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EPA issues Administrative Consent Order to Chevron for Gasoline Cleanup in Chillum, Md.

Release Date: 09/02/2008
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

(PHILADELPHIA September 2, 2008) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an administrative order on consent (AOC) to Chevron USA relating to a gasoline release that occurred at a former Chevron service station located at 5801 Riggs Road, Chillum, Md. The AOC specifies the work and the timetable Chevron must adhere to in the cleanup related to the Chillum site.

The initial release was discovered in approximately 1990. In 2001, the contaminated plume was discovered to have migrated underground and impacted the nearby Washington D.C. residential neighborhood known as Lamond-Riggs Park.

The AOC, which is subject to a public comment period requires Chevron to:

(1) Continue to operate the existing groundwater remediation system located in Maryland;

(2) Expand the existing remediation system by installing recovery wells which angle under Eastern Avenue into the District of Columbia (DC). The additional wells are designed to enhance cleanup of residual gasoline products in the ground water resulting from the gasoline release. The drinking water for the area comes from a public water supply. As such, there is no known risk to the drinking water from the underground contamination;

(3) Install individual vapor mitigation systems in those homes located above the contaminated groundwater plume where measured vapor levels exceed the indoor air standards which EPA has determined;

(4) Install an independent remediation system on the DC side of Eastern Avenue. The system will use an innovative recovery well design combining soil vapor extraction, recirculation groundwater pumping, and air sparging. Treatment takes place inside a large diameter underground well, minimizing both space requirements and disruption to the community; and

(5) Install an oxygen curtain to be located in the alley north of Nicholson Street. Injecting oxygen will accelerate the natural degradation of dissolved petroleum contaminants in the groundwater plume. This non-mechanical system operates by pressure.

An information session will be held on September 4, 2008, during the regularly scheduled monthly Lamond-Riggs community meeting. The meeting will be held at the Jessica LaSalle Elementary School at 501 Riggs Road, N.E., Washington, D.C., beginning at 6:30 p.m. Representatives from EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will be available immediately prior to the meeting to answer questions about the Chillum site.

Persons wishing to comment on EPA’s proposed AOC may submit written comments within the 30 day comment period. Comments can be submitted via email, U.S. mail, or fax to EPA Project Manager Andrew Fan, 1650 Arch Street, Mailcode 3LC20, Philadelphia, Pa., 19103, by fax at 215-814-3113 or by email to: fan.andrew@epa.gov.

A copy of the AOC may be obtained by calling 215-814-3426 or online from EPA’s website at: www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/chev7003.htm The administrative record which supports the AOC is available for review at the Lamond-Riggs Branch Library at 5401 South Dakota Ave., N.E, Washington, D.C. 20011; Phone 202-541-6255 or at U.S. EPA, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa., 19103; Phone 215-814-3426.

The 30 day public comment period began on August 25, 2008 and runs through September 23, 2008. After a review of the comments and resulting modifications to the agreement, if any, the AOC will, upon acceptance by Chevron, become effective and enforceable by EPA.

For more information go to: www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/chev7003.htm