EPA RCRA ID: VAD003114832

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Cleanup Status
Facility Description
Contaminants at this Facility
Institutional/Engineer Controls
Enforcement and Compliance
Related Information
Contacts for this Facility

Cleanup Status

Note: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.

In September 1998, EPA issued to DuPont for the Waynesboro Site the Corrective Action portion (i.e., HSWA permit) of their site Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit (Permit No. VAD003114832) to conduct investigations and determine if corrective measures, of on-site solid waste management units (SWMUs) is necessary. The RCRA Permit was renewed by Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2009. The Permit was revised in 2014 to include Offsite concerns, specifically the South River and floodplains, designated as Area of Concern (AOC) 4 in the Permit. The Permit was modified on July 11, 2018 to incorporate the remedy for the onsite work as detailed in the Statement of Basis dated January 2017. The Permit was renewed by DEQ on April 20, 2020.

ONSITE:

Under EPA direction, DuPont prepared a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) Plan and a Land Use Report. The RFI investigation was conducted in three phases, starting in 2000. In December 2014, DuPont submitted a Final Comprehensive RFI Report covering the investigation. EPA approved the Final RFI comprehensive in May 2015.

DuPont submitted a draft On-Site Corrective Measures Study (CMS) Report to EPA in June 2015. The CMS is an evaluation of potential remedies to deal with releases discovered during the investigation phases. DEQ prepared a Statement of Basis for public comment in January 2017, which proposed a remedy for the onsite releases. DEQ’s proposed decision of Corrective Action Remedy Selected included excavation and off-site disposal of impacted material in selected areas, capping in selected areas, performance of long term groundwater and outfall monitoring and implementation of engineering and institutional controls. DEQ also concluded that it is technically impracticable to attain MCLs in mercury contaminated groundwater associated with SWMU 1, SWMU 4 and SWMU 7. Each of these SWMUs has its own defined Technical Impracticability (TI) zone detailed in the CMS. The onsite remedy was implemented through the modification of the Facility’s Hazardous Waste Management Permit on July 11, 2018.

OFFSITE:

DuPont submitted a Class 2 permit modification request to incorporate an off-site Area of Concern (AOC 4) in to the facility permit on November 19, 2013. AOC-4 includes the South River downstream of the former DuPont Waynesboro facility and parts of the South Fork Shenandoah River. The permit modification request was approved by DEQ on February 4, 2014.

Under the direction of the DEQ, DuPont prepared a RFI for AOC-4 that included ecological and human health risk assessments. The AOC 4 remedial strategy and Corrective Measures Study (CMS) involves a series of IMs that will eliminate or reduce exposure and migration of mercury in the system to protect human health and the environment. The strategy is detailed in the Interim Measures Design, Implementation, and Monitoring Work Plan (IMWP; Anchor QEA and URS et al., 2015) approved by DEQ in March 2015. The IMWP provides the details for Phase 1 of the IM, and elements that will be incorporated into the IMs for other bank areas targeted for remediation.

The iterative remedial strategy follows an enhanced adaptive management framework (EAM), which provides a flexible decision-making process that can be adjusted as monitoring data are collected, remediation action outcomes are better understood, and as landowner and other stakeholder preferences or concerns arise. The EAM is integrated into the RCRA process.

September 14, 2023, EPA determined the facility was ready for anticipate use. Cleanup goals have been achieved current and reasonably anticipated future land uses of the facility so there are no unacceptable risks.

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
(CA725)
(CA750)
(CA400)
(CA550)
(CA800)
(CA900)
(CA999)

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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.

DuPont began operations at the Site by manufacturing acetate flake and yarn in 1929. In 1958, DuPont began producing Orlon, the plants second fiber. The acetate flake and yarn process and Orlon process were discontinued in 1977 and 1990, respectively. In the interim, Lycra7 production had begun in 1962, with Permasep production beginning in 1969 and BCF Nylon in 1978. Only Lycra continues to be made today.

The 177-acre site is located in the southeastern portion of the city along the South River in an industrially zoned area.

Contaminants at this Facility

The primary contaminant at the former DuPont Waynesboro Site is mercury, which was used in making acetate flake.

Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

The following institutional controls were implemented through the Facility’s Hazardous Waste Management Permit:

Maintenance and monitoring of the impervious capped areas (SWMU 1, SWMU 4 and SWMU 7) via the existing security fence and security cameras.
Groundwater at the Facility shall not be used for any purpose other than to conduct the operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities required by the Department and/or EPA, unless it is demonstrated to the Department, that such use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment or adversely affect or interfere with the final remedy and the Department provides prior written approval for such use (Current Facility production wells located in the Bedrock Zone are exempt from this provision).
No new wells will be installed on Facility property unless it is demonstrated to the Department that such wells are necessary to implement the final remedy and the Department provides prior written approval to install such wells.
The Facility property shall not be used for residential purposes unless it is demonstrated to the Department that such use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment or adversely affect or interfere with the final remedy, and the Department provides prior written approval for such use.
As part of the approved CMI WP required in Section II.C.4.a of this permit, a Materials Management Plan (MMP) will be submitted for approval to specify protocols for handling and management of soil, groundwater, and surface water will be created for any future earth moving activities in SWMUs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 17 and AOC 1. The Materials Management Plan MMP will detail how soil and groundwater will be managed and sampled to determine appropriate placement or disposal during any future subsurface activities conducted at the SWMUs and AOC listed above. The MMP will be submitted not later than (6) six months after approval of the Construction Completion report approval and will be prepared in conjunction with a Uniform Environmental Covenant Act (UECA) or similar instrument. The submittal timing is reliant upon MMP approval by the Lycra Company which DuPont (Corteva) does not control. If DuPont anticipates an extension to the submittal deadline will be needed a request shall be submitted to the Department no later than 30 days before the end of the 6 month submittal due date.
The Facility property will not be used in a way that will adversely affect or interfere with the integrity and protectiveness of the final remedy selected by the Department in the Final Decision and Response to Comments (FDRTC).
Access to the Facility property will be restricted through the use and maintenance of fencing and controlled access (security gate).
EPA, the Department, and/or their authorized agents and representatives, shall have access to the Facility property to inspect and evaluate the continued effectiveness of the final remedy and if necessary, to conduct additional remediation to ensure the protection of the public health and safety and the environment based upon the final remedy selected in the FDRTC.
Within one month after any of the following events, the Permittee shall submit, to Department and EPA written documentation describing the following: observed noncompliance with the land and/or groundwater use restrictions; transfer of the Facility; changes in use of the Facility; or filing of applications for building permits for the Facility and any proposals for any Site work, if such building or proposed Site work will affect the contamination at SWMUs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 or 17 or AOC 1.

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:
(CA 772)	(ID)
	(GC)
	(EP)
	(PR)
(CA 770)	(GW)
(CA 770)

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.

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