Street Site to the Love Canal Treatment Plant.
• Landscaping and optimization of the pump-and-treat system will continue until March 1999.

Bell Aerospace Textron

• CMI start-up was in 1995. An additional extraction well was installed in July 1998 to ensure that contaminated groundwater is not migrating from the site.

Occidental Chemical, S-Area

• The new Niagara Falls Drinking Water Treatment Plant (DWTP) was completed and fully operational in March 1997.
• This allowed construction of the remedy for the old DWTP property to begin. Decommission and demolition of the old plant were completed in early 1998. The barrier wall on the eastern perimeter of the property was completed in May 1998, thus completing barrier wall construction around the S-area site.
• The cap and overburden drain collection system for the old DWTP property are now being installed. Completion is expected December 1998.
• Operation of the drain collection system for the landfill portion of the site began in 1996. Additional wells were installed in 1997 to improve the performance of the system in collecting NAPL. However, a portion of the system is not functioning as designed due to collapse of the drain pipe in several areas. EPA and DEC are assessing what actions are necessary to repair or replace the damaged system. EPA anticipates that this problem will delay completion of the Remedial Action by approximately one year, until 2000.
• The final landfill cap is scheduled for construction in 1999, but is likely to be delayed depending on the actions necessary to correct the damaged landfill drain collection system.

Stauffer Chemical

• Construction at this site is completed. Operational difficulties with the groundwater treatment system were corrected in 1997.

Solvent Chemical

• DEC completed the RI/FS and ROD in 1996, and subsequently negotiated a settlement with the PRP requiring ROD implementation. The U.S. District Court approved the settlement in October 1997. Construction began in early 1998. Completion is expected in December 1999.

Vanadium Corporation

• DEC completed a study to further define the nature and extent of contamination on the properties of two of the PRPs (Niagara Mohawk and NYPA).
• One of the site PRPs (SKW Alloys) is undertaking an Interim Remedial Measure to cap portions of their parcel and control site storm water runoff. Completion is expected December 1998.
• DEC is negotiating an RI/FS Order with another of the PRPs (Airco). The outcome of these negotiations will determine whether additional RI/FS work is necessary by the other PRPs.
• The need to negotiate with the PRPs individually has contributed to delays in the completion of remediation, now expected in 2003.

Olin Corporation Plant Site

• In 1997, DEC issued a Consent Order to implement the remedy. The remedial system was constructed and began operation in October 1997. The remedy includes five groundwater recovery wells and on-site treatment of the recovered groundwater, and paving of all unpaved surfaces on the site.
• The remedial system is close to meeting its performance objectives. Olin is currently addressing problems due to incrustation associated with high pH (>10) groundwater.

Buffalo Color

• The site investigation is on-going. Hazardous contaminants were detected at the perimeter monitoring wells during the Phase I and II investigations.
• A supplemental investigation, involving the collection of 6 additional soil samples was conducted, and a revised RFI report submitted in November 1997.
• A second supplemental investigation was conducted during summer 1998, in response to DEC comments on the revised RFI report. The investigation included 8 new wells, ten additional soil samples, and other work. A revised RFI report is due December 1998.
• The additional work will delay completion of the RFI until March 1999.

Buffalo Color -- Area D

• Remedial construction was completed in September 1998. A slurry wall was constructed around the entire site; river sediments adjacent to the site were dredged and deposited on-site; the shoreline was armored with rip rap; a high-density polyethylene liner was placed over the entire site and properly capped; non-aqueous phase liquids found at the site are being removed; groundwater is being pumped and treated at an on-site treatment facility.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation

• BSC has completed the field work for the site investigation, and is preparing RFI and human health risk assessment reports. These have been delayed due to negotiations over the scope. Approval is anticipated by April 2000.
• BSC completed limited remedial technology studies for two areas that are the primary sources of groundwater contamination at the facility (the Acid Tar Pits and Coke Oven Areas). However, EPA and DEC found the studies to have major technical flaws.
• A comprehensive Corrective Measures Study will commence after RFI approval. All CMS and Corrective Measure Implementation will be performed pursuant to a subsequent order or permit.
• A two-year delay is anticipated for CMI start-up (December 2002).

River Road (INS Equipment) and Niagara Mohawk - Cherry Farm

• These two sites were combined for joint remediation.
• A Consent Order for remediation of the site includes: Capping the site with clean soil; pulling back, grading, and stabilizing the shore line; removing some river sediments; and installing groundwater collection trench and recovery wells.
• The remedial action also includes fish and wildlife habitat enhancements through the construction of shoreline wetland embayments along the Niagara River.
• All remedial work is complete except for sediment removal and final capping of the sediment disposal area. Completion is expected in June 1999. Completion of these actions was delayed due to an increase in the volume of sediments to be removed.

Frontier Chemical, Royal Avenue

• The company that owned the facility went bankrupt in 1992, and failed to implement a DEC Order for waste removal. The site was referred to Federal Superfund for a Response Action including the removal of thousands of drums, removal of wastes from 45 tanks on the site, and other actions. The action was completed in 1995.
• EPA recently ruled not to include the site on the National Priorities List.
• DEC has initiated PRP search efforts to be followed by negotiations of an RI/FS Order to address soil and groundwater contamination.

Gratwick Riverside Park

• Remedial Design (RD) started in early 1996. The design includes shoreline protection, hydraulic barrier between site and river, a cap over the site to allow it to be used as a park, and collection of contaminated groundwater.
• During design, some site-related contamination was found in river sediments. It was also determined that steps should be taken to improve the habitat value of the shoreline area.
• Design changes to address these issues are being submitted for approval in a proposed ROD amendment, released in September 1998. Remedial construction is expected to begin in early 1999. The changes are expected to delay completion of the remedial action by six months.

Mobil Oil

• Following site investigations in the 1980s, DEC re-classified a 3-acre area of concern on the site as Class 3 (does not present significant threat to public health or the environment; action may be deferred).
• In 1994, the entire Mobil facility was selected for DEC's Multi-Media Pollution Prevention (M2P2) program.
• A multi-media inspection was conducted, leading to the signing of a Consent Order in May 1997, to undertake further site investigation and remediation.
• The results of the site investigation are to be submitted December 1998.
• Remedial systems are operating at the Mobil Oil facility. A well point system was installed in the early 1970s to prevent petroleum seepage to the Buffalo River. In 1993, six dual-pump recovery wells were activated to recover petroleum product and groundwater. Five of the six recovery wells are presently being operated in conjunction with the well point system.

Iroquois Gas-Westwood Pharmaceutical

• All remedial construction at the plant site was completed September 1997, including sheet piling barrier wall, groundwater extraction wells, groundwater and NAPL treatment, and a clay cap.
• Remediation of Scajaquada Creek is underway. Completion is expected in October 1999.
• Delays in the schedule for the creek remediation resulted from disagreement between DEC and the PRP on design concepts, and technical difficulties relative to ensuring the structural integrity of the elevated roadway above the creek

Booth Oil

• The RI/FS was performed under State Superfund, and a ROD was issued for the site in 1992 and for the adjacent Little Niagara River in 1993.
• There were many PRPs, so lengthy negotiations followed. A PRP proposal for an alternate remedy was accepted in June 1998.
• The remedy consists of the excavation of contaminated on-site soils, sewer sediments and a limited area of sediment in the Little River, with off-site disposal. Contaminated ground water will also be extracted and treated.
• Remedial design is expected to be complete by June 1999.

Estimated Remediation Costs

Where available, estimated remediation costs incurred to date and expected in the future are provided in each site description (Appendix). Federal, State, and Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) contributions were estimated, where possible. Remediation costs were unavailable for Federal/State RCRA sites, because reporting cost information is not a requirement of the RCRA corrective action program, and facilities have generally been reluctant to provide it. The remediation costs that are provided are estimates that may change as remediation progress is made at each site. The estimates will be updated as new information becomes available.

Based on available estimates for 19 sites, following is the total amount incurred to date (costs for the remaining 7 sites are unavailable):

Based on available estimates for 16 sites, the total additional costs expected in the future are as follows (costs for the remaining 10 sites are unavailable):

The estimated costs to date cannot be compared to the estimated costs expected in the future, because different sites are included in the estimates. It is also difficult to compare the relative contributions of federal, state, and PRP expenditures, because cost information for some sites was incomplete (e.g., some sites may have been able to provide federal or state costs but not PRP costs, and so on). However, the cost information does provide a sense of the magnitude of U.S. expenditures for hazardous waste site remediation in the Niagara River basin.

ACRONYMS

APL

Aqueous phase liquids

CERCLA

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1979

CMI

Corrective Measure Implementation

CMS

Corrective Measure Study

DDT

primarily 1,1'-(2,2,2-trichloroethylidene)-bis/4 chlorobenzene

DEC

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

DNAPL

Dense non-aqueous phase liquids

EC

Environment Canada

EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

HSWA

Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments

ICM

Interim corrective measure

MOE

Ontario Ministry of the Environment

NAPL

Non-aqueous phase liquids

NRTMP

Niagara River Toxics Management Plan

OCC

Occidental Chemical Corporation

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls

PRP

Potentially Responsible Party

PSA

Preliminary Site Assessment

PVC

Polyvinyl chloride

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RFA

RCRA Facility Assessment

RFI

RCRA Facility Investigation

RI/FS

Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study

ROD

Record of Decision

RRT

Requisite Remedial Technology

TCDD

Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

TCP

Trichlorophenol

VOC

Volatile organic compounds

GLOSSARY

A

Ambient

A surrounding medium, such as water or air. Used in contrast to a specific source.

Aquatic

Growing in, living in, or dependent upon water.

Atmospheric deposition

Pollution from the atmosphere associated with dry deposition in the form of dust, wet deposition in the form of rain and snow, or as a result of vapor exchanges.

B

Barrier wall

A wall constructed underground in a hazardous waste site or landfill to stop the flow of contaminated groundwater.

Basin

The land that drains into a waterbody.

Bedrock groundwater

Water flowing through a rock layer underground, under a top layer of mixed soil and loose rock called the overburden.

Benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]

A PAH that is formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood, and tobacco; the incineration of garbage; and in steel production.

Bioaccumulation

The process by which chemical substances accumulate in the tissues of an organism that drinks contaminated water or eats contaminated food.

C

Cap

A cover over hazardous waste sites, usually made of clean soils or clay, that prevents rainwater from seeping through soil and causing the contaminants in the soil to flow into the groundwater.

Capture Zone

Area in which groundwater is flowing towards a pumping well; used as remediation technique for hazardous waste sites, to "capture" contaminated groundwater and treat it.

Chlordane

A persistent toxic chemical that was used to control ants, grasshoppers, and other insects on certain crops.

Collection drain

System of pipes around a hazardous waste site or landfill that collects surface or groundwater and directs it toward a treatment plant.

Combined sewer overflow (CSO)

Water discharged into a waterbody from a sewer system that carries both sewage and storm water runoff. Normally, all of the sewer system's flow goes to a treatment plant, but during a heavy storm, there may be so much storm water as to cause overflows. When this happens, mixtures of storm water and sewage may flow into a waterbody untreated.

Consent decree

A legal document, approved by a judge, which puts into effect a remedy (i.e., actions to correct an environmental problem).

Contaminant

A substance that is not naturally present in the environment or is present in amounts that can adversely affect the environment.

D

DDT

Dichloro-diphynyl-trichloroethane. A persistent toxic chemical that was used as a pesticide, particularly for mosquito control. DDT is banned in U.S. and Canada. DDE and DDD are metabolites of DDT.

Dieldrin

A persistent toxic chemical that was used mainly as a soil insecticide.

Dioxins/furans

Dioxin: A family of persistent toxic chemicals known as dibenzo-p-dioxins. Dioxins can enter the environment as the by-products of industrial processes or as a result of combustion processes in incinerators and motor vehicles using leaded fuel. The compound called "2,3,7,8-TCDD" is the most toxic member of the dioxin family.

 

Furan: A class of chemicals similar to dioxins, which are created at high temperatures, such as incineration of PCBs and other organic wastes containing chlorine.

DNAPL(Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid)

An oily, sludge-like mixture of chemicals that is denser than water. DNAPL flows with gravity or along geological formations, not always in the same direction as groundwater.

Downstream

In the direction with the flow of a stream or river; down river. For Niagara River, downstream is towards Niagara-on-the-Lake and Lake Ontario.

Dredging

Removal of sediment from the bottom of a waterbody.

E

Embayment

A bay. A part of a waterbody (such as a river or lake) that makes an indentation into the adjacent land.

F

Force main

A pipe that carries contaminated groundwater drawn out of hazardous waste sites by pumping wells to a treatment plant.

Four Parties

The four agencies who implement the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada, New York State Department of Environmental Protection, and Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy.

G

Groundwater

The fresh or saline waters found beneath the Earth's surface that often supply wells and springs. Contrast to "Surface water".

H

Habitat

Place where a particular type of plant or animal lives. An organism's habitat must provide all of the basic requirements for its life.

Hazardous waste

Any substance that is a by-product of society and is classified under U.S. or Canadian law as potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes are subject to special handling, shipping, storage, and disposal requirements under the law.

Hazardous waste site

Land disposal site for hazardous wastes.

Heavy metals

Metallic elements with high atomic weights that tend to be toxic and bioaccumulate. Examples are mercury, arsenic, lead, etc.

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)

A persistent toxic chemical that was originally manufactured as a fungicide for cereal crops. It is also generated as a by-product in the manufacture of pesticides and can be formed during the combustion of substances containing chlorine.

I

Infiltration

Passing through or filtering through, as in rain water that filters through soil to join groundwater.

Inorganic substance

A chemical compound that does not contain carbon. Inorganic substances are often derived from minerals.

Insecticide

A chemical used to kill or control the growth of insects.

L

Landfill

Land disposal site for hazardous (or non-hazardous) wastes.

Leachate

Liquid derived from rain or snow melt that percolates through a hazardous waste site.

Load or Loading

The amount of a material entering a system over a given time interval.

M

Medium (plural: Media)

A surrounding substance in the environment: water, air, or sediment.

Metabolite

A substance that is the product of biological changes to a chemical.

Mirex

A persistent toxic substance that was used as an insecticide and a fire retardant.

Multi-media

Involving multiple media, such as water and air, or air and sediment, or all three.

N

National Priorities List (NPL)

An EPA list of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned U.S. hazardous waste sites identified for long-term remedial action under Superfund.

Non-point source

Pollution entering the environment over a widespread area, where the sources cannot be traced to a single, identifiable point. Contrast to "Point source".

O

Octachlorostyrene (OCS)

A persistent toxic chemical that was released as a by-product when chlorine was manufactured using certain processes that are no longer used.

Organic substance

A chemical compound that contains carbon.

Overburden groundwater

Water flowing through a layer of mixed soil and loose rock that lies over the rock layer called bedrock.

P

PAHs

Polycyclic or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. A class of persistent toxic compounds that are formed from the combustion of organic material, such as forest fires or gasoline in cars.

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls. A group of persistent toxic chemicals used in electrical and hydraulic equipment for insulating or lubricating purposes.

Persistent toxic chemical

Any toxic chemical that is difficult to destroy or that breaks down slowly in the environment (i.e., with a half-life in water greater than eight weeks).

Pesticide

A chemical used for preventing, destroying, or repelling any pest.

Point source

Source of pollution that is distinct and identifiable, such as a pipe from a sewage treatment plant.

Pollution prevention

Any action that reduces or eliminates pollutants before they are created.

Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)

Any individual or company potentially responsible for, or contributing to, the contamination problems at U.S. hazardous waste sites.

Pretreatment

Processes used to reduce, eliminate, or alter pollutants from industrial sources before they are discharged into publicly-owned sewage treatment systems.

Priority toxic chemicals

Under the NRTMP, 18 toxic chemicals that exceeded water quality or fish tissue standards in the Niagara River or Lake Ontario.

R

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. A U.S. program to remediate active hazardous waste sites. Sites are remediated by potentially responsible parties whenever this can be arranged.

Record of Decision (ROD)

A public document that explains what actions will be taken to remediate a U.S. hazardous waste site.

Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

The RI defines the areal and vertical extent of the hazardous waste problem at a Superfund site through numerous sampling wells, an extended environmental sampling program and a full geophysical survey. Based on the RI, the FS develops and evaluates alternative solutions to the problem.

Requisite Remedial Technology (RRT)

An RRT is the equivalent of an FS (see RI/FS above) for a pre-CERCLA agreement.

Runoff

Water that flows over the land surface into a waterbody.

S

Slurry wall

Barrier made of a thin, watery mixture of fine, insoluble material (clay, cement, soil, etc...).

Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs)

Areas within a hazardous waste site where hazardous materials are stored or managed. SWMUs are generally storage areas, treatment systems, disposal areas, spill areas, or containment cells.

Superfund

A U.S. program to remediate inactive or abandoned hazardous waste sites in an emergency or for the long-term. Sites are remediated by potentially responsible parties whenever this can be arranged.

Surface water

All water open to the atmosphere (e.g., rivers, lakes, reservoirs, seas, etc.).Contrast to "Groundwater".

T

Toxaphene

A persistent toxic chemical that was used as an insecticide.

Toxic substance

Any substance that adversely affects the health or well-being of a living organism.

 

OR

 

A substance that can cause death, disease, birth defects, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological/reproductive malfunctions, or physical deformities in any organism.

U

Upstream

In the direction against the flow of a stream or river; upriver. For Niagara River, upstream is towards Fort Erie and Lake Erie.

V

Volatile substance

A substance that evaporates readily.

W

Wetland

An area that is saturated with water or has a water level at or near the surface. A wetland has organic soils and plant/animal species that are adapted to a wet environment.

 

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REFERENCES

Gradient Corp./Geotrans Inc. 1988. Potential Contaminant Loadings to the Niagara River from U.S. Hazardous Waste Sites.

Niagara River Secretariat. 1998. Niagara River Toxics Management Plan: Progress Report and Work Plan, February 1998.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/New York Department of Environmental Conservation (EPA/DEC). 1989. Reduction of Toxics Loadings to the Niagara River from Hazardous Waste Sites in the United States.

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