! 

Protection 

!!!2

Agency 

John R. Kasich, Governor 

Mary Taylor, Lt. Governor 

Craig W. Butler. Director

January 11, 2016 

Joan Tanaka, Chief 

Remedial Response Branch #1, 

Superfund Division 

U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region 5 

77 W. Jackson Blvd .. SR-6J 

Chicago, IL 60604 

Re: Rickenbacker AFB, Columbus 

General Correspondence 

Federal Facilities 

Franklin County 

125000685103 

Subject: National Priority List De-Proposal 

Ms. Tanaka: 

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing this letter in support of 

the United States (U.S.) EPA, Region 5, de-proposing its January 18, 1994 proposal of 

the Rickenbacker Air Force Base (AFB), Franklin County, Ohio to the Superfund 

National Priorities List (NPL). 

The fonner Rickenbacker AFB has remained proposed, but not finalized, to the NPL 

since 1994. On November 1, 1994, Governor George Voinovich sent a letter to U.S. 

EPA Administrator Carol Browner opposing the proposed NPL listing. The Governor 

stated in his letter "I believe that the goals of environmental cleanup and economic 

development would be better served by allowing Ohio to take the lead at these three 

sites. We will improve the changes for productive reuse if we avoid the stigma of placing 

these sites on the NPL." 

Since 1994, the Air Force has been meeting its CERCLA obligations under the Base 

Realignment and Closure (BRAC) cleanup process and has reimbursed Ohio EPA and 

U.S. EPA oversight costs. 

The Air Force identified 79 sites where remedial investigations and assessments of the 

nature and extent of contamination were conducted. Based on the results of these 

investigations, remedial action objectives (RAOs) were selected for each site. These 

objectives were then used to select remedial actions for the sites. Remedial actions 

were conducted at six sites and limited actions were implemented at two sites; 25 sites 

were closed with land use controls; and 16 sites were closed with no further action and 

with no land use restrictions specified. No active remedial actions were implemented at 

25 sites contingent on the site use remaining industrial/commercial. A detailed report on 

Rickenbacker cleanup activities is provided in the March 25, 2014 Second Five-Year 

Review. 

Of the six sites selected for active remedial actions, one site (SS001) is being closed 

under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program. As required by 

Central Office • 50 W. Town St. • Suite 700 • P.O. Box 1049 • Columbus, OH 43216-1049 

www.epa.ohio.gov • (614f 644-3020 • (614) 644-3184(fax) 
CERCLA, U.S. EPA provided approval of an Operating Properly and Successfully 

Demonstration for this site in 2007. 

Although the Rickenbacker cleanup was slower than anticipated, the final . results have 

been positive and have facilitated the productive reuse of the former base. In the future, 

the State of Ohio will continue to provide comprehensive oversight of the land use 

controls and remaining cleanup activities, as long as funding continues to be provided 

by EPA under its authorized RCRA program, and by the Department of Defense under 

its Defense-State Memorandum of Agreement. 

If you have any questions, please contact me. 

Pete Whitehouse 

Chief, Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization 

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency 

Ec: 	 Deborah Strayton, DERR-CDO 

Fred Myers, DERR-CDO 

Justin Burke, DERR-CO