All News Releases By Date

Ceremony to Celebrate Cleanup Completion at Vermilion Parish Superfund Site

Release Date: 3/10/1999
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

       Federal, state and local officials will speak during a March 11, 1999, celebration of  the cleanup of the former Gulf Coast Vacuum Services property near Abbeville, Louisiana. Officials will conduct a brief tour of the site following the ceremony.

       "This ceremony will celebrate eliminating the threat to local families from chemicals abandoned on this property and the partnership that made the cleanup a reality. This cleanup is an example of what can be accomplished when local, state and federal agencies work together to protect public health and our environment," EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke said.

       While actual work at the site is finished, the area will be monitored for at least 30 years to ensure that the cap covering contaminated soil remains intact and that surrounding property remains free of contamination.

       Before it was abandoned in 1984, the site was used as a trucking terminal for various materials including those generated by oil and gas exploration and production. Contaminated water and other waste from vacuum trucks which were routinely rinsed out between loads was left in large open pits. Because rain could cause these pits to overflow and contaminate surrounding land and ground water, they posed a threat to public health.

       During cleanup, the wastes in the pits were treated. Materials remaining after these treatments and contaminated soil were consolidated on the site and covered with a 3-foot clay cap. The area was then graded and seeded to prevent erosion.

WHEN:     2 p.m., Thursday, March 11, 1999

WHERE:    Gulf Coast Vacuum Services Superfund Site
           12737 Junuis Road, Abbeville, Louisiana

SPEAKERS: Myron Knudson, Superfund Division Director EPA Region 6
           Dale Givens, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
           Donald Sagrera, President of the Vermilion Parish Police Jury
           R. Brady Broussard, Abbeville Mayor