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FINAL CLEANUP PLAN ANNOUNCED FOR GALLUP'S QUARRY SUPERFUND SITE

Release Date: 10/10/1997
Contact Information: Jim Murphy, Community Involvement Coordinator (617) 918-1028

BOSTON---The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected a long term cleanup plan to address soil and groundwater contamination at the Gallup's Quarry Superfund Site in Plainfield, Connecticut. Federal and state investigations and monitoring show that drinking water supplies in the area have not been affected by contamination from the site where industrial wastes were illegally dumped in 1977.

The cleanup plan will rely on natural restoration of contaminated soil and groundwater. Land use restrictions will be put in place to prevent any use of groundwater and to limit the disturbance of soil at the site until final cleanup levels are reached. A long term program to monitor progress of groundwater and soil cleanup will continue until the contaminants are reduced to levels that pose no unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.

"Combined with the earlier extensive removal of contaminated material, the natural restoration process has already moved us into the home stretch in repairing the damage to the soil and groundwater at Gallup's Quarry," said John P. DeVillars, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office. "Conditions at this Superfund site will be closely and carefully monitored to ensure that Plainfield's citizens and natural resources are protected against any potential exposure to contamination while the natural restoration process runs its course."

The major components of the approved cleanup plan, estimated to cost $2,152,000, are:

• institutional controls, including land use restrictions (e.g., deed restrictions) to limit the use and disturbance of contaminated soils and to prevent the use of impacted groundwater for drinking water until cleanup goals are met,
• posting of warning signs to alert local residents of the contamination and limit access, and periodic maintenance of the signs and entry gate, and
• sampling and analysis of groundwater from monitoring wells, surface water from Mill Brook, and site soils to confirm that levels of contaminants are continuing to decline.

A copy of the EPA's Record of Decision (ROD), which explains the EPA's selected remedy and summarizes and responds to public comments on the EPA's Proposed Plan, as well as the Administrative Record upon which this decision is based, are available for public review at the Plainfield Public Library, 39 Railroad Avenue, Plainfield and at the EPA Records Center, 90 Canal Street, First Floor, Boston, Massachusetts.

The Gallup's Quarry Superfund Site is a 29-acre area, a portion of which was used as an illegal industrial waste disposal area during 1977. In 1978 the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection shut down the disposal operations and removed drums and bulk liquid hazardous waste and contaminated soil. In 1988-1989 the EPA completed a site investigation and placed the site on the National Priorities List for Superfund sites. In 1993 the EPA entered into a consent agreement with 23 parties potentially responsible for waste disposal to perform a detailed investigation of the site, under EPA oversight, to determine the nature and extent of contamination. Upon completion of the investigation in 1997, and in consultation with local citizens and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, EPA selected the cleanup plan from several possible options.