EPA RCRA ID: VAD001307495
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
This facility is one of EPA Region III's high priority Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action sites. The Facility constructs and repairs military and commercial ships and has been operating in shipbuilding production since 1888. On July 13, 2001, a RCRA Corrective Action Permit was issued to the facility to investigate Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) identified during the Environmental Indicator (EI) inspection and previous investigations/assessments of the facility. Huntington Ingalls has been investigating those SWMUs that were identified and listed in the permit under EPA’s direction.
Virginia DEQ re-issued the RCRA Corrective Action Permit in 2010, and updated it in 2011 due to the name change to Huntington Ingalls Incorporated (HHI). Pursuant to the RCRA Corrective action program, HHI performed multiple RCRA Corrective action activities at the Facility. Investigations occurred from 2003 to 2018 in accordance with and EPA approved RFI Workplan and additional work plans specific to each SWMU as needed. Based on the results of the release assessment and groundwater monitoring, the Facility continues to monitor groundwater and natural attenuation of contaminants. Since groundwater is not used for any purpose at the Facility, no unacceptable risks to human health and the environment are identified provided certain engineering and institutional controls remain in place.
The corrective action remedy decision was implemented through the Facility’s Post Closure Care and Corrective Action Permit issued on April 23, 2019. The Permit requires the Facility to continue the post-closure care and groundwater monitoring program for SWMU 12a, continue groundwater monitoring to monitor natural attenuation for hazardous constituents, and maintain certain property mechanisms known as Institutional Controls (ICs) and Engineering Controls (ECs).
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The shipyard is located on the southwest edge of the City of Newport News, Virginia, and has been operating since 1888. The facility encompasses approximately 0.75 square miles, and is bounded on the north and west by the James River; on the east by Washington, Huntington, and West Avenues; and on the south by 31st Street.
The facility constructs and repairs military and commercial ships. The facility is currently owned by Northrop Grumman; however, a name change was made in April 2011 to Huntington Ingalls.
Contaminants at this Facility
The contaminants of primary concern at the site are VOC (naphthalene) and two SVOC’s (pentachlorophenol and naphthalene).
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls (ICs) and Engineering Controls (ECs) at the Facility were implemented in accordance with the Final Remedy Implementation requirements described in the Facility's Permit. ICs and ECs include:
- The property shall not be used for residential purposes or for children’s (under the age of 16) daycare facilities, schools, or playground purposes and senior care facilities.
- Groundwater beneath the property shall not be used for any purpose except for environmental monitoring and testing, or for non-contact industrial use as may be approved by DEQ. DEQ must approve any new groundwater wells installed at the facility area.
- Maintain and prohibit disturbance of the engineered cover over SWMU 12a.
- Excavation and disturbance within areas known to have contaminants left in place on the property shall be conducted in accordance with the Facility’s excavation permitting process as detailed in the CMI Plan required by the Permit.
- Maintain the existing security fencing along the perimeter of the property.
- Future modifications at the property that could be reasonably understood to adversely affect or interfere with the integrity or protectiveness of the final remedy will be evaluated by the Facility in coordination with DEQ to identify and address those potential impacts or interferences.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.