EPA RCRA ID: VAD003132438
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 Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
In December 2001, EPA sampled several private wells nearest the plume and confirmed that none have been contaminated by the Genicom plume.
One residential area to the south (upgradient) of the facility could be affected by vapor intrusion from the shallow plume due to their proximity to the facility. In 2000, a soil gas sampling near the homes confirmed that the vapor plume has not reached the residential area of concern.
Ecological impact has not been determined to be a factor for concern. The contaminant levels reaching the river are estimated to be substantially below State Water Quality criteria. In 1990, EPA issued a 3008(h) Unilateral Order to Genicom Corporation that required Genicom to conduct a site cleanup investigation. On March 10, 2000, Genicom filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the Delaware bankruptcy court. Because Genicom intended to liquidate, there was a potential that Genicom might abandon the facility. Consistent with EPA's Brownfield policy, EPA and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) responded by offering innovative approaches and traditional enforcement mechanisms to address environmental concerns and to enable continued facility usage.
To facilitate the sale, VADEQ provided a Comfort Letter to Solutions Way Management (SWM) to address state liability issues of concern to the purchaser. VA DEQ is pursuing the financial assurance posted by the now-bankrupt Genicom in an enforcement action.
In 2006, in accordance with the final remedy, GE installed a new recovery well at the northern edge of the SWM property to expand the existing pump-and-treat system to capture the offsite TCE plume, in addition to implementing institutional controls to prevent groundwater consumptive use while the cleanup is taking place.
On October 18, 2007, EPA issued a Statement of Basis on expanding an existing interim measure as the proposed remedy. Since no significant comment was received, the proposed remedy was selected as the final remedy. General Electric (GE), the responsible party, has completed construction of the expanded system which began operation in spring 2008. In December 2008, EPA issued the Final Decision and Response to Comments to finalize selection of the remedy. In June 2010, a Consent Order was signed by GE and EPA to formalize GE's responsibility to implement the remedy according to the terms of the Order.
OnJune 1, 2016, 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 Genicom site is located in a 115-acre parcel near the northern boundary of the City of Waynesboro in Augusta County, Virginia. Prior to 1954, the facility property was an airfield. General Electric (GE) owned and operated an electro-mechanical equipment manufacturing plant at the site from 1954 to 1983. Genicom Corporation bought the facility in 1983 and used it to manufacture computer printers and related equipment. The primary waste streams generated by the facility were waste solvents from painting and etching operations, and inorganic wastes generated from plating operations. Much of the site contamination is believed to be generated by General Electric operation prior to enactment of the RCRA requirements in the 1980's.
Although the site has been contaminated by a range of organic and metal wastes, only TCE and its degradation products have leached significantly into groundwater and migrated offsite. The deep (Zone 2) plume has extended approximately 2,000 feet downgradient (north) of and 800 feet upgradient (south) of the facility boundary. The upgradient extension is believed to be caused by an abandoned municipal well which was in operation in the 1960s. The area surrounding the facility is serviced by public water with a few individual homes that are on private wells. In December 2001, EPA sampled several private wells nearest the plume and confirmed that none have been contaminated by the Genicom plume.
SWM, new facility owner, is using the facility for light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution while performing certain environmental work required under the PPA. In the interim, GE continues to operate the interim stabilization system and perform site investigation work on a voluntary basis until EPA can establish a mechanism for long-term clean up responsibility.
Contaminants at this Facility
The primary waste streams generated by the facility were waste solvents from painting and etching operations, and inorganic wastes generated from plating operations. Although the site has been contaminated by a range of organic and metal wastes, only TCE and its degradation products have leached significantly into groundwater and migrated offsite.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional controls include:
- Limit site to non-residential use
- Groundwater limited to non-potable use
- Maintain impoundments and ensure that no activities disturb the cap on closed impoundments
- Submission to EPA/DEQ of biennial reports on groundwater and land use within .5 miles of the facility
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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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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.