The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 

proposing to delete the Ruston Foundry Superfund Site 

from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL represents a list of sites with releases or potential releases of 

hazardous substances that appear to pose the greatest 

threat to public health and the environment. This fact 

sheet is an update on site progress since the completion 

of remedial action, and provides information on the upcoming deletion proposal. 

In April 2010, the EPA, in conjunction with the State of 

Louisiana, through the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), will announce the direct 

final notice of deletion of the Ruston Foundry Superfund Site from the NPL. A notice will be published in 

the Federal Register and the local newspaper, Alexandria Town Talk, requesting public comment. A postcard 

alert will be mailed as a reminder, so keep an eye on the 

mailbox. 

The deletion is being proposed because the EPA and the 

LDEQ have determined that all cleanup actions have 

been completed and that the Ruston Foundry Superfund 

Site poses no significant threat to public health, welfare, 

or the environment. Even if we delete the site from the 

NPL, we can still take action in the future if conditions 

change and the site threatens public health and the environment. 

Your comments will be accepted for 30 days following 

the publication in the Federal Register and may be submitted using any of the following options. Please identify your comments with the Docket Identification 

Number EPA-HQ-SFUND-1999-0006. 

• http://www.regulations.gov. Follow on-line instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Katrina Higgins-Coltrain, Remedial Project 

Manager, U.S. EPA Region 6 coltrain.katrina@epa.gov 

• Fax: Katrina Higgins-Coltrain, Remedial Project 

Manager, U.S. EPA Region 6 (6SF-RL) 214.665.6660 

• Mail: Katrina Higgins-Coltrain, Remedial Project 

Manager, U.S. EPA Region 6 (6SF-RL), 1445 Ross 

Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733 

• Hand delivery: U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 

75202-2733. Such deliveries are only accepted during 

the Docket’s normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. 

EPA-HQ-SFUND-1999-0006. EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be made available 

online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 

that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected 

through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous 

access” system, which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless you provide it in 

the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through 

http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 

automatically captured and included as part of the 

comment that is placed in the public docket and made 

available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 

comment, EPA recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in the body of your 

comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If 

EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 

may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 

files should avoid the use of special characters, any 

form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. 

This Site Update will tell you about... 

• The proposed deletion of the site from the 

National Priorities List (NPL) 

• How to comment on the proposed deletion 

• Criteria for deletion 

• Site background 

• Where to get additional information 

United States 

Environmental Protection 

Agency 

EPA PROPOSES DELETION OF RUSTON FOUNDRY 

FROM THE SUPERFUND NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST 

Ruston Foundry Superfund Site 

Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana March 2010 

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Upon completion of the 30-day comment period, we 

will review all public comments on the deletion proposal and will determine if the deletion from the NPL is 

still appropriate. If no significant adverse or critical 

comments are received, the site will be deleted from the 

NPL effective 60 days from the date of publication in 

the Federal Register. However, if significant adverse or 

critical comments are received within the 30-day comment period, we will publish a notice of withdrawal of 

this direct final notice of deletion within 60 days of 

publication of the original notice. We will prepare a response to the comments and continue with the rulemaking process on the basis of the notice of intent to delete 

and the comments already received. A summary of all 

comments and responses will be available for you to 

review at the information repositories listed at the end 

of this fact sheet. In addition, you may contact us to obtain a copy of the Responsiveness Summary (see the 

Additional Information section of the fact sheet for EPA 

contact personnel and information resources). 

Criteria for deletion 

The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 

Contingency Plan (NCP) defines the criteria that we use 

to delete sites from the NPL. In deciding to propose the 

Ruston Foundry Superfund Site for deletion from the 

NPL, EPA, in conjunction with LDEQ, evaluated 

whether clean up met any of the following criteria: 

1. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all appropriate response actions; or, 

2. All appropriate Superfund-financed response under 

Federal law has been implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate; or, 

3. The response action has shown that the site poses no 

significant threat to public health or the environment 

and therefore implementing additional remedial measures is not appropriate. 

Site background 

The Ruston Foundry site was an abandoned metal foundry that operated from 1908 until 1985 and located on 

the southeast side of Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The Ruston Foundry property is 4.98 acres and 

the contiguous Louisiana Pine Products property is 1.62 

acres for total site acreage of 6.6 acres. Foundry operations resulted in metals contaminated waste which was 

found throughout the property as fill material. Also present at the Site was an underground storage tank, asbestos containing material, and slag waste. The identified 

contaminated media of most concern were surface soil 

and sediment that contain lead and antimony, and the 

exposure routes of most concern were direct contact and 

ingestion. Children were found to be the most sensitive 

and vulnerable to the effects of lead. 

The Record of Decision was signed in June 2002. 

Community and City discussion, potentially responsible 

party (PRP) negotiations, and treatability reviews led to 

several Explanation of Significant Differences that 

changed remedy activities. The final implemented remedial action included excavation and offsite disposal 

of site contamination. 

Kansas City Southern Railway, the PRP, conducted the 

cleanup in two phases. Phase one addressed contamination as described in the site documents; however, after 

the data were reviewed, it was noted that the site may 

have been cleaned up to much lower levels. Phase 2 of 

the cleanup addressed an additional area of contamination, and confirmed that the site was cleaned up to 

lower levels. The remedial action was completed in August 2009, and the site was closed out in January 2010 

with the signing of the Final Close Out Report. 

With the clean up complete, the site is ready for unrestricted reuse. The PRP continues to work with the City 

on transferring the deed for the adjacent 30-acre piece 

of property. The City is currently using money, awarded 

through a Brownfields grant, to conduct the necessary 

investigations of the 30-acre piece of property. Once 

completed, the property will be deeded to the City, and 

will move the reuse development process one step further. 

Where to get additional information 

You can review copies of EPA reports and other information about the Ruston Foundry Superfund Site at the 

locations listed below.

Federal Web Page 

http://www.regulations.gov index 

Rapides Parish Public Library 

411 Washington Street 

Alexandria, Louisiana, 71301 

318.442.1840 

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 

Public Records Center 

Galvez Building Room 127 

602 N. Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70802 

225.219.3168 

Email: publicrecords@la.gov, Web page: 

http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/pubrecords. 

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If you have questions or would like additional information about the Ruston Foundry Superfund Site, please 

contact: 

Katrina Higgins-Coltrain, Remedial Project 

Manager 

U.S. EPA Region 6 

214.665.8143 or 1.800.533.3508 (Toll Free) 

Janetta Coats, Community Involvement 

Coordinator 

U.S. EPA Region 6 

214.665.7308 or 1.800.533.3508 (Toll Free) 

Wanda Ballou 

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 

Environmental Technology Division 

PO Box 4314 

Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4314 

225.219.3223 

Questions from the news media should be directed to: 

EPA Region 6 Office of External Affairs at 

214.665.2200. 

On the web... 

Information can also be accessed via the U.S. EPA 

Internet Homepage at: 

U.S. EPA Headquarters: http://www.epa.gov 

U.S. EPA Region 6: www.epa.gov/region6/superfund 

Figure 1: Main site excavation is complete, site 

is graded to drain, and grass growth has been 

established. 

Figure 2: Canal bank excavation is complete, 

the area is graded to drain, and erosion control 

measure are in place.

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Region 6 

1445 Ross Ave. (6SF-VO) 

Dallas, TX 75202

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