Louisiana Superfund Site: Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant
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Do you need a Toxic Tort Attorney in The Bayou State? The US EPA has designated Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Louisiana as a Superfund site due to its levels of enviromental contamination and danger to the environment. You can read the report for the site below.
Some Superfund sites are on the National Priority Site Lists. The National Priorities List ("NPL") is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on the NPL. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation.
Sites are listed on the NPL upon completion of Hazard Ranking System (HRS) screening, public solicitation of comments about the proposed site, and after all comments have been addressed. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment. Sites where a remediation was completed through the Superfund program are typically deleted from the NPL.
Living near Superfund Sites in Louisiana may place you and the people you love more vulnerable to getting sick from exposure to the site and experiencing a loss of value for your property, but there are steps you can take to fight back: The EPA says,
[We have] set up a "Post Construction Completion" (or PCC) strategy to ensure that Superfund response actions provide for the long-term protection of human health and the environment. EPA's Post Construction Completion activities also involve optimizing remedies to increase effectiveness and/or reduce cost without sacrificing long-term protection of human health and the environment.Regardless, most of the Superfund sites still pose a health hazard to the health of those who live close to a Superfund site.
When you rely on Weitz & Luxenberg, you can trust the legal passion of skilled Toxic Tort lawyers who will help fight back against polluters and get you and your community the financial compensation and remediation to which you are entitled.
Below you can read the EPA report for the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant Superfund site. If you, a loved one, or someone in your community has suffered due to exposure to a Superfund site Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, or if your property has lost value because of pollution, you are better off with a toxic tort lawyer who knows the people of the State of Louisiana . You can begin the process of filing a claim by filling out this simple form. There is no obligation, and your case will be evaluated within one business day. To refer a friend, neighbor, or loved one, click here to let them know about the environmental toxic tort lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg.
Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant
This site is a Federal Facility.
1EPA Publication Date: Sep 6, 2005
Louisiana Army
Ammunition
Plant
Louisiana
Epa Id# La0213820533
Site ID: 0600770
Epa Region 6
Congressional District 04
Webster Parish
Updated: August 2005
Site Description
Location: South of Interstate Highway 20 in Bossier and Webster Parishes, 22 miles east of
South of Interstate Highway 20 in Bossier and Webster Parishes, 22 miles east of
Shreveport.
Population:
Approximately 10,250 people live in this predominantly agricultural area, within 2
miles of the site.
Setting: The closest drinking water well is a distance of 1,968 feet from the site boundaries.
The initial Hazard Ranking System ranking was based on 16 one-acre pink water
lagoons known as Area P. The total installation was listed on the National Priorities
List and covers 14,974 acres of level to slightly rolling forest land near the towns of
Minden and Doyline.
Hydrology:
The Terrace aquifer lies approximately 20 feet below land surface and is reportedly
used for drinking water in surrounding areas. Water supplies on the facility are
provided by the 300 foot sands of the Wilcox aquifer.
Analytical tests performed to date show that no contamination of the area drinking
water wells has occurred, and that contamination has not migrated from the shallow
aquifers to the deeper aquifers.
Migration of the waste appears to be retarded in the vertical direction by the Cane
River Formation. The Cane River forms a lower hydrogeologic boundary to the Terrace
Aquifer and an upper confining unit for the Wilcox Aquifer across most of the
installation.
The updated Remedial Investigation, however, showed that the Cane River pinches
out west of Area P, location of the pink water lagoons. This creates a situation where
the upper Terrace deposits lay directly on top of the Wilcox formation. Thus, a
possible hydrogeologic connection between the contaminated Terrace aquifer and
deeper Wilcox aquifer does exist.
The Army contends that a Corps of Engineers study shows that no real connection
exists because the deeper aquifers of the Wilcox are overlain by substantial clay
members of this same formation.
2EPA Publication Date: Sep 6, 2005
Present Status and Issues
Ground water and soil data are under evaluation in support of the remaining operable units, which are
the load, assemble and pack lines as well as test areas for soils and the site wide ground water. As part
of the ground water evaluation, the Army is attempting to develop a ground water model which can be
used to predict fate and transport of contaminants in the shallow ground water. EPA has provide two
rounds of comments on the model.
The Army submitted a supplemental sampling plan in August 2002 to collect additional data needed
to assess risk around the remaining load, assemble, and pack lines and in regard to site-wide ground
water. It is anticipated soil and ground water sampling will be completed by January, 2003.
The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) issued a draft Public Health
Assessment of the site in September, 2002 to the Army, the LDEQ, and the EPA for comment.
Wastes and Volumes
The shallow ground water is contaminated by explosive wastes including the explosives,
cyclotrimethylenenitramine (RDX) up to 27,000 parts per billion (ppb) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) up to
25,000 ppb.
The Army incinerated 150,000 tons of explosive contaminated soils and sludges from Area P.
Contaminated soils from other operable units have been addressed in the Feasibility Study for the first 7
study areas. Site investigation is on-going for soil contamination at both Y-line and the load lines and
test areas. The most likely potential contaminants include volatiles, explosive compounds and heavy
metals. Groundwater is being investigated as a separate operable unit for the same potential
contaminants of concern.
Site Assessment and Ranking
Npl Listing History
Site HRS Score: 30.60
Proposed Date: 10/15/84
Final Date: 3/31/89
NPL Update: No. 2
Site Map and Diagram
Louisiana Army
Ammunition
Plant
3 EPA Publication Date: September 6, 2005The Remediation Process
Site History:
The plant began producing explosives in 1942. Several contractors have operated the facility. The
most recent contractor was Thiokol Corporation. Currently the site is in standby and is occupied by
minimum Army personnel.
The Phase I investigation was completed by the Army in May 1978.
The Phase II, Stage 1 investigation was completed in September 1982.
A preliminary Remedial Investigation (RI) for ground water was completed in January 1987.
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for soil contamination in Area P was completed in
August 1987.
EPA and Army agreed on a schedule for completion of the ground water RI/FS for Area P in April
1989. An updated RI was completed in 1991 and the Feasibility Study (FS) for ground water was
completed in 1993. It was determined that groundwater will be addressed for the whole site as a
separate operable unit (OU 5).
An Interim Response Action (IRA) which consisted of incineration of contaminated soils and sludges
from Area P was completed in early April 1990. The initial IRA work plan required the Army to
excavate the lagoons to a depth of five feet. If soil contamination in the lagoons was greater than 500
ppm of total nitro bodies, the Army would continue to excavate in one foot increments until the soil
contamination was 500 ppm or less of total nitro. The excavated soils and sludges were incinerated on
site with the resulting clean ash to be placed back into the lagoons.
The original schedule submitted by the Army showed that the IRA would be completed in August of
1990. However, the Army informed the EPA that investigations taking place at that time showed that
the contamination of Area P was not as extensive as originally stated. The Army formally requested on
October 26, 1989, that the cleanup criteria be revised to reflect a lesser amount of soils and sludges to
be excavated and incinerated. The EPA, in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality, reviewed this request. EPA approved this change to the cleanup criteria on
December 21, 1989. The new cleanup criteria required that the lagoon in Area P be excavated to 100
ppm total explosives. The average depth of excavation was between two and three feet based upon this
requirement. The excavation and incineration at Area P was completed in April 1990. Capping of the
lagoons in Area P was completed by October 1990. Operation and maintenance of the area is ongoing.
The RI and Risk Assessment was approved by EPA on March 23, 1992, for the seven soil/source
study areas (Area P, Burning Ground 8 Landfill/Lagoon, Burning Ground 5, Landfill 3, Oily Waste
Landfill and M-4 Lagoon). Ground water was put into a separate operable unit to include ground water
from all 20 areas under consideration (site wide).
The Proposed Plan of No Further Remedial Action Required for the Seven Soil/Source Study Areas
was completed in November 1995.
A public meeting was held in January 1996 to present the Proposed Plan for the Soil/Source Study
Areas.
A Draft RI was submitted for Y-Line in November 1994.
Draft RI/FS Work Plan for 12 new areas, including C-Line and the other Load/Assemble/Pack lines
and three test areas, was submitted in December 1994. This plan was revised and resubmitted in March
1995 , then finalized in November1995, when the field work began.
The draft RI/FS Report for the Y-Line Chromium Etching Facility was submitted in June 1996.
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the seven soil/source study areas was signed by the EPA Regional
Administrator in March 1997.
A document entitled "Data Evaluation Report for the Groundwater Operable Unit" was submitted to
EPA for review in March 1997. According to the Army, the objectives of this report were to present a
compilation of all previously gathered groundwater data, to present a conceptual model of the
hydrogeologic model, to review available groundwater quality data and to identify data gaps and issues.
The Remedial Investigation Report for Y-Line was completed in May 1998 and a Draft Proposed
EPA Publication Date: September 6, 20054LOUISIANA ARMY
Ammunition
Plant
Plan recommending No Further Remedial Action Required was submitted in June 1998.
A draft Ground Water Work Plan was submitted in April 1998 and was finalized in August. The
implementation of the Work Plan began in September 1998 and is anticipated to be completed by
December 1998.
EPA’s comments on the Human Health Risk Assessment for Line C were submitted in August 1998.
The Screening-Level Ecological Risk Assessment for Line C was submitted to EPA in September
1998. The revised Ecological Risk Assessment for Line C was received in February 1999.
EPA sent the Army its comments on the Proposed Plan for Y-Line in March 1999.
The revised Human Health Risk Assessment for Line C was received in March 1999.
A public meeting to present the Proposed Plan for Y-Line to the community was conducted on June
3, 1999. No public attended and no public comments were received during the public comment period
that was from mid-May through mid-June of 1999.
EPA reviewed and commented on the Follow-on RI/FS Work Plan for the Soils in the
Load/Assemble/Pack and Test Areas at the end of September 1999.
The Army submitted a draft no further remedial action ROD for Y-Line in October 1999. EPA
reviewed the ROD and submitted comments in November 1999.
A Record of Decision (ROD) has been prepared for the Y-Line Chromium Etch facility. The ROD
recommends that no further remedial action is required based upon the human health and ecological
risk assessments which showed that there was acceptable risk if no action were taken. There were no
comments on the Proposed Plan and no community interest at the Public Meeting which was held in
June 1999. The ROD was signed by EPA by May 19, 2000.
The Army submits a draft Five-Year Review Report for Area P in May 2000.
The second Five-Year Review Report is concurred upon by EPA on September 22, 2000 and made it
available for public review at the site repositories.
The Army submits RAGS Part D Tables for EPA review in support of the Human Health Risk
Assessment for both the soils in the Load/Assemble/Pack and Test Areas and for site wide ground
water in October 2000.
The Ecological Risk Assessment - Screening Evaluation for the load/assemble/pack lines and test
areas prepared by the Army was submitted to EPA for review and comment in December 2000.
During 2003 the Army completed a draft Remedial Investigation and baseline risk assessments for
the above areas and the site-wide ground water. A new contract was issued in 2004 to Shaw
Environmental, Inc., to complete the investigation and remediation of these areas. The Army
anticipates remedial work to be completed by the end of 2005.
On January 2005, the Army transferred parts of LAAP to the Louisiana State National Guard.
Superfund work will continue as planned in the above contract.
Health Considerations:
Shallow contaminated aquifer is hydraulically connected with the deep Wilcox aquifer used by the
facility as a potable water supply.
Other Environmental Risks:
Some residents in the surrounding areas may use the shallow ground water for drinking.
Record of Decision
Signed: Interim Response Action - 01/31/89, Area P only. Approved
with signatures on Federal Facility Agreement (FFA)
Louisiana Army
Ammunition
Plant
5 EPA Publication Date: September 6, 2005Rod-Ou2
Signed: March 4, 1997, Soil/Source Operable Unit of Seven Study
Areas only.
Rod-Ou3
Signed: May 19, 2000, Y-Line Facility Soils
Remedies:
Incineration of site wastes at Area P (responsibility of the U.S. Army).
No further action for the seven soil/source study areas.
No further action for the Y-Line Facility soils.
Community Involvement
Community Involvement Plan: 07/88, revised 09/88 and 08/96.
Community Involvement activities are the responsibility of the U.S. Army with oversight by EPA
and LDEQ per the Federal Facility Agreement.
Milestone Fact Sheets: 02/90.
Citizens on site mailing list: 76
Constituency Interest: Unconcerned
Site Repository: Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant Environmental Office, Webster Parish Public
Library
Technical Assistance Grant
Availability Notice: 03/24/89
Letters of Intent Received: None
Grant Award: N/A
No apparent interest in a TAG at this site
Remedial Project Manager(s): Bartolome J. Cañellas, 214-665-6662, EPA (6SF-LP)
State Contact: Kelly Frazier, (225)765-2309, Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality
Community Involvement: Bartolome J. Cañellas, 214-665-6662, EPA (6SF-LP)
Attorney: Mike Barra, 214-665-2143, EPA (6RC-S)
State Coordinator: Don Williams, 214-665-2197, EPA (6SF-LT)
EPA Regional Public Liaison: Arnold Ondarza 1-800-533-3508, (6SF)
EPA Contractor: none
Prime Contractor: Engineering Technologies Associates, Inc. (ETA), Program Management
Company (PMC)
Enforcement
Interagency Agreement (Three-Way Federal Facility Agreement) was signed January 1989.
EPA Publication Date: September 6, 20056LOUISIANA ARMY
Ammunition
Plant
Benefits
The incineration of wastes and contaminated soils at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant site
reduced the potential for exposure to hazardous substances for site workers and future reuse of the
property. The Army is conducting investigations, which will lead to further reductions in contaminants,
thereby further protecting the public health and the environment.
source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Act Now! It is essential that you inquire about your pollutant lawsuit as soon as possible. Louisiana law may limit your time to bring a legal claim to protect your rights. Your legal review is free and there is no commitment. You case will be evaluated immediately, so get started on your claim today!
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