EPA v. TERRY CREEK DREDGE SPOIL AREAS/HERCULES OUTFALL SITE - OU 1 - OUTFALL DITCH (HERCULES, INC.)

Case summary

The Terry Creek Dredge Spoil Areas/Hercules Outfall Site (Site) consists of a salt water tidal creek and marsh system located on the Atlantic coast directly east of the City of Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia. The Site is located near the confluence of Terry Creek, Dupree Creek, and the Back River north of the Torras Causeway and east of U.S. Highway 17. The Site is located on the eastern side of the Brunswick peninsula. In general terms, the Site area is bounded to the north, south, and east by a tidal marsh which is periodically submerged, and on the west by an outfall ditch and the west bank of Dupree Creek. Due to the complexity and size of the Site, it is broken into three operable units (OUs) in accordance with the National Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 C.F.R. ? 300.430(a)(ii)(A). Operable Unit One (OU1), the subject of this action, is comprised of the above mentioned outfall ditch (Outfall Ditch) that was constructed as a conveyance system by Hercules Incorporated, now Hercules LLC (Hercules), in approximately 1911 and utilized by Hercules from 1948 until 1972 to discharge untreated wastewater containing toxaphene and from 1972 to 1980 to discharge pretreated wastewater from its pesticide plant located across U.S. Highway 17. OU1 is approximately 2.5 acres and located at approximate latitude 31.166083/longitude-81.472483. Between 1948 and 1980, Hercules produced toxaphene, a chlorinated agricultural pesticide, at its Brunswick Plant. Toxaphene was one of the most heavily used insecticides in the United States until 1982, when the EPA cancelled the registrations for most uses. All uses of toxaphene were banned in 1990. Untreated wastewater from the production of toxaphene was discharged through the Outfall Ditch into Dupree Creek from 1948 until 1972. A wastewater treatment plant was installed in 1972, and the amount of toxaphene in the permitted discharge was reduced after that time until toxaphene production ceased at the plant in 1980. Hercules implemented a removal action at the Site from 1998 to 2000, pursuant to the terms of an Administrative Order by Consent (AOC) and Amended AOC for removal with oversight from the EPA, to remove sediment containing the highest concentrations of toxaphene, including the pre-weir and post-weir sections of the Outfall Ditch, the mouth of the Outfall Ditch, the confluence area of Terry and Dupree Creeks, and north Dupree Creek. A final OU1 Focused RI/FS report was submitted by Hercules? contractor to EPA in December 2014. As a result of previous investigations and the OU1 Focused RI/FS, the EPA determined that sediment in OU1 is contaminated with toxaphene, arsenic, and total chromium. Technical toxaphene is the primary driver of unacceptable risk at OU1. The Region 4 Superfund Division Director signed an Interim Record of Decision (IROD) for OU1 on June 19, 2017. Hercules LLC agreed in the CD to perform the Interim RD/RA for OU1, pay all future OU1 RD/RA oversight costs, and all Site past costs. The settlement can be valued as follows: Past Unrecovered Response Costs at the Site $153,009.48 Present Worth Cost of the Remedy (from the IROD) $4,488,450 Estimated Oversight Costs (10% of remedy costs) $448,845 TOTAL $5,090,304.48

Defendants (1)

• HERCULES LLC fka HERCULES, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• TERRY CREEK DREDGE SPOIL AREAS/HERCULES OUTFALL

  ROUTE 17, BRUNSWICK, GA, 31520

  Registry ID: 110009277736

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 106A — Imminent & Substantial Endangerment Order

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• TERRY CREEK DREDGE SPOIL AREAS/HERCULES OUTFALL SITE - OU 1 - OUTFALL DITCHentered 2019-11-27

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 2017-08-30PRN Sent
• 2017-09-27Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2018-05-15Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2018-05-16Complaint Filed With Court
• 2018-05-16Final Order Lodged
• 2019-11-27Final Order Entered