Superfund Sites in Reuse in Virginia
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Abex Corp.
Abex Corp.The Abex Corp. Superfund site is located in Portsmouth, Virginia. The site operated as a brass and bronze foundry for 50 years. The foundry recycled used railroad journal bearings and recast the metal to produce new bearings. The disposal of foundry waste sands and emissions from the smelting furnaces contaminated on-site soil, surrounding residential yards, a small playground and a rehabilitation center. In 1990, EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL). Under EPA oversight, the potentially responsible party (PRP) completed cleanup activities on a 3-acre portion of the site. Cleanup activities included demolishing foundry buildings, removing contaminated soil and restricting use of the site property. Cleanup and investigation activities continue at additional areas on site. Successful cleanup enabled reuse of the cleaned up area for public service, commercial, industrial and recreational land uses. In 2001, the local community opened a new fire department headquarters and training facility at the site. The City of Portsmouth’s redevelopment plan for the site includes a park, a beverage distribution center, a shopping center and the not-for-profit Portsmouth Community Health Center.
For more information:
- Reuse and Benefits to the Community: Abex Corporation Case Study (2011) (PDF) (8 pp, 267 K, About PDF)
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Arrowhead Associates, Inc./Scoville Corp.
The 30-acre Arrowhead Associates/Scovill Corp. site is located in a rural area in Westmoreland County, Virginia. From 1966 until operations ended in 1979, Scovill Corp. and later, Arrowhead, Inc. of Delaware electroplated cosmetic cases at the site. After the plating stopped, the company abandoned machinery and process materials at the 25-acre site. Beginning in the early 1980s, Mattatuck Manufacturing made automobile wire harnesses on a portion of the site until 2005. A.R. Winarick used another portion of the site to fill cosmetic cases until the mid-1990’s. Under permit, site operators discharged treated electroplating wastes to the nearby stream, the Scates Branch. Site testing identified contamination in a groundwater plume beneath the site, which extends off-site and into the Scates Branch and the South Fork Scates Branch. Studies also showed contamination in the former disposal ponds. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990. Cleanup activities included treating groundwater by using a barrier to capture and breakdown contaminants, placement of an impermeable surface cap, and building a soil vapor extraction system. Testing of groundwater, surface water, sediments, indoor air and subsurface soil continues. EPA is currently performing an investigation to address remaining contamination at a part of the site referred to as Operable Unit 3. A.R. Winarick’s operations at the site ended in the mid-1990s. Mattatuck Manufacturing ended operations and vacated the site in 2005. The O’Gara Group purchased the Mattatuck Manufacturing plant at the site and currently uses it as part of its full service tactical training facility. The O’Gara Group also manufactures barricades for use at its nearby training race track.
For more information:
Avtex Fibers, Inc.
Once one of Virginia's largest contaminated sites, the Avtex Fibers, Inc. Superfund site is now home to a number of commercial, recreational and ecological assets. EPA, other governmental agencies and community members are working together to clean up and redevelop the site. Located in Front Royal, Virginia, a rayon and other synthetic material manufacturing facility operated on the 440-acre site from 1940 until the company abandoned the property in 1989. Improper waste disposal practices caused contamination of groundwater, nearby water wells and the Shenandoah River. EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. The potentially responsible party cleaned up the site. Cleanup actions included demolition of buildings, removal of demolition debris, sewer excavation, landfill/waste basin capping and the removal of contaminated soil. Groundwater and leachate treatment continues. Throughout the cleanup process, the community helped to develop site reuse plans. EPA served in an advisory capacity to site stakeholders, including the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA), the United States Soccer Foundation and FMC Corporation. The site hosts a 240-acre ecological conservancy park along the Shenandoah River and a 162-acre industrial and commercial development called the Royal Phoenix Business Park. Site stakeholders also worked together to build soccer fields (the Skyline Soccerplex), a skate park and a picnic pavilion with a playground on a 32-acre parcel of the site. The local EDA restored an on-site administrative building for EDA offices and other tenants, including the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Planning Commission. Fully returning the site to reuse requires ongoing collaboration. EPA and the local EDA worked together in 2014 to update land use agreements originally signed in 1999. The new agreements allow for mixed use of site property, which will assist Front Royal in future redevelopment efforts. In September 2014, EPA Region 3 presented FMC Corporation, Warren County and the EDA with “Excellence in Site Reuse” awards for enabling the site’s productive reuse. EPA will continue to support ongoing redevelopment at the site.
For more information:
- Press Release: EPA Announces Excellence in Site Reuse Awards at the Avtex Fibers Site, Front Royal, Virginia
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Chisman Creek
Chisman CreekThe baseball and soccer fields of Chisman Creek and Wolf Trap Parks in York County, Virginia, demonstrate how a partnership between private and public sectors can lead to the successful cleanup and reuse of a Superfund site. EPA, York County, Virginia Power and the local community teamed up to create a 31-acre recreational complex at the site. From 1957 to 1974, Yorktown Power Generating Station used the abandoned sand and gravel pits at the site to dispose of fly ash, a byproduct from the burning of fossil fuels. Testing found heavy metal contamination in groundwater and nearby Chisman Creek. EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Under EPA oversight, Virginia Power, the potentially responsible party (PRP), conducted cleanup activities. Cleanup included connecting nearby residents to the public water supply, placing a cap and a soil cover over two separate portions of the site, installing a ground water collection system, modifying surface water drainage pathways and monitoring surface water. The local community actively supported reuse of the site as a recreational complex. After completing cleanup, the PRP worked with EPA, the state, local officials and the community, to design and build two recreational parks at the site. Soccer and softball fields were built into the caps constructed during cleanup. The recreational complex opened in 1991 and supports several sports teams, ponds, private and commercial marinas, and a County Memorial Tree Grove. The site’s cleanup became part of a larger water quality improvement effort that led to the reopening of the Chisman Creek estuary for private and commercial fishing.
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Dixie Caverns County Landfill
The 39-acre Dixie Caverns County Landfill Superfund site is located in Salem, Virginia. The County of Roanoke operated the unlicensed municipal landfill from 1965 until its closure in 1976. During operation, the landfill accepted municipal and industrial wastes. Site activities contaminated soil and sediment. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. Cleanup activities included removal and treatment of fly ash and the removal, treatment and disposal of contaminated stream sediments. Cleanup ended in 1997, and EPA deleted the site from the NPL in 2001. In January 2013, the potentially responsible party put land use controls in place to ensure that the landfill is not disturbed. The successful cleanup of the site allowed for the beneficial reuse of the property. The Roanoke County Police Department built several buildings on the site, including a new training facility with classrooms and an outdoor shooting range.
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Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot
The 975-acre Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot Superfund site is located in Suffolk, Virginia. The Department of Defense obtained the property in 1917 and used it for munitions storage, shipment, classification, reconditioning, loading and destruction. The facility handled up to 1,300 tons of ammunition daily. At the end of World War II, the Department of Defense used the Depot for demobilization, including the destruction of unserviceable explosives, ammunition and chemicals. In the early 1960s, the Nansemond Ordnance Depot closed, and several entities, including the Frederick Campus of Tidewater Community College (TCC), Dominion Power Company, General Electric Company (GE), Hampton Roads Sanitation District, and former County of Nansemond received portions of the former military facility. A site inspection identified hazardous substances on site. EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1999. EPA identified extensive contamination in disposal pits, fill and demolition areas, holding tanks, trenches, and off-shore dumping areas. The site’s cleanup included the removal of munitions, explosives, contaminated debris and various military items, as well as the removal of contaminated soil. Due to groundwater contamination, the City of Suffolk extended municipal water lines to the TCC campus. Of the 207 acres deeded to Dominion Power, 135 acres now include the Bridgeway Commerce Park, an office, technology, and research and development space. The City of Suffolk plans to acquire another portion of the site to develop the Hampton Roads Technology Park. This 158-acre commercial park will feature office, research and development space; a high-technology workforce development center; hotels and corporate/conference centers; a restaurant; and a day-care facility. The remaining property was previously owned by the Virginia Department of Community Colleges for use as the Frederick Campus of Tidewater Community College. The Tidewater Community College at the Nansemond property has since closed, and the former college property is being evaluated for sale.
For more information:
H & H Inc., Burn Pit
The H & H Inc., Burn Pit Superfund site is located in Hanover County, Virginia, about 12 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia. Between 1960 and 1976, Haskell Chemical Company, located in Richmond, Virginia, used the 1-acre site to dispose of solvents from printing ink and printing press cleaning operations. Two shallow, unlined pits were used to burn the wastes. Investigations identified contamination in soil, sediment and groundwater at the site. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. Under EPA oversight, the site’s potentially responsible parties (PRPs) completed cleanup of contaminated soil in the former pit area in 1998 and cleanup of downgradient sediment in 1999. A groundwater and soil vapor pump and treatment system operated at the site from 2000 until 2011. EPA and the PRPs are currently evaluating potential treatment technologies to clean up remaining groundwater contamination at the site. The site owners operate a timber lot at the site.
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Norfolk Naval Base (Sewells Point Naval Complex)
The 4,630-acre Norfolk Naval Base (Sewells Point Naval Complex) Superfund site is located just north of Norfolk, Virginia. The site is an active naval base providing Atlantic Fleet command and support for U.S. Navy vessels and aircraft. Industrial activities at the site generated hazardous products, including corrosives, petroleum, paint waste, electroplating waste and solvents. Site investigations in 1994 revealed on-site contamination with the potential to affect neighboring waterways. EPA added the site the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1997. Cleanup actions involved removal of soil, sediment and buried drums; capping; treatment of ground water in place; and installation of ground water extraction and treatment systems. The site reached construction completion in September 2010. The Virginia Department of Transportation is currently assessing potential designs for a highway connector to the Norfolk airport that would cross the site. Though highway construction is not yet underway, workers have relocated and rebuilt facilities located on the future highway paths. These facilities, including soccer and recreational sports fields, were rebuilt on a former landfill area of the site and are now open for use. The naval station continues to provide ocean-front space, facilities and logistics support for U.S. Navy vessels and aircraft. Currently, the Norfolk Naval Base is the world’s largest naval outpost. Maintenance, optimization and monitoring of in-place remedies and institutional controls continue.
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Saltville Waste Disposal Ponds
The Saltville Waste Disposal Ponds Superfund site is located on the border of Smyth and Washington Counties along the North Fork of the Holston River in Virginia. The site covers 125 acres, and includes two large former waste disposal ponds and the former location of a chlorine manufacturing plant. Site investigations in the 1970s identified high mercury levels in site soil, groundwater and sediments of the North Fork of the Holston River as far as 80 miles downstream of the site. The two waste disposal ponds on site contained both mercury and alkaline waste material. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. The site’s potentially responsible party (PRP) conducted cleanup activities. Initial cleanup included dredging mercury-contaminated sediments from the river, diverting clean surface water around the disposal ponds, and installing and operating a water treatment system. In 2003, the PRP installed a RCRA cap over one disposal pond, a soil cover over another and planted grasses, shrubs and trees over the cap and cover to support a wildlife habitat area.
For more information:
Saunders Supply Co.
The 7-acre Saunders Supply Co. Superfund site is located in Suffolk County, Virginia. The site operated as a wood-treating plant until 1991. Improper use, treatment and disposal of wood-treating chemicals resulted in contamination of soil and groundwater both on site and off site. EPA discovered contamination at the site, and added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. EPA‘s cleanup included disposal of contaminated material, soil incineration, groundwater monitoring and placement of use restrictions on the site property. Later, EPA included groundwater treatment to protect Godwins Millpond, a source of drinking water for the City of Suffolk. The Saunders Supply Company’s lumberyard continued operations during the cleanup. Cleanup operations ended in 1999, and groundwater treatment and monitoring continue at the site. Saunders Supply Company continues to operate a wholesale lumberyard on site, and also owns and operates a hardware store just south of the site. Contamination also impacted the adjacent Kelly Nursery. Kelly Nursery continued operations during cleanup and has since expanded its operations, including building additional greenhouses.
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U.S. Titanium
U.S. TitaniumThe U.S Titanium Superfund site is located on the north side of Piney River in Nelson County, Virginia. The site includes 50 acres of a 175-acre titanium dioxide manufacturing plant that operated from 1931 to 1971. By-products of titanium dioxide manufacturing and heavy metals contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater at the site. Six major fish kills occurred in the Piney and Tye Rivers between 1977 and 1981. Acidic groundwater seeps and acidic storm water runoff from on-site waste piles and ponds contributed to these fish kills. EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Under EPA oversight, the site’s potentially responsible party (PRP) removed, treated and buried of contaminated soil in a containment cell. The PRP also treated acidic stream beds and adjacent soil and built a groundwater treatment plant on site. Cleanup also included earth work to reduce contamination resulting from rain water flowing over the site. After cleanup, a group of citizens in Amherst and Nelson Counties, worked together with the local governments to obtain Rails-to-Trails grant funding. They converted the former Blue Ridge Railroad right-of-way on site to a hiking path for public recreational use.
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