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Fact Sheet
April 2010
Corrective Action Permit with Proposed Remedy to Be Issued, Monsanto Company, Muscatine, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to issue a corrective action hazardous waste management permit (Permit) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to the Monsanto Company (Monsanto) for the facility located at 2500 Wiggens Road, Muscatine, Iowa (Facility). In addition, EPA has prepared a Statement of Basis to support the proposal of a remedy to require legal and physical controls to protect against unacceptable exposures to contamination. Both of these documents are available to the public for review and comment.
The draft Permit and Statement of Basis are at the Musser Public Library, 304 Iowa Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa 52761. A public comment period will be held from April 26, to June 11, 2010, to give the public an opportunity to comment on the draft Permit and remedy proposed in the Statement of Basis. EPA will hold a public meeting on May 11, 2010, to give the public another opportunity to provide comments.
The Permit will be issued to require:
- the facility to conduct a groundwater remediation program that includes pumping groundwater to contain a contaminant plume;
- the final remedy be selected to require controls to protect against exposure to environmental contamination; and
- submittal of surface water/sediment data and evaluation of the vapor intrusion pathway.
Mark Your Calendar
EPA will hold a public meeting, in order to give the community the opportunity to comment on the proposed Corrective Action Permit and Statement of Basis.
When: May 11, 2010, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Musser Public Library
304 Iowa Avenue
Muscatine, Iowa
All comments must be submitted in writing and postmarked no later than June 11, 2010, and be sent to:
Mary Grisolano
EPA Region 7 (AWMD/RCAP)
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
E-mail: grisolano.mary@epa.gov
BACKGROUND
The Facility includes approximately 585 acres used for manufacture of herbicides and herbicide intermediates and for formulation and packaging of herbicides for agricultural use.
The Permit was originally issued on September 28, 1989, and, at the time of expiration included the following hazardous waste management units: two container storage units, three storage tanks, and an incinerator. These units have been closed and cleaned to EPA specifications, and have been removed from operation under the Permit.
Soil and groundwater at the Facility have been sampled and analyzed to evaluate the presence of contamination. Based on this data, EPA selected a remedy (that was incorporated into the 1989 Permit) to address groundwater contamination. The remedy requires Monsanto to pump groundwater to contain the groundwater contamination and keep it from leaving the facility boundary.
This remedy continues to operate, and was updated as part of the permit renewal process. The update included addition of monitoring wells and analysis of a long list of chemicals to confirm the primary site contaminants.
The existing remedy addresses groundwater contamination; however, contamination has also been detected in soil at the Facility. EPA has proposed an additional remedy to protect workers against unacceptable exposure to contamination in any media, as the plant currently operates and in case of a future Facility use change. This proposed remedy is discussed in further detail in the Statement of Basis, available in the Administrative Record file.
Vapor intrusion refers to movement of volatile organic chemicals from the subsurface into buildings inhabited by humans and located over the contamination. Recent studies have shown that the vapor intrusion pathway can lead to significant exposure to environmental contaminants. The vapor intrusion pathway was not evaluated as part of the original investigation process for the Facility. The new Permit requires the vapor intrusion pathway to be evaluated, and a response implemented if unacceptable exposure is determined to be occurring.
The new Permit requires the Facility to submit available surface water and sediment data, and to conduct additional investigation, if deemed necessary.
PUBLIC COMMENT
EPA encourages the public to become familiar with the documents that support the draft Permit and Statement of Basis for the proposed remedy. The documents can be found in the Administrative Record file at the following locations during normal business hours:
Musser Public Library
304 Iowa Avenue
Muscatine, IA 52761
Hard copy and electronic copy of documents
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Washington Field Office #6
1023 W. Madison
Washington, IA 52353
Electronic copy of documents
EPA Region 7 Records Center
901 N. Fifth Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
Electronic copy of documents
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you have comments on the draft Permit or proposed remedy described in the Statement of Basis, you may submit them in writing to:
Mary Grisolano
EPA Region 7 (AWMD/RCAP)
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
grisolano.mary@epa.gov
For more information on the meeting, or if you have questions about the Facility, please contact:
Beckie Himes
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA, Region 7, Office of Public Affairs
901 N. Fifth St.
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913-551-7253
Toll-free: 1-800-223-0425
E-mail: himes.beckie@epa.gov
EPA Region 7 is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the meeting, please notify the EPA Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator, Jonathan Cooper, 800-223-0425 or at cooper.jonathan@epa.gov. Speech or hearing impaired individuals should e-mail or call using the local relay service.