EPA RCRA ID: WVD005012851
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
Virginia Department of Environmental (DEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
On October 31, 2022, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued a Final Remedy Decision with controls which include land use and groundwater restrictions and Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) until drinking standards are attained in groundwater. Here is a summary of the corrective action activities at the site since 1998 that led to the Final Remedy Decision.
In September 1998 EPA issued the Corrective Action portion of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit (HSWA Permit No. WVD 005012851) to DuPont. The Corrective Action portion of the permit requires DuPont to conduct investigations of potential releases of hazardous waste and to determine if corrective measures are necessary.
DuPont began implementing the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) field program in March 2000. Phase I of the RFI investigation was directed toward areas which likely posed the greatest threat to human health or the environment. The activities included installing monitoring wells, and sampling soil, sediment, and groundwater. In late 2002 DuPont implemented a Phase II investigation to identify the sources and the extent of impacted groundwater from these three areas.
In 2002 DuPont began evaluating remedial technologies to clean up a known area of impacted soil and groundwater in the northern portion of the Plant Area. This area, referred to as the Benzol Process Area, is located adjacent to the Kanawha River. The soil and groundwater is impacted with oily material from an underground tank, which was associated with the former benzol process, and has since been removed. In March 2005, DuPont began operating a dual phase extraction system in the Benzol Process Area and in another source area referred to as the SSS Process Area. The dual phase systems continue to operate at both of these areas on a periodic basis.
DuPont has collected several surface water samples in the Kanawha River to assess whether source areas located near the river are adversely impacting the surface water quality. The results of the Kanawha River sampling indicate that the contaminated groundwater is not adversely impacting the surface water quality.
To evaluate impacted groundwater related to former disposal areas in the Mountain Area portion of the site, DuPont sampled water from several private home wells around the facility. The results indicated that the impacted groundwater is not affecting any residential wells. In addition, the facility has developed a groundwater model to assist in understanding the complex groundwater flow patterns of this area and to assess cleanup options. Additional wells were installed in the Mountain Area in the fall of 2004. In 2005 the new wells were sampled and environmental forensics was used to assess the nature of the widespread groundwater contamination. The results of the environmental forensics combined with the groundwater model and contaminant data indicated there are sources beyond DuPont that are contributing to groundwater contamination in the Mountain area.
Field work in 2007 focused on characterizing solid waste managements units located within the Mountain Area portion of the site. In the Spring of 2007, DuPont completed geophysical testing in the mountain area, the first phase of this work. That effort was followed up by test pits, soil sampling and groundwater sampling.
In 2012 the RFI phase of work was completed for the Mountain Area and a Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessment was performed, submitted and ultimately approved by EPA and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). A Corrective Measures Study (CMS) was submitted and approved by EPA/WVDEP for the Mountain Area. The CMS was presented to EPA/WVDEP in a meeting held March 11, 2014, wherein storm water management and enhancing cover of existing “waste-in-place” areas was proposed. On June 1, 2015, WVDEP issued a Statement of Basis (SB) in which a Final Remedy for the Facility was proposed. DEP's Final Remedy for the Mountain Area consists of storm water management, groundwater monitoring, engineering controls consisting of capping, fencing, and institutional controls to implement land and groundwater use restrictions. The 30-day public comment period ended on July 1, 2015 without comment and the Permit was modified and finalized on January 28, 2016 by WVDEP. In support of the Final Remedy, a Corrective Measures Implementation Work Plan (CMIWP) was developed and approved in 2016; remedy designs for the SWMUs included in remedy were developed and approved from mid -2017 through July 2019. The construction phase of the CMIWP activities was primarily completed between September 2018 and November 2020 and a CMI completion report was submitted in September 2021.
A work plan for a Phase IV RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) investigation was submitted to EPA and WVDEP for characterizing potential contamination from all accessible area at the plant site. EPA and DuPont amended the details of the work plan and site work consisting of soil sampling began the first week of November 2012, and continued through 2014. Phase IV RFI fieldwork including installing temporary well points and groundwater sampling of the well points was conducted in November 2014, to fill RFI data gaps.
In addition to the November 2015 RFI, supplemental investigations were conducted for surface water, porewater, and indoor air. Pore water studies were performed for the Kanawha River in 2015 and 2016 to determine whether Facility-related constituents in shallow-aquifer groundwater had migrated to the river. Reports summarizing the results of the pore water studies were submitted to EPA and WVDEP in May 2016 and February 2017. Furthermore, two vapor intrusion (VI) studies were conducted at the Plant Area in March 2017 and February 2018. Reports summarizing these studies were submitted to the EPA and WVDEP in October 2017 and February 2019, respectively. The RFI for the Plant Area was deemed complete and approved by EPA on September 3, 2019. Upon completion of the RFI, Chemours was required to submit a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) work plan for the Plant Area per the Permit. A CMS for the Plant Area was submitted to EPA WVDEP on October 1, 2021. Based on the evaluation of the data summary and remedial alternatives presented in the Corrective Measures Study (CMS ), WVDEP issued a Statement of Basis (SB) for the Plant Area, describing the proposed remedy, for public comment on August 16, 2022.
No comments were received by WVDEP during the public comment period that ended on September 17 2022. Since WVDEP did not receive any comments on the proposed remedy described in the SB, WVDEP has determined it is not necessary to modify the proposed remedy set forth in the SB. Therefore, the remedy proposed in the SB has become final, leading to the issuance of the Final Remedy Decision declaration.
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 |
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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 DuPont Belle Plant is located in Belle, West Virginia, approximately eight miles east of Charleston, West Virginia. The 723-acre site is situated along the Kanawha River and has manufactured various specialty and agricultural chemical products since 1926. The Belle Plant is located in an area that consists of industrial, commercial, and residential land use. A former Occidental Chemical Corporation industrial facility is located immediately adjacent to the site's eastern boundary. DuPont employs approximately 400 people at the Belle site. The facility has seven primary operating divisions that span a 105-acre manufacturing area that is nearly one mile in length.
An additional 618-acres owned by DuPont is situated just north of the site across Route 60 and is referred to as the Mountain Area. A portion of the Mountain Area is set aside as a Wildlife Habitat Area. The DuPont Belle Plant wildlife team manages 490 acres of undeveloped property. This program has been company certified for many years and has worked with the community to promote habitat in this area. These habitat enhancements include: planting trees and cool season grasses to provide food resources and cover for wildlife, constructing nesting structures for birds and mammals, developing three ponds, and establishing and maintaining a wildflower plot.
Effective February 1, 2015, ownership of the Belle plant site was transferred to Chemours Company FC, LLC (Chemours) via a corporate reorganization of the DuPont Performance Chemicals businesses currently owned and operated by DuPont. Chemours will become a totally separate publicly traded company on July 1, 2015.
Contaminants at this Facility
Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds are the main constituents found in the site's soil and groundwater. These compounds primarily consist of acetone, benzene, 2-butanone, phenol, toluene, and xylene.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The following Institutional Controls are in Statement of Basis :
- The Plant Area shall not be used for residential purposes.
- Groundwater at the Plant Area shall not be used for any purpose, unless EPA or DEP provide prior written approval, other than to conduct the maintenance and monitoring activities required by DEP and in accordance with a DEP approved Groundwater Monitoring Plan.
- All earthmoving activities at the Plant Area, including excavation, drilling, and construction activities, shall be conducted in accordance with a DEP approved Soil Management Plan that includes appropriate Personal Protective Equipment requirements sufficient to meet DEP’s acceptable risk and complies with all applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements.
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?
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Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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.