# PRELIMINARY CLOSE OUT REPORT

STATE MARINE SUPERFUND SITE PORT ARTHIJR,TEXAS

REGION 6 JUNE 2OO7 

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### CONCT]RRENCES PRELIMINARY CLOSE OUT RBPORT

FOR TIIE STATE MARINE SIJPERFT.]ND SITE EPA ID# TXDO998O11.O2

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### Donald Williams, Députy

Associate

Director, Superfund

Division 

# eþþfu+ Compton,

Office of Regional

Counsel,

Superfund

Branch

Gus Chavarria.

Chief. A

Director S

uperfund

Division



### Mark Peycke,

Chief of Regional Counsel, Superfund

Branch

Pamela Phillips, Deputy

### PRELIMINARY CLOSE OUT REPORT STATE MARINE SIJPERFI.]ND SITE PORT ARTHI]R, JEFFERSON COI]NTY, TEXAS

I. INTRODUCTION This Preliminary Close Out Report (PCOR) documents that the U. S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have completedcleanupactivities for the StateMarine Superfund Site in accordance with Close Out Procedures

for National Priorities List Sites (OSWER Directive 9320.2-09A-P). The EPA completeda Time Critical Removal Action in August 2001 that removed contaminants from the site that pose a risk to human health and the environment. Following the removal action, EPA conducted

a remedial

investigation

in 2001 and a Supplemental Remedial

Investigation

in 2006 which confirmed that contaminants aboveindustrial human health levels are no longer presentat the site. Based

on this determination,

EPA signeda No Further Action Necessary Record of Decision

for the site on April 18, 2007. By letterdated April 9, 2007,

TCEQ concurred

with the No Further Action Necessary Record of Decision. il. SUMMARY OF SITE CONDITIONS Site,History and Backeround The State

Marine Site is located

approximately

4.5 miles east-northeast of the City of Port Arthur in JeffersonCounty, Texas, on Old Yacht Club Road on Pleasure Islet, a peninsula located approximatelyO.S-mile southwest

of the mouth of the NechesRiver. Overall, the Site encompasses

approximately I7 acres and is bounded

to the north by the Palmer Barge Line Site (PBLS), to the west by Old Yacht Club Road, to the south by undeveloped property, and to the eastby Sabine

Lake. There is very little topographical relief to the Site. The Site is located approximately

0.5 mile southwest

of the confluence

of the Neches

River andthe Sabine

Neches Barge Canal. Pleasure Islet is a manmade

landmass

consisting of dredgespoils generated during the constructionand maintenance of the Sabine-Neches

Canal, also called the Intercoastal 'Waterway. The canal was constructed between 1898and approximately 1920 in the vicinity of SabineLake and the NechesRiver, between the current site location and the mainland. Between 1955 and L957 , a portion of the canal along the westernside of Pleasure Islet was abandoned,

and a new canal was cut along the eastern and southern

sidesof Pleasure

Islet. Pleasure

Islet was created when a land bridge was constructed across the abandoned

portions of the canal,between the northern tip of Pleasure Island and the mainland.Vehicle access to the Site is limited to a single dirt road starting at the westernsite border along Old Yacht Club Road. Ownership of Pleasure Islet was transferred

from the Stateof Texas to the City of PortArthur, Texas, in 1955. Development of the islet and the Site began after 1957, following constructionof the land bridge across the abandoned

portions of the Sabine-Neches Canal. In approximately 1963,

the City of Port Arthur beganmunicipal landfill operations on the northern and central portions of the islet. Initially, the landfill consisted of a burn pit in which wastes were incinerated. By December 1969,burn operations were discontinued,and the landfill was used solelyfor disposal

of wastes. Between 1969and 1972,landfill disposal operations expanded

to include the central and northern portions of the Site and the property north of the Site. Between 1972 and L974, disposalactivities were generallyconcentrated in the northern parts of the islet. In December 1974, the City of Port Arthur closed the landfill in accordance with Texas Department of Health (TDH) regulations, which required covering the entire landfill with approximately 2feet of fine-grainedfill material. The cover material is believed to be dredgespoils that originated on the islet. Site operations

beganabout 1973 under the names of State Welding and Marine Works and the Golden Triangle Shipyard. The constructionof wastewater impoundmentsin the northwestern

portion of the Site was also reported. The impoundmentswere reportedly unlined, earthen diked areas

approximatelytwo (2) acres in size usedto store oil and wastewater from barge-cleaning

operaiiõns. Inspection reports indicate that wastewater from barge-cleaning operations

was directedto two Above Ground Storage Tanks (AST) and then pumpedto the wastewater

impoundments. Some of the oil from the tanks was diverted to an old ship (on land) that was usedas an oiUwaterseparator. Oil from the separator was collected for reuse, potentially on-site.The Site included the locations of the former wastewaterimpoundments, tar burn area,

distillation column, and the former location of the Lauren Refining Company (IRC) Tank Farm. Historv of Federal and State Investisations In 1995, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation

Commission (TNRCC), now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), initiated an Expanded Site Inspection (ESÐ at the Site. The objective of the TNRCC ESI was to collect sufficient datato develop an understanding

of the Site contaminants and to identify the potential migration pathways, primary contaminantsources,

exposurepathways,

and presence

of potential human health and ecological receptors.

The following reports were completedas a result of the data obtainedfrom the field work during the ESL

. 1996Expanded Site Investigation Report (TNRCC).

. 1997 Hazardous Ranking SystemDocumentationReport (TNRCC).

. 1999

Technical Memorandum (CH2M HILL). Other Investigations

Adjacent to the Site included a Preliminary Assessment (PA), a Screening

Site Inspection (SSI), and an ESI that were conducted immediately adjacent

to the Site at the PBLS. The PBLS is located on Pleasure Islet immediately north of the Site. These investigations

did not involve collecting soil, sediment, or ground water directly from the Site;however, some sediment data obtained

from the PBLS at near-shore and offshore locationswere usedin the human

health and ecological

screening

risk assessment. In 2001,a remedial

investigation

was conducted

for the State

Marine Siteto determine the nature and extentof contaminationpresent at the site. In May andJune2006,EP4 conducted a Supplemental

Remedial

Investigation

to determine if the former surface impoundments

were a continuing source of contaminationto the SabineLake sediments by movementthrough the shallow ground water. The Supplemental RI, included the completion

of seven (7) soil borings

andthe collection

of soil samples

at seventeen (17) locations

from those

borings. Five (5) of the soil borings were completed

within the area

of the former wastewater impoundments

to determineif waste materials were still present

that could potentiallybe a source of contamination

to the Sabine

Lake sediments.

Two (2) borings

were installed downgradient

of the former wastewater impoundments

and completed

as monitor wells. In addition,sediment

samples were collected

at eight (8) site locations and one (1) background location. Results

of the Supplemental

Remedial

Investigation

confirmed

that contaminants aboveindustrialhuman healthlevelsare no longerpresent at the site National Priorities List The EPA published

a proposed

rule on March 6,Iggï,to addthe State Marine Site

to the National PrioritiesList OIPL) of Superfund sites. The Sitewas added to the NPL in a final rule published

on July 28,1998 [Federal Register Listing (FRL-6130-9),

Volume 63, Number 144, Pages 40182 - 401881. History of CERCLA Enforcement Activities On Octobe

r 29, 7998,EPAissue

Special Notice Letters

to potentially

responsible

parties (PRP) for the PRPs

to conductthe remedial investigation and feasibility study. The EPA did not receive positive responses

to the Special

Notice Letters. In February 1999,EPA sent 104(e) infoimation request

letters regarding

the State

Marinè Site. As a resultof the 104(e) letters, the EPA received

admissions

and denials. History of CERCLA Removal Actions The EPA completed

a Time Critical materials

stored on-site. Activities included separation,

and sludge

stabilization. Construction Activities As part of the removal actionactivities, \

Removal

Action in August2001to remove source waste removal,

water treatment,

oil/water

the following itemswere identified at the site:a

o a a Twenty-two (22) above ground storage tanks of varying sizes; Several oil pits; 27 drums;and Debris materials

scattered

throughout

the size. Materialsremoved

and disposed

off-site from the State

Marine site included

26,000 gallons of waste oil, waterand diesel

fuel and kerosene,

3,800gallons

of heavysludge,27 drums, -8 "o-pr"rsed gas

cylinders,and 14 batteries. After disposing

of liquids and sludge

materials from the above ground storage tanks,the tanks were decontaminated utilizing a degreaser solutionand a pressure washer. The decontamination rinse waterwas disposed

off site' Future Work As part of the selected remedy in the Record

of Decision

for the site,institutional controls will be requiredto ensure that the site current and future use remainsfor industrial or commercial usepurposes.

The No Further

Action Necessary

remedy selection

is based on an industrial/commercial

land usescenario.

The EPA will be responsible for obtaining

a restrictive covenant

from the landowner

andfiling it in the appropriate properfy records for the site such that the future use of the property is restricted to commercial/industrial purposes. Since no future ground water monitoring will be requiredfor the site, EPA will plug the ground water wells that were installed as part of the remedial investigationfor the site. There are eight (8) monitor wells that will be plugged for the site' ilI. DEMONSTRATION OF CLEANUP ACTIVITY QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL Through EPA's removalprogram, the Corpsof Engineers implemented

the Time-Critical Removal

Action for the State

Marine Site. Through

the Corpsof Engineers, Roy F. Weston conducted

the field construction

activities

at the site. During the removal activities, samples collected from the aboveground storage tanks and drums were field screen using theHazCatn Chemical Identification System. Tank contents were sampled usingthe BaconBomb Sampler which allows for discrete collection

of liquid from variouslevels. Throughout the removal action activities, tlealth and Safetyair monitoring was conducted

with Rae Systems

Multi Raesand SUMMA canisters. The Multi Ptae analyzed the air for volatile organic

compounds

(VOCs), carbon

monoxide,lower explosive limits, hydrogen sulfide,and oxygenlevels. The SUMMA canister samples were analyzedfor

VOCs by laboratory

methods. The EPA On-Scene

Coordinator

andthe Corpsof Engineers conducted

f,reld oversightthroughoutthe removal action activities to ensure that the removal action met quality assurance and quality controls and was consistent with the Action Memorandum for the site. W. ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE FOR SITE COMPLETION



### V. SUMMARY OF REMEDIATION COSTS EPA's Time-Critical Removal Action was conducted

at a costof $872,000.00. Since this response

actionaddressed

site contaminants

that posed

a risk to humanhealth

andthe environment,

EPA signed

a No Further

Action Necessary

Record of Decision

on April 18,2007

' Therefore,no further remedial actionsare plannedfor the site. 

### VI. FIVE-YEAR REVIE\il Hazardous

substances

will remain at the StateMarine SuperfundSite above levels that allow unlimited useand unrestricted exposure

after completion

of the Time Critical Removal Action. Therefore,

a policy review will be conducted within five years

of the signingof the No Further Action Necessary

Record of Decision

to ensure

that the remedy

is, or will be, protective of humanhealthandthe environment. Pursuant o CERCLA section 121(c),42U.S'C. S 962I(c), and asprovidedin the current guidance

on Five-YearReviews:EPA 540-R-01-007, OSWERNo. 9355.7-038-P, Comprehensive

Five-Year

Review Guidonce,

June 2001, EPA will conduct a policy five-year review for the StateMarine Site by June 2072, five yearsafter signing the Preliminary Close Out Report for the site.

Task Estimated Completion ResnonsibilitY Institutional

Controls September 2008 OwnerÆPA 1't S-Year

Review 

### June2012 EPA Plug remedial

investigation

wells 

### September 2008 EPA Deletionof the Site From NPL To Be Determined 

### EPA

Superfund

Division