EPA RCRA ID: PAD005033055
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
An Environmental Inspection (EI) was performed and a Final EI Report was submitted in December 2002. EPA reviewed the EI report and as a result scheduled a site visit and meeting on October 19, 2008 to discuss areas that may need to be investigated to satisfy Corrective Action obligations. On January 7, 2009, General Electric (GE) submitted a response to address Solid Waste Management units (SWMUs) and other areas of concern as a result of the meeting. Several SWMUs were determined to have been addressed, but the following were determined to require further investigation: SWMU 1 – Waste Disposal Area NW Corner, SWMU 2- Waste Disposal Area NE Corner, SWMU 5- Open Pit Burning Area, and sitewide groundwater.
Soil and groundwater sampling activities were performed and subsequent Corrective Action Reports were submitted in 2009, 2010, 2012 and a Final Corrective Action Investigation Report in September 2016. Based on the results of these investigations, EPA determined that all SWMUs and sitewide groundwater were satisfactorily evaluated and that no further soil investigation is necessary. Additionally, groundwater exceedances are limited to one small area and data trends showed the constituents are stable or decreasing.
In April 2017, EPA proposed a Statement of Basis to solicit public comment on its proposed remedy for the GE Transportation facility located in Erie, Pennsylvania. No comments were received. Consequently, the EPA made a determination that land and groundwater use restrictions, groundwater monitoring, implementation of health and safety measures, and compliance with a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) Post-Closure Permit are necessary in a Final Decision issued on May 17, 2017.
EPA received notification that on February 25, 2019 the GE Transportation facility would no longer be affiliated with the General Electric Company and is now owned by Wabtec Corporation and operated by Wabtec US Rail, Inc.
On September 23, 2024, the EPA conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. EPA determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, 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.
The General Electric Transportation Systems facility is located at 2901 East Lake Road in Lawrence Park Township outside of Erie, PA (Facility). The Facility currently covers approximately 350 acres and includes 4 million square feet of manufacturing floor space in 16 major and several ancillary buildings. The north border is approximately 2,500 feet from the south shore of Lake Erie. The plant is bordered on its eastern side by Four Mile Creek, which runs north to Lake Erie and on its southern side by commercial railroad lines. Residential areas border the site to the west.
The Facility manufactures diesel and electric locomotives, motorized wheels for off-highway construction vehicles, propulsion equipment for mass transit, and drives for oil and gas well drilling rigs. The Facility processes include metalworking, fabricating and finishing. A coal-fired power plant is operated on-site to furnish electricity and steam in order to supply the processes. The Facility also operates an on-site industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Facility utilizes many materials, including petroleum products (diesel fuel, gasoline and lubricating oils), acids used in metal cleaning/etching and wastewater treatment, alkali cleaning solutions, solvents used in cleaning, painting and degreasing, and paints, thinners, varnishes and related materials.
Contaminants at this Facility
The GE facility utilizes many materials, including petroleum products (diesel fuel, gasoline and lubricating oils), acids used in metal cleaning/etching and wastewater treatment, alkali cleaning solutions, solvents used in cleaning, painting and degreasing, and paints, thinners, varnishes and related materials.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional and Engineering Controls include Land and Groundwater use restrictions and Groundwater monitoring,
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) |
Documents available on-line: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
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.