EPA RCRA ID: VAD003114832

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.

In September 1998, EPA issued to DuPont for the Waynesboro Site the Corrective Action portion (i.e., HSWA permit) of their site Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit (Permit No. VAD003114832) to conduct investigations and determine if corrective measures, of on-site solid waste management units (SWMUs) is necessary. The RCRA Permit was renewed by Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2009. The Permit was revised in 2014 to include Offsite concerns, specifically the South River and floodplains, designated as Area of Concern (AOC) 4 in the Permit. The Permit was modified on July 11, 2018, to incorporate the remedy for the onsite work as detailed in the Statement of Basis dated January 2017. The Permit was renewed by DEQ on April 20, 2020. The Corrective Measures Implementation Report (CMI) for onsite work was submitted January 7, 2022, and approved June 15, 2022. The Operations and Maintenance Plan (OMP) and Materials Management Plan (MMP) for onsite was submitted June 30, 2022, and approved August 31, 2022. A UECA Environmental Covenant (UECA) was recorded with Waynesboro Circuit Court on September 14, 2023, to address activity and use restrictions onsite. The RCRA Permit was revised on December 19, 2023, to remove the facility (onsite) from the permit, leaving AOC 4.

ONSITE:

Under EPA direction, DuPont prepared a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) Plan and a Land Use Report. The RFI investigation was conducted in three phases, starting in 2000. In December 2014, DuPont submitted a Final Comprehensive RFI Report covering the investigation. EPA approved the Final RFI comprehensive in May 2015.

DuPont submitted a draft On-Site Corrective Measures Study (CMS) Report to EPA in June 2015. The CMS is an evaluation of potential remedies to deal with releases discovered during the investigation phases. DEQ prepared a Statement of Basis for public comment in January 2017, which proposed a remedy for the onsite releases. DEQ’s proposed decision of Corrective Action Remedy Selected included excavation and off-site disposal of impacted material in selected areas, capping in selected areas, cleaning of storm water sewers, performance of long-term groundwater and outfall monitoring and implementation of engineering and institutional controls. DEQ also concluded that it is technically impracticable to attain MCLs in mercury contaminated groundwater associated with SWMU 1, SWMU 4 and SWMU 7. Each of these SWMUs has its own defined Technical Impracticability (TI) zone detailed in the CMS. The onsite remedy was implemented through the modification of the Facility’s Hazardous Waste Management Permit on July 11, 2018. The CMI was submitted January 1, 2022, documenting the completion of remedial actions onsite in accordance with the SB. The CMI was approved by DEQ June 15, 2022. An OMP and MMP were submitted June 30, 2022, and approved by DEQ August 31, 2022. A UECA was recorded with Waynesboro District Court September 14, 2023, to address activity and use restrictions onsite. The RCRA Permit was modified December 19, 2023, to remove onsite from the permit. The Permit remains in effect to address offsite Corrective Action obligations.

September 14, 2023, EPA determined the facility was ready for anticipate use. Cleanup goals have been achieved current and reasonably anticipated future land uses of the facility so there are no unacceptable risks.

OFFSITE:

DuPont submitted a Class 2 permit modification request to incorporate an off-site Area of Concern (AOC 4) into the facility permit on November 19, 2013. AOC-4 includes the South River downstream of the former DuPont Waynesboro facility and parts of the South Fork Shenandoah River. The permit modification request was approved by DEQ on February 4, 2014. After completion of onsite remedial actions and recording of the onsite UECA Environmental Covenant, Corteva submitted a Class 2 permit modification request on October 12, 2023, to remove the facility (onsite) from the permit. The permit modification request was approved by DEQ on December 19, 2023. The Permit remains in effect to address offsite Corrective Action obligations.

Under the direction of the DEQ, DuPont prepared a RFI for AOC-4 that included ecological and human health risk assessments. The AOC 4 remedial strategy and Corrective Measures Study (CMS) involves a series of IMs that will eliminate or reduce exposure and migration of mercury in the system to protect human health and the environment. The strategy is detailed in the Interim Measures Design, Implementation, and Monitoring Work Plan (IMWP; Anchor QEA and URS et al., 2015) approved by DEQ in March 2015. The IMWP provides the details for Phase 1 of the IM, and elements that will be incorporated into the IMs for other bank areas targeted for remediation.

The iterative remedial strategy follows an enhanced adaptive management framework (EAM), which provides a flexible decision-making process that can be adjusted as monitoring data are collected, remediation action outcomes are better understood, and as landowner and other stakeholder preferences or concerns arise. The EAM is integrated into the RCRA process.

The Phase 1 of the IM focused on the first two miles of South River downstream of the plant site. To date, six sections of riverbank have been remediated, approximately 5,000 feet, to prevent erosion. The remediation included removal and stabilization of mercury containing soil. It is estimated that this work has reduced mercury loading from riverbank erosion by 90% in this two-mile section of river. Monitoring of water, sediment and biota is being conducted to determine the effectiveness of the remediation work. Downstream bank soils are being evaluated to determine if there is a need for remediation.

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
(CA725)
(CA750)
(CA400)
(CA550)
(CA800)
(CA900)
(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.

DuPont began operations at the Site by manufacturing acetate flake and yarn in 1929. In 1958, DuPont began producing Orlon, the plants second fiber. The acetate flake and yarn process and Orlon process were discontinued in 1977 and 1990, respectively. In the interim, Lycra7 production had begun in 1962, with Permasep production beginning in 1969 and BCF Nylon in 1978. Only Lycra continues to be made today.

The 177-acre site is located in the southeastern portion of the city along the South River in an industrially zoned area.

Contaminants at this Facility

The primary contaminant at the former DuPont Waynesboro Site is mercury, which was used in making acetate flake.

Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

The following institutional controls were implemented through the Facility’s UECA Environmental Covenant:

Conduct inspection and perform necessary maintenance on cover material in accordance with the O&M Plan (SWMU 1, SWMU 4 and SWMU 7).
Uses of all or any portion of the property shall, at a minimum, be restricted to uses that do not substantively impair the efficacy of the remedial action.
The Restricted Property shall not be used for residential purposes unless it is demonstrated to the Agency that such use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment or adversely affect or interfere with the final remedy and the Agency provides prior written approval for such use. The actions needed in order to meet those residential standards are the responsibility of the owner or developer that is proposing such use.
Groundwater at the Property shall not be used for any purpose other than 1) industrial purposes and 2) the operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities required by the Agency, unless it is demonstrated to the Agency that such use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment or adversely affect or interfere with the final remedy; and the Agency provides prior written approval for such use. Withdrawal and use of surface water from Baker Springs Reservoir by authorized users is not restricted.
No new groundwater extraction wells shall be installed at the Restricted Property without Agency approval.
Technical Impracticability (TI) zones have been established for mercury contaminated groundwater at SWMU 1, SWMU 4 and SWMU 7. Groundwater monitoring in these TI zones will be conducted in accordance with the FSP to continually verify that groundwater which exceeds the MCL is contained within the TI zone. SWMU 1 TI zone to be reevaluated if all production wells are halted. The FSP will include a contingency for increased monitoring at SWMU 1 if production well pumping is halted.
All earth moving activities, including excavation, drilling, and subsurface construction activities within the WMUs at the Restricted Property shall be conducted in accordance with the Materials Management Plan and in such a manner that such activity will not pose an unacceptable threat to human health and the environment (SWMU 2 WMU, SWMU 6 WMU, SWMU 7 WMU, AOC-1).
No intrusive activities are permitted in RUAs that will adversely impact or interfere with the final remedy, except as performed in accordance with the O&M Plan and the Materials Management Plan, or as approved by the Agency (SWMU 1 Restricted Use Area, SWMU 4 Restricted Use Area, SWMU 7 Restricted Use Area).
Continued monitoring for the sewer system and outfalls is required in accordance with the FSP for Corrective Measures Implementation (AECOM 2022) as it may be amended from time to time to assess the mercury reduction and effectiveness of sewer remediation work (AOC 3 Sewer System Outfalls 001, 008, 011, 101 and Consolidated Sump).

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:
(CA 772)	(ID)
	(GC)
	(EP)
	(PR)
(CA 770)	(GW)
(CA 770)

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.

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