EPA RCRA ID: MDD078288354
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
Investigations identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in on-site surface and subsurface soil and groundwater and off-site areas in groundwater and subsurface vapor in discrete areas.
Benzene and chlorinated VOC solvents such as chlorobenzene, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane (TeCA) were found in ground water (GW) at levels above drinking water standards (MCLs) on and off-site. In on-site soil, there is limited surface and subsurface soil contamination (chlorinated solvents, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), mercury and benzo(a)pyrene) in some areas.
On September 12, 2007, GE and EPA signed an EPA Administrative Order under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) authorities, ordering GE Railcar to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS). EPA approved the RI/FS Workplan in June 2008. Field work commenced in 2008 to address the data gaps of previous investigations. The RI Report (2009) was approved by EPA. The FS was then submitted to EPA and also approved. EPA approved final remedies for on-site soil, groundwater and potential vapor intrusion and for off-site groundwater. EPA’s remedy decision followed the public comment period. The groundwater remedy consists of monitored natural attenuation of dissolved benzene and chlorinated solvents (VOCs), and for on-site soil and potential vapor intrusion, human exposure to site contaminants will be managed through site controls.
On February 25, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Final Remedy for RCRA Corrective Action for the former GE Railcar property (Facility) in Elkton, Maryland. EPA's Final Remedy consists of: (1) natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds in on- and off-site groundwater, and (2) land and groundwater use restrictions on the property. The Final Remedy is based on EPA 's findings as detailed in the Statement of Basis (SB).
On February 7, 2023 EPA and Transport Pool Corporation entered into a Administrative Order on Consent to (1) to implement the selected Final Remedy and to (2) provide for Financial Assurance to conduct the directed work.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
Railcar repair and maintenance operations began at the Facility in 1976 when P&R Railcar Service Corporation purchased the property. North American Car Corporation acquired the property in 1979 and added railcar cleaning to the previous operations. In 1986, Quality Service Repair Corporation acquired the Facility and name changed to GE Railcar Repair Services in early 1987 and continued the previous railcar operations until operations shut down permanently in September 1987. GE performed various investigations and unit closure activities under Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) direction prior to EPA’s involvement.
Contaminants of concern were Benzene and chlorinated solvents such as chlorobenzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane (TeCA) were found in ground water at levels above drinking water standards (MCLs). There is limited surface and subsurface soil contamination (chlorinated solvents, PCB, mercury and benzo(a)pyrene) in some on-site areas.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The Final Remedy includes land and groundwater use restrictions. Land use and Groundwater restrictions listed above are enforceable through an environmental covenant. There is a clay cap an engineering control over the “Still Bottoms Disposal Area” .
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | |||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.