EPA RCRA ID: VAD990710642
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.
Since 1989, BASF has been investigating the contamination at the site under the authority and oversight of the EPA and the oversight of Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Office of Hazardous Waste (OHW) and Office of Remediation Programs (ORP), and under the oversight and authority of the DEQ's Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) and DEQ's State Water Control Board (SWCB). BASF entered into a VRP Agreement with the DEQ on June 24, 1997 for several parcels of the site that were not subject to other regulatory programs. In addition, specific parcels of the site, such as the former wastewater treatment plant and the main landfill area/dredge spoils area, have been initially addressed under the authority of DEQ's SWCB under several Administrative Consent Orders.
The last SWCB Consent Order was terminated on January 6, 2006, by the DEQ, as BASF had satisfied their obligations of the Orders. The site-wide Corrective Action investigations and evaluations of the developed areas of the BASF site further established the nature and extent of contamination in all media and the rate of migration of contamination of groundwater from the developed portions of the site. The site-wide Corrective Action investigation and evaluation also incorporated a comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate potential risk to human health and the environment of all impacted media from the developed parcel areas.
A final Decision and Response to Comments was issued on October 7, 2020 which was implemented through the VRP in which the majority of the site was enrolled at the time of the remedy decision and remaining parcels were subsequently enrolled. The remedy requires: 1) concurrence with a DEQ approved Long Term Stewardship Plan which includes a groundwater monitoring plan, Operations and Maintenance Manual (O&MM) and institutional and engineering control plan, and 2) implementation and compliance with land use controls in the form of a deed restriction. The VRP Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Remediation (CSR) and Declaration of Restrictive Covenants for the Area 2 – Truswood Property was recorded on August 25, 2021, and the CSR and Declaration of Restrictive Covenants for the remainder of the BASF property was recorded on September 21, 2021.
Cleanup Status
The Truswood Property (Area 2), a sub-parcel within the larger BASF facility property boundary, is subject to the RCRA Corrective Action Program in accordance with a Facility Lead Agreement signed in January 2005. BASF does not currently own the Truswood property. The remainder of the site is owned by BASF and is enrolled in the Virginia Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) through a 1997 VRP agreement and subsequent enrollment of additional parcels (4B and 4C). The Truswood property (Area 2) was enrolled in the VRP program to implement the Corrective Action remedy in 2021.
Two of the undeveloped parcels (Areas 1C and 1E) received no further action status with respect to groundwater and soil from EPA and DEQ, while other parcels have received no further action status with respect to soil (Areas 1A, 1B, and 1D). EPA issued a Final Decision and Response to Comments Document (FDRTC) on October 10, 2008 with respect to these areas.
Since 2010, environmental activities in Area 4C have been conducted in accordance with the RCRA Corrective Action Program with oversight by the DEQ Office of Remediation Programs.
Additionally, portions of the site phase (Areas 2, 3A, and 3C- 1 Manufacturing Area) that have previously undergone active groundwater remediation are currently in a DEQ-approved monitored natural attenuation (MNA) program that require annual groundwater monitoring and reporting. The various groundwater monitoring programs were integrated into the VPDES 2013 Groundwater Monitoring Plan, which was subsequently updated and approved by DEQ in 2020 and serves as the Sites Long Term Groundwater Monitoring plan.
DEQ issued a Final Decision Response to Comments on October 7, 2020 which is being implemented through the VRP Program under VRP0073, VRP01030, and VRP01039.
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 |
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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 BASF, Williamsburg, Virginia site is located in James City County, Virginia approximately one mile west of the point where U.S. Route 60 passes through the community of Lee Hall. The site is bounded on the west by the James River, on the east by Wood Creek, and on the south by undeveloped land, wetlands, and Skiffes Creek. The Site occupies approximately 700 acres, with manufacturing facilities limited to approximately ten percent of the total site area. The developed portion of the site is approximately 303 acres. Approximately 397 acres of the property is considered undeveloped. The company manufactured acrylic fibers, acrylic spun yarns, and anti-static non-filament yarns for use in apparel and home furnishings. The site was initially developed by Dow Chemical in 1958 for the production of acrylic fibers.
BASF acquired the Site in 1978 and continued production of acrylic products until 1989, when Mann Industries (Mann) purchased the industrial portion of the facility. Mann maintained production of acrylic fibers until 1993, when Mann filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and the bankruptcy receiver transferred a lien against one of Mann’s parcels to BASF and sold two other parcels to Virginia Commonwealth Textiles (VCT). The production facility has been inactive since 1993 and has largely been dismantled. In 2000, VCT filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, and the two VCT properties were purchased by Truswood Properties, which later sold them to Colonial Penniman. In 2017, CNB Properties, Inc. acquired the two VCT properties.
In 2004, BASF repurchased the portion of the manufacturing property covered by its lien associated with the Mann bankruptcy to control the remediation of the property, which has been underway since the 1990s. The remainder of the site continues to be owned by BASF and is presently being considered for redevelopment.
Contaminants at this Facility
The main contaminants known to be present include benzene, 1, 1-dichloroethene, 1, 4-dioxane, cis-1, 2-dichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, and zinc.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The remedy requires the following institutional controls.
a. Area 4B (Main Landfill Area) and Area 4C (former WWTP) shall not be used for residential purposes.
b. Columbia Aquifer groundwater at the property shall not be used for any purpose except to conduct the operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities required by EPA and the DEQ, unless it is demonstrated to EPA and DEQ that 1) such use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment or adversely affect or interfere with the selected final remedy, and 2) EPA and DEQ provide prior written approval for such use.
c. No new wells shall be installed on the property in the Columbia aquifer unless EPA or DEQ provide prior written approval to install such wells.
d. Subsurface soil excavation at Area 4A – North Landfill Area, Area 4B – Main Landfill Area, and Area 4C – WWTP is prohibited except in conformance with an appropriate soil management plan that includes a health and safety plan.
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.