# PRELIMINARY CLOSE OUT REPORT PALMERBARGE SUPERFUND SITE PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS

REGION 6 SEPTEMBER2007PRELIMINARY CLOSE OUT REPORT PALMERBARGE SUPERFUND SITE PORT ARTHUR, JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS
I. INTRODUCTION This Preliminary Close Out Report (PCOR) documents that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have completed construction activities for the Palmer Barge Superfund Site in accordance with Close Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites (OSWER Directive 9320.2-09A-P). The EPA and TCEQ conducted the Final Construction Inspection on September 28, 2007. The EPA-and TCEQ have detennined that the contractor for the PRPs has completed the construction activities portion ofthe Remedial Action in accordance with the Record ofDecision (ROD), the Remedial Design andthe approved Remedial Action Workplan. II. SUMMARY OF SITE CONDITIONS Site History and Background ThePalmerBargeLine Superfund Site is located on Pleasure Islet on the western shore of Sabine Lake, in Jefferson County, Texas. The site is located approximately 4.5 miles east-northeast ofthe City ofPortArthur. The PalmerBarge Site encompasses approximately 17 acres and is located on Old Yacht Club Road on the South Industrial Islet. The Site is bounded to the north by vacant property, to the west by Old Yacht Club Road, to the south bythe State Marine Superfund Site, and to the east by SabineLake. There is very little topographical reliefto the Site. The Site is located approximately 0.5 miles southwest ofthe confluence ofthe Neches River andthe Sabine Neches Barge Canal. The Site, along with the adjacent properties.to the north and south, were used as a Municipal Landfill for the City ofPort Arthur from 1956 to 1987. Although disposal at the landfill has long since ceased and the landfill contents have been covered with dredged sediments, the contents are still present on the Site in the subsurface soils. In April 1982, John Palmer, President ofPalmerBargeLine, Inc., purchased approximately 17 acres from the City ofPort Arthur, for the purpose ofservicing and maintaining barges and marine vessels. In July 1983, BarkerPhares, a trustee ofJefferson County, placed a lien on the PalmerBargeLine Property. In October 1994, Wrangler Capital assumed all claims from the PalmerBargeLine, Inc. In July 1997, Wrangler Capital purchased Palmer Barge Line from receivership, and the company ceased operations ort the property. The current owneris 

### Mr. Chester Slay. Atpresent, the Site is usedby 

### Mr. Slay for industrial purposes. Metal structures on-Site are being salvaged, and the salvaged metal is being used by the current ownerto construct marine equipment on the Site.


### 1.Duringbarge cfeaning operations, the typical activities perfonned at the Siteincluded cleaning, degassing, maintenance, and inspection ofbarges and other marine equipment. Cleaning operations includedthe. removal of sludge and otherresidual material bypressure steaming the vessel holds, engines and boilers. Engines were degreased, and accumulations of sludge materials were removed. Degassing activities involvedthe removal ofexplosive vapors from vessel holds using nitrogen orboiler exhaust. Maintenance and inspection activities included the replacement and/or repair ofvalves, engine repairs, and line leakrepairs followed by pressure tests. A flare was located on-site to burn excess gases and liquids produced during facility operations. History ofFederal and State Investigations Previous investigations ofthe Siteinclude the following:
• December 1996: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC, now named the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, orTCEQ) Region 10 Field Office personnel conducted a multi-media investigation. The purpose ofthis study was to determine the compliance status ofthe facility.
• March 1998: TNRCC Region 10 Field Office with EPA Region 6 conducted an investigation to identify potential sources and to sample soil and sediment. Five areas of stained soil were identified on-site, which includedthe following: stained soils near sumps, stained soil near the boiler house, stained soil near the flare, stained soil near aboveground storage tanks, and stained soil near wastewater tanks. Sampleresults indicated the presence ofinorganic constituents such as metals, semi-volatile organic constituents (SVOCs), and pesticides in on-site soil. Metals and SVOCs were detected in offshore sediment adjacent to the Site.
• July 1999: TNRCC Region 10 Field Office sampled aboveground storage tanks, roll off-boxes and "slop" tanks to characterize materials stored.
• October 1999: EPARegion 6 conducted an Expanded SiteInspection CBSI; Weston 2000) to determine the presence and nature ofconstituent occurrence on-site and off-site and to determine migration routes and routes ofexposure of site related constituents. Results of the inspection indicatedthe presence ofvolatile organic constituents (VOCs), SVOCs, pesticides, polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs), and metals.
• In 2000, the Site was ranked and was placed on the National PriorityList (NPL). The Hazard Ranking concludedthat constituents present in SabineLake sediments adjacent to the Site were a potential threat to human health primarily viathe fish consumption exposure pathway (USEPA, 2000).
• 2003: URS Corporation (URS),on behalfofthe PotentiallyResponsible Parties (PRPs),
2conducted a remedial investigation (RI) at the Site in July 2003, which characterized the nature and extent ofconstituents present in environmental media at the Site and in adjacent Sabine Lake surface water and sediments. HistoryofCERCLA EnforcementActivities On September 30, 2002, EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Order on Consent to conduct the remedial investigation and feasibility study (RIfFS) for the PalmerBarge site. Voluntary respondents to the Order were: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Chevronffexaco Inc.; Kirby Inland Marine, LP; KirbyInland Marine, Inc. ofLouisiana; and Ashland Inc. On May 7,2007,EPA Region 6 issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (VAO) for Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RDIRA) to a group ofpotential responsible parties (PRPs). The UAO became effective on June 6, 2007. By letter datedJune 15,2007, a group of four (4) companies agreed to comply with the Orderto conduct the RDIRA for the site. The Remedial Design was completed on Augnst 17, 2007. The Remedial Action onsite construction was completed on September4, 2007. These companies completed the field construction activities portion ofthe Remedial Action on September 28,2007. National Priorities List The EPA published a proposed rule on May 11, 2000, to add the PalmerBargeLine Site to the National priorities List (NPL) ofSuperfund sites. The Site was added to the NPL in a final rule published on July 27, 2000 [Federal RegisterListing (FRL-6841-3), Volume 65, Number 145, Pages 46096 "46104]. History ofCERCLA Removal Actions In August 2001, EPA Region 6 completed a Time-Critical Removal Action to remove source materials stored on-site. Activities included waste removal, watertreatment, oil/water separation, and sludge stabilization. Approximately 250,000 gallons ofwater were treated on site; 330 cubic yards. ofsludge stabilized; and 100,000 gallons ofoil/styrene were separatedand removed from the site. All ofthe above-ground storage tanks were removed except for a 420,000-gallon above ground storage tank (AST) on the northern portion ofthe site that contains liquid and sludge materials. Several ofthe concrete AST foundations remain along with gravel throughout the Site. Selected Remedial Action The Selected ROD Remedy consisted ofthe following components:
• Excavation ofapproximately 1,204 cubic yards ofthe upper two feet ofsoil that exceed
3human health- and ecological risk basedlevels at each ofthe response areas;
• Confinnation sampling at each ofthe response areas. Confinnation samples would be collected from each response area and analyzed for contaminants ofpotential concern (COPCs).
• Backfilling ofexcavated areas with clean soil;
• Off-site disposal ofthe excavated soils at a permitted disposal facility;
• Implementation ofInstitutional Controls to restrict future land use to industrial purposes only. TheInstitutional Control shall be a restrictive covenant bythe property owner, to the benefit ofthe State ofTexas and the United States Government, recorded in the real property records ofJefferson County, Texas;
• Abandonment ofexisting monitoring wells

- Five (5) existing monitoring wells at the Site will be abandoned; and
• Wastewater AST sludge removal and decontamination

- Sludge contained within the remaining Wastewater AST will be removed and disposed ofoff-site. The tank will be decontaminated and recycled as scrapmetal by the property owner. Implemented Remedial Action Construction Activities
• Excavated a total of764.65 tons ofthe upper two feet of soil that exceededhuman health and ecological risk based levels at each ofthe response areas and backfilled with clean soil. Excavated soils were disposed at a permitted off-site facility.
• Wastewater and sludge materials from the above ground storage tank (AST) were removed and disposed offat a permittedhazardous waste disposal facility. Approximately 520 cubic yards ofliquids and sludge materials were removed from the tank. Thetank was decontaminated and recycled as scrap metal bythe PRPs' contractor for the site owner.
• Five (5) monitoring wells .installed during the remedial investigation were plugged and abandoned as part ofthe remedial action.
• The site was cleaned to industrial standards, and therefore, institutional controls will be implementedby the owner to insure that future use ofthe site remains for industrial

- purposes. Additionally, infonnation from confinnation sampling at each ofthe human health risk response areas willbe used to determine ifCOPCs remain onsite above industrial human health basedlevels. This infonnation will be used to determine if institutional controls for waste left onsite will be required.
4FutureWork Institutional Control in the form ofrestrictive covenant by the property owner, to the benefit ofthe State ofTexas and the United States Government, will be recorded in the real property records ofJefferson County, Texas, to ensure that future site usedremains commercial/industrial. III. DEMONSTRATION OF CLEANUPACTIVITY QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL The quality assurance/quality control (QAlQC) program for the PalmerBarge Site was conducted in accordance with the workplan prepared to implementthe remedial action construction activities. The following project plans were prepared for the remedial action:
• Community Relations Plan • Site Management Plan • Health and Safety Plan • Field Sampling Plan • Quality Assurance Project Plan • DataManagement Plan • Pollution Control andMitigation Plan • Transportation andDisposal and WasteManagement Plan • Construction Quality Assurance Plan Theplans mentioned above ensured that the cleanup activities met all quality assurance and quality control requirements for the Site. The EPAconductedregular oversight throughout the implementation ofthe remedial action for the PalmerBarge site. In addition to conducting oversight ofthe project activities, EPA was in regular contactbyphone and e-mails with the project managers during construction activities. TheTexas Commission on Environment Quality reviewed and commented on all project plans for the site, participated in the Final Construction Inspection, and reviewed and commented on the draft Preliminary Close Out Report. IV. ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULEFOR SITE COMPLETION
Task Estimated Completion Responsibility Institutional Controls December 2007 OwnerlEPA Remedial Action Report December 2007 PRPGroup Final Close Out Report September 2008 EPA 1

st 5-YearReview September 2012 EPA Deletion ofthe SiteFrom NPL To Be Determined EPA 

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### V. SUMMARY OF REMEDIATION COSTS The ROD estimate for the selected remedy was $428,180. The PRPs implementedthe selected remedy. Actual cost information was not provided to EPA by the PRPs. 

### VI. FIVE-YEAR REVIEW Hazardoussubstances will remain atthe PalmerBarge Superfund Site above levels that allow unlimited use and unrestricted exposure after completion ofthe selectedremedial action for the site. Therefore, a statutory review will beconducted within five years ofstartingremedial action activities at the site to ensure that the remedy is, orwill be, protective ofhuman health and the environment. Pursuant to CERCLAsection 121((;),42 U.S.C. § 9621(c), and as providedin the current guidance on Five-YearReviews: EPA 540-R-OI-007, OSWERNo. 9355.7-03B-P, Comprehensive Five-YearReview Guidance, June 2001, EPA will conduct a statutory five-year review for the PalmerBarge Superfund Siteby September 2012, five years after startingremedial action activities atthe site.
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# !0YJ~**I~~~~UD~~~~~~~~~**__________ ___ Samuel Coleman, P.E. 

# Q!2ld/07 Date Director SuperfundDivision



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