EPA v. HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL, INC (BENDIX FLIGHT SYSTEMS DIVISION SUPERFUND SITE)

Case summary

On September 12, 2016 the Director of the Hazardous Site Cleanup Division signed an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Supplemental Remedial Investigation/Focused Feasibility Study (CERC-03-2016-0102DC) (AOC for Supplemental RI/Focused FS) which had been signed by the responsible party, Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell), under which Honeywell will perform a Supplemental RI/Focused FS at the Bendix Flight Systems Division Superfund Site (the Site) in South Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Honeywell is the current owner and operator of the Bendix Property, and the successor-in-interest to the owners and operators at the time of disposal, and is the only responsible party at the Site. The Site consists of: (1) an approximately 64-acre property where manufacture of, among other things, coat hangers, wiring harnesses for military equipment, and aircraft instruments such as circuit boards occurred from 1952 until 1996 (the Bendix Property); and (2) all locations to which hazardous substances or pollutants and contaminants have migrated from the Bendix Property. In January 1982, the results of a groundwater quality assessment conducted by Bendix indicated the presence of various organic chemicals, including trichloroethylene (TCE), in soil, groundwater, and a holding pond at the Site. The Site was added to the National Priorities List in 1987, and Allied, the predecessor to Honeywell at the Site, entered into a Consent Order and Agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources to perform a remedial investigation and feasibility study at the Site. On September 30, 1988, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) selecting a remedy to address TCE-contaminated soils and groundwater at the Site. The remedy included, among other things, pumping and treating the groundwater, excavation/aeration of contaminated soils, and treatment of domestic supply wells. Allied entered into a Consent Decree with the United States on July 13, 1990 in which it agreed to perform the remedial design and the remedial action at the Site and to pay the United States? past response costs and oversight costs. An Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) changed soil remedy in a portion of the Site in 1995. Construction of the remedy was completed in 1996. In 2008, a Second ESD added institutional controls to protect the integrity of the remedial components at the Site and to prohibit extraction of groundwater or excavation of soils at the Site. Five Year Reviews (FYRs) of the remedy were conducted in 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012. Each of these reviews concluded that the groundwater cleanup level of 1 ppb TCE established in the ROD had not been achieved, and future protectiveness was not assured by the existing remedy. The Fourth FYR recommended the following actions be taken to achieve future protectiveness: (1) potential gaps in the capture of the glacial till groundwater must be evaluated and addressed; (2) cleanup goals for Site-related contaminants need to be reviewed and modified as appropriate; and (3) source areas of TCE and other VOCs in the soil and groundwater must be sufficiently delineated and appropriate response actions must be taken to achieve RAOs and cleanup goals. Although Honeywell submitted several phases of supplemental site investigation (SSI) reports in an attempt to address the issues raised by EPA in the 5YR reports, EPA informed Honeywell that EPA would develop the conceptual site model for the Site, as well as a data gap analysis and recommendations on how to address those data gaps. In September 2015, EPA made its CSM for the Site available to Honeywell along with a data gap analysis and recommendations on how to address those data gaps, which will be accomplished under the AOC for Supplemental RI/Focused FS.

Defendants (1)

• HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INCNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• HONEYWELL INTL INC

  RT 29 4 MI S OF RT 706, SOUTH MONTROSE, PA, 18843

  Registry ID: 110042030343

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 122A — Agreement to Perform Work Under 104B

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL, INC (BENDIX FLIGHT SYSTEMS DIVISION SUPERFUND SITE)entered 2016-09-12

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (2 milestones)

• 2016-09-12Final Order Issued
• 2016-09-15Enforcement Action Data Entered