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THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC MEETING AND A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE CALHOUN PARK SUPERFUND SITE

Release Date: 07/09/2002
Contact Information: Wesley Lambert, Office of Media Relations, 404-562-8316

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public meeting on July 11, 2002 to discuss a preferred alternative treatment plan in response to a potential risk posed by contaminated sediments and deep groundwater at the Calhoun Park Site in Charleston, South Carolina. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Commissioner of Public Works Building which is located at 103 St. Philip Street in Charleston, South Carolina. A presentation will be made by representatives of EPA on the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) conducted at the site. The Proposed Plan evaluated the following options for cleaning up contaminated sediments: 1) No Action 2) Utilize Existing Sand Cap 3) Excavation and Backfill; and the following options for groundwater contamination: 1) No Action 2) Coal Tar removal, Natural Attenuation, and Institutional Controls 3) Coal Tar removal, In Situ Treatment and Institutional Controls 4) Coal Tar removal, Deed restrictions, and Pump & Treat. EPA is recommending Option 2 as the preferred remedial strategy for sediment cleanup because it adequately protects the environment, will comply with existing laws and regulations and reduces contaminant mobility through treatment. EPA is recommending Option 3 for the groundwater cleanup because it adequately protects human health and the environment, and will reduce contaminant mobility through treatment. The Calhoun Park site is located at the intersection of Calhoun Street and Washington Street in the area now occupied by the electrical distribution station. This was the previous location of a manufactured gas plant which operated from 1855 to 1957. The manufactured gas plant produced a product known as "town gas" by heating coal in the absence of oxygen. This process produced a combustible gas which was collected and distributed to area homes as fuel for gas lamps and cooking stoves. Liquid coal tar was a common by-product of this process and is the source of contamination at this site. Prior to final selection of a remedy, EPA will consider oral and written comments from the public and provide responses to those comments. The comment period began on June 27, 2002 and will end on July 27, 2002. Interested citizens are encouraged to attend the public meeting and to review the Administrative Record and Information Repository located at the Charleston County Main Library, 68 Calhoun Street in Charleston. The Administrative Record contains documents supporting EPA's proposed plan and the repository has other documents relevant to the site and the Superfund program. EPA encourages interested citizens to review the Proposed Plan and other materials in the information repository and to attend the public meeting on July 11, 2002 to provide EPA with your input. Based on public comment, EPA in consultation with the South Carolina Department Health and Environmental Control may later modify the preferred option or select another remedy presented in the proposed plan. WRITTEN COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED PLAN AND PREFERRED REMEDY SHOULD BE POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 8, 2002 AND SENT TO: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Terry Tanner, Remedial Project Manager 61 Forsyth Street, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 1-800-564-7577