Nebraska Superfund Site: Hastings Ground Water Contamination
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Are you in need of a Toxic Tort Lawyer in The Cornhusker State? The EPA has designated Hastings Ground Water Contamination in Nebraska as a Superfund site due to its levels of toxic pollution and threat 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 Nebraska may place you and the people you love at risk of getting sick from proximity 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.

However, most of the Superfund sites are still very dangerous to the well-being of those near-by.

By choosing Weitz & Luxenberg, you will get the legal experience of accomplished Toxic Tort attorneys who will help fight back against polluters and win you and your community the compensation and environmental remediation to which you are entitled.

Below you can read the EPA report for the Hastings Ground Water Contamination Superfund site. If you, a loved one, or someone in your community has suffered due to exposure to a Superfund site Hastings Ground Water Contamination, or if your property has lost value because of contamination, you will need a toxic tort lawyer who knows the people of the State of Nebraska . Learn more about your legal options by filling out this simple form. There is no obligation, and your case will be evaluated within 24 hours. To refer a friend, neighbor, or loved one, click here to let them know about the environmental toxic tort attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg.

Hastings Ground Water Contamination

This site is not a Federal Facility.

Hastings Ground Water

Contamination

Nebraska

Epa Id# Ned980862668

EPA Region 7
City: City of Hastings
County: Adams County and Clay County
Other Names: Blayney Ammunition Depot,
Blayney ExNaval Ammunition Base,
Hastings Plume,
Former Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD)

05/20/2003

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ite Description
Approximately 23,000 people live in the City of Hastings. Like most communities, industries have
expanded to areas outside of the city limits. Farms and pastures surround the urban area, and many
private and public wells lie within a 3-mile radius of the city. Ground water is used to irrigate crops and
water stock and provides water for home and business use. A nearby stream and lake are used for
recreation. Concerns regarding volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including commercial grain
fumigants in the Hastings city water supply, were investigated by the

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tate of Nebraska in 1983. As a
result, Hastings took two municipal supply wells out of service and placed other contaminated wells on
a standby basis. Community Municipal

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ervices, Inc. (CMS), a private water supply system formerly
serving the areas east of Hastings, also took two of its three wells off-line due to pollution. Industrial
solvent chemicals and commercial grain fumigants have migrated downward through the soils and are
being carried by the ground water which flows generally to the east. Testing conducted by the City and
the

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tate assures that the water supplied to public water supply provided by the City is safe to drink.
The EPA designated the contaminated area generally outlined by the boundary of the ground water
contamination as the Hastings Ground Water Contamination

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ite. The site includes properties within the
central industrial area of the City of Hastings and properties including the former Naval Ammunition
Depot (NAD) situated east of the city limits. The Hastings site was placed on the National Priorities
List in 1986.
The site has been divided into seven subsites for investigative and remediation purposes based on
geographic and constituent source area characteristics. The seven subsites are: Well No. 3, Colorado
Avenue,

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econd

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treet, North Landfill, FAR-MAR-CO,

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outh Landfill and the NAD. The Adams
County portion of the former NAD is known as the Hastings East Industrial Park. Cleanup of the
former NAD is being addressed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The remaining subsites are being
addressed by EPA and/or potentially responsible parties under various subsite-specific and
“Area-Wide” actions.
Due to the size and complexity of the Hastings site, the following site description is organized into three
geographic areas: Central Industrial Area; Commercial Area and closed city landfills; and Hastings East
Industrial Park/former Naval Ammunition Depot. To facilitate the management of investigation and
response actions, the EPA has identified “Operable Units” for some of the subsites.
Central Industrial Area:
This area encompasses commercial and industrial properties situated in the heart of Hastings, along the
Burlington-Northern railroad right-of-way. The three subsites that make up this area are Well #3,
Colorado Avenue, and

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econd

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treet. The Well #3 subsite, named for M-3, one of the city wells
taken out of service, is contaminated with carbon tetrachloride (CC14), a grain fumigant. A second
plume of contaminated ground water containing chlorinated industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE),
trichloroethane (TCA), and perchloroethylene (PCE) was identified by EPA's investigation and is being
managed by a local manufacturing firm. Three different industrial solvents have been detected in soils, at
the Colorado subsite, the most significant being TCE. A vapor degreasing operation at the industrial
facility located at 108

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. Colorado Avenue has been identified as the source of solvent releases to the
environment during the 1960's and 1970's. Contamination at the

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econd

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treet subsite was identified
during the 1987 to 1988 investigation of Colorado Avenue. Pollution from an old coal gas plant
operation was detected in the soil at this subsite and in the downgradient ground water. Contaminants
include benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and phenols.
Commercial Area and Closed City Landfills:
This area, situated at the eastern edge of Hastings, contains the North Landfill, FAR-MAR-CO and

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outh Landfill subsites.

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tudies have revealed that the FAR-MAR-CO and North Landfill subsites are
polluting downgradient wells with VOCs. The North Landfill originally was a local brickmaker's clay
pit. Hastings operated it as a landfill in the 1960s to dispose of various municipal and industrial wastes.
Operators of the FAR-MAR-CO subsite stored and handled agricultural products, mostly grains, for
more than 30 years. VOCs, including toxic grain fumigants, have seeped into the soils and ground
water. Grain dust explosions and spills from fumigant equipment on the subsite have contributed to the
problem. While investigating soils at the FAR-MAR-CO subsite, the EPA discovered trichloroethane
(TCA) contamination on a portion now owned by a different company. TCA is a solvent used to clean
metals. This area became known as the TCA Contamination Area, and was cleaned up by the new
owner in 1989. The

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outh Landfill was operated by the City of Hastings during the 1960s and 1970s
to dispose of municipal and industrial wastes.

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ampling by EPA revealed the presence of TCE, PCE
and vinyl chloride (VC) in the ground water. The subsite is bounded on the east by farmland. Also, the
HEIP is located east of the

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outh Landfill.
Hastings East Industrial Park (HEIP) /Former Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD):
The former NAD consisted of more than 72 square miles and was located 2 miles east of Hastings.

This facility extends into Clay County and includes properties that have been transferred to private
parties and various government agencies. The 48,000-acre NAD was used for loading armaments until
the early 1950s, and later for the demilling of armaments until it was decommissioned in the early 1960s.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting studies at the site under the authorization of the
Department of Defense (DOD). The major contaminants identified in the soils include volatile organic
chemicals (VOCs), explosives and metals. Cleanup of the surface soil contamination on 2,600 acres of
the HEIP has been completed by the Corps. Although contaminants that have been detected are
generally consistent with the chemicals used by the Navy operations, the industries established in the
HEIP since the 1960s may have generated some of the VOCs being detected.

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ite Responsibility:
This site is being addressed through Federal,

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tate,
local, and potentially responsible parties' actions.

Npl Listinghistory

Proposed Date:10/15/1984
Final Date:
Deleted Date:

06/10/1986

Threats And Contaminants

Ground water and soils at the various subsites are contaminated with a wide range of
VOCs and other organic compounds. The NAD site is contaminated with heavy metals
and explosives in addition to VOCs, and the

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econd

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treet subsite also contains PAHs.
Access to areas of contamination at the ground surface is limited and should not present a
current risk to human health. The water provided by the City is safe for drinking.
However, people and livestock may experience adverse health effects from drinking
contaminated ground water in particular from domestic private wells located outside the
city limits.

Cleanup Approach

Response Action

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tatus
To date, source control and ground water response actions have been initiated at Well No. 3, Colorado

Avenue,

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econd

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treet and FAR-MAR-CO subsites. Additionally, a clay cap was installed at the
North Landfill as the subsite source control measure. In

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eptember, 2000, the EPA selected a remedy
at the

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outh Landfill, but no action has been implemented yet. The ground water response actions at
the

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econd

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treet subsite is being implemented under two removal actions. The ground water actions
at Well No. 3, FAR-MAR-CO and

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econd

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treet have been or are being designed to contain or
monitor ground water concentrations that exceed maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or, where there
is no MCL for a constituent of concern (COC), the 1 in 1,000,000 cumulative excess cancer risk level.
The FAR-MAR-CO ground water action may have the effect of controlling the North Landfill plume,
however more work and information is needed to confirm this possibility. Two interim remedial actions
being implemeted at Colorado Avenue are designed to contain and treat ground water concentrations
that exceed 1 in 100,000 cumulative excess cancer risk.
The Well #3

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ubsite is located in the Central Industrial area of Hastings. In 1989, EPA issued an
Interim Action Record of Decision (ROD) selecting soil vapor extraction (SVE) as the technology to
remediate the soils contaminated with carbon tetrachloride. EPA entered into a

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uperfund

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tate
Contract (SSC), with the

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tate of Nebraska and began full-scale soil remediation in July, 1992. In July,
1993, EPA and the state determined that remediation of the soils was complete. The

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tate of
Nebraska and EPA entered into a second

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SC to provide a cost share for the ground water
remediation. A modification to the second

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SC allowed the City of Hastings to enter into a
Cooperative Agreement with EPA. The City of Hastings operated this ground water remediation
system. The ground water cleanup for Plume 1 began in 1995, with the installation of an air stripper to
treat ground water. EPA installed an irrigation system at a Hastings city park in the summer of 1998,
for beneficial reuse of this extracted water (Operable Unit No. 13). Plume 2, was addressed by
Dutton-Lainson under an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) to conduct a soil vapor extraction
(SVE) removal cleanup. These removal activities began in March, 1996. The AOC also required that
Dutton-Lainson monitor ground water for the Plume 2 contaminants on a quantity basis quarterly.
These actions were complete in 1999. In May, 2001, the EPA released its final ROD for the Well #3

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ubsite selecting no further action for OUs #07, #17 (source control operable units) and #13 (Plume 1
ground water operable unit). For OU#18 (Plume 2), EPA selected the continuation of the Plume 1
remedy at the former decommissioned well until MCLs are attained and verified for the Plume 2
contaminants. The EPA has signed an agreement (Consent Decree) with Dutton-Lainson to perform
this work. Discussions are ongoing between EPA and Dutton-Lainson to perform this work
The Colorado Avenue

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ubsite is located in the central portion of the City. In 1988, the EPA issued an
Interim Action Record of Decision (ROD) in which it selected soil vapor extraction (SVE) technology
to cleanup approximately 800,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. On

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eptember 28, 1990, after
failing to negotiate an agreement to implement the (SVE) technology with the Colorado Avenue PRPs,
EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) to Dravo Corporation and Desco Corporation,
the subsite PRPs, to construct and operate the

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VE system. This UAO was subsequently amended on
January 26, 1995, to add Eric Inc. The

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VE system began operation in July, 1996. In 1991, the EPA
issued an Interim Action ROD to address the ground water contamination. The EPA issued a second
UAO in 1993, requiring the PRPs to implement the ground water interim actions. The 1991 ROD was
amended in 1998, to allow the PRP's to perform the interim action utilizing newer technologies including

air stripping and in-well-aeration (IWA). In 1999, the Phase I and Phase II ground water treatment
wells were installed. The Phase II treatment wells have been operating since December, 1999, and are
constructed utilizing the IWA design. A Phase III IWA treatment system is currently being constructed.
Additional work will be needed to fully address the Colorado Avenue plume, which has traveled
beyong the area of the Phase III treatment system.
The

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econd

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treet

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ubsite is located at the eastern edge of downtown Hastings. The EPA completed
an Action Memorandum (AM) for the

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econd

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treet subsite in 1995. The removal action defined by
the AM was needed to remove benzene from soils and ground water within the subsite boundaries. The
EPA began construction at the subsite in 1996. Both treatment systems began operation in January,
1997, and are currently being operated by the City. Contaminated vapors from the

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VE and ground
water air stripper are being destroyed using a catalytic oxidizer. The EPA initiated a second removal
action at the

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econd

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treet subsite in

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eptember, 2000. An in-well aeration system was installed to
remove benzene and other volatile contaminants from the ground water. The IWA system began
operation in the summer of 2001. Areas of ground water contamination have been identified east of the
locations of the two removal action treatment wells. The EPA is performing an RI/FS to determine
what long term actions maybe necessary for the ground water. An interim remedial action for the
ground water is anticipated to address the plume downgradient from the source area.
The North Landfill

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ubsite is located east of the City and north of Highway 6. The City operated a
municipal/industrial landfill from 1962-1964. In 1991, EPA issued a ROD for an interim remedial
action to addressed both source control and the ground water contamination. In October, 1992, the
City and Dutton-Lainson entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) to perform the
remedial design. The design for the source control operable unit was completed in 1996, and consisted
of improving the landfill cap and restricting public access and future land use. In the fall of 1998, the
PRPs begin construction of the landfill improvements. The landfill improvements were completed in the
summer, 1999. The design process for the ground water operable unit was suspended by the EPA
while the City and Dutton-Lainson participate in a removal action for the downgradient ground water
operable unit at the FAR-MAR-CO

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ubsite. The ground water contamination at the FAR-MAR-CO

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ubsite has been commingled with ground water emanating from the North Landfill

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ubsite. Quarterly
ground water monitoring has been conducted by the responsible parties and will be contained in a
report due to EPA in December, 2002. This report will evaluate the performance of the
FAR-MAR-CO system in capturing and containing the North Landfill plume. The responsible parties
also conducted quarterly vadose zone monitoring for 8 quarters to determine if the landfill continues to
be a source of VOCs to the aquifer. The results of this monitoring indicated that the landfill is not a
major source of contamination. Additional ground water monitoring wells have been installed and
monitored by the responsible parties, which indicate that a major source of the ground water
contamination is from an upgradient source.
The FAR-MAR-CO

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ubsite is located east of the North Landfill

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ubsite. On

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eptember 30, 1988,
EPA signed a ROD selecting soil vapor extraction (SVE) as the technology to address the source
contamination. In

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eptember 1990, Farmland Industries, Inc., a former owner of the subsite,
performed an

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VE pilot study to verify the effectiveness of removing carbon tetrachloride and ethylene

dibromide (EDB) from the soils. During the operation of the

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VE pilot, over 1,200 pounds of carbon
tetrachloride and EDB were removed from the soils. In January, 1992, Farmland agreed to design a
full-scale

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VE system. In August, 1995, an Explanation of

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ignificant Differences to the ROD was
issued to extend the

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VE operation as a measure to address the ground water contamination as the
source. Farmland and the current owner of the subsite, Cooperative Producers, Inc., entered into a
Consent Decree which requires that they perform source control using

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VE. The Consent Decree was
entered and Farmland began the full scale operation of the

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VE system in July, 1997. The

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VE
attained remediation goals in May, 2000, and entered into the

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VE-plus phase, which required the
system to perform for an additional two year period, until May, 2002. Farmland will collect soil vapor
samples in November, 2002, to determine if any rebounding of the contamination occurs.

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ite
restoration activities are tentatively scheduled to begin in May, 2003. EPA entered into an
Administration Order on Consent (AOC) with Morrision Enterprises in June, 1996, to perform a
ground water removal action. Construction and installation of the ground water extraction system began
in December,1996. Pumping of ground water to control the carbon tetrachloride and EDB plume began
in July,1997, and continues. EPA anticipates that it will take 15 years to restore the aquifer to MCLs.
Morrison will present a report documenting the first five years of operation for EPA's review and
approval. EPA will evaluate the performance of the system based upon the information presented in this
report. In 1987, during EPA's investigation of the carbon tetrachloride and EDB contamination at the
subsite, a separate area of soil contaminated by 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) was found at the subsite
(Operable Unit No. 11). Pursuant to a December, 1989 AOC, HIPCO excavated approximately 43
cubic yards of soil and transported it to a permitted disposal facility. A ROD for the TCA Operable
Unit was signed in

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eptember, 1990, in which no further action was determined necessary to address
the TCA contamination.
The

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outh Landfill

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ubsite is located in the southeast section of Hastings. During the 1960's and
1970's, municipal and industrial wastes were disposed at the landfill. EPA began field investigation in
1994, and confirmed the presence of industrial solvents in the landfill. EPA developed the Remedial
Investigation report to document the investigation. The PRPs completed the FS under terms of an
Administrative Order. The EPA completed a ROD for the subsite in

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eptember, 2000. The selected
remedy for the

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outh Landfill includes upgrading the landfill cap and monitoring natural attenuation for
the ground water.
The Former Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) is located in eastern Adam and western Clay Counties
and consists of approximately 48,000 acres. The contaminants of concern are volatiles (VOCs), heavy
metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and explosives. The Corps of Engineers (COE) an
agent for Department of Defense (DOD) has conducted or began the following cleanups. In 1995, the
COE completed: a time-critical removal action to excavate two manholes, a catch basin, piping and
contaminated soils, sludges and liquids for Operable Unit No. 8; and a full-scale pilot system,
incorporating air sparging via horizontal and vertical wells (Operable Unit No. 14). The pilot was
successful and is currently continuing as a removal action. Construction of these

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VE systems began in
October, 1996, for Buildings 104 and 135 areas to cleanup the soil contaminated with VOCs. The
COE completed construction July, 1998, of a soil repository (Operated Unit No. 4). Major
components of the construction include excavation of low-levels of contaminated soils and incineration

of excavated soils containing high levels of explosives and PAHs.

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VE systems have been designed to
address the contaminated soil at Building 130,

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outh Disposal Area and Naval Yard Dump. The COE
completed a draft remedial investigation report which addresses other areas of the NAD suspected to
be contaminated and the contaminated ground water beneath the subsite.
Area-Wide Hastings

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ite activities have continued to support identification of a remedy for the City

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ubsites (i.e., the six non-NAD subsites). The EPA completed a Remedial Investigation (RI) report
which addresses the area-wide ground water contamination for the City

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ubsites. The RI report
included a risk assessment prepared by the Nebraska Department of Health to determine the risks
associated with contamination in the aquifer underneath the City of Hastings. In 2000, the PRPs
prepared the Area-Wide FS under the terms of an Administrative Order. The Area-Wide FS was
needed to evaluate site-wide environmental conditions taking into account the completed and proposed
remedial measures for the various City

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ubsites. The purpose of the FS was to integrate the information
collected at each subsite into a comprehensive document and evaluate remedies designed to protect
potential receptors from unacceptable risks posed by ground water. In 2001, the EPA, in consultation
with the NDEQ, signed a ROD for an interim remedial action. The ROD provides for establishing an
institutional control area (ICA), alternate water supply for effected users, well inventory and ground
water monitoring program. The City has proceeded to implement components of this action, including
establishing the ICA through a City Ordinance and conducting a review and testing of private wells in
the area. EPA is in discussions with the Area-Wide PRP Group to facilitate an agreement for full scale
implementation of the remedy. In July, 2002, the EPA completed its

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econd Five-Year Review Report
for the entire Hastings

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ite. This report is on Region VII's web site under Five-Year Review Report.

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ite Facts:

Environmental Progress

Due to the numerous cleanup actions and the number of contaminated areas and subsites at
the Hastings Ground Water site, the status of cleanup activities varies. The ground water actions will be
long-term. In general, however, the potential for exposure to hazardous substances in the ground water
has been greatly reduced by closing down contaminated wells while further studies and cleanup activities
are being planned and conducted. Further contamination of the ground water is being prevented by the
EPA and other parties' efforts to clean up the sources of contamination. The EPA continues to monitor
the quality of the ground water adjacent to the Hastings site, and informing property owners and
businesses when contaminant levels exceed acceptable limits. The EPA, the NDEQ and the potentially
responsible party group are applying the

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uperfund process to determine acceptable actions to manage
contamination associated with the Hastings

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ite.

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ite Repository
Hastings Public Library,
Fourth and Denver

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treets,
Hastings, Nebraska 68901
Central Community College Library, (913)551-4038
E. U.S. Highway 6,
Hastings,

Ne

68901 contains some
documents.

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uperfund Records Center
901 N. 5th

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t.
Kansas City, KS 66101
Mail

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top

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UPR

Regional

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ite Manager:
Paul Doherty Diane Easely Darrrell

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ommerhauser
Victor Lyke

E-Mail Address:

doherty.paul@epa.gov, easley.diane@epa.gov
sommerhauser.darrell@epa.gov,
lyke.victor@epa.gov.

Phone Number:

(913) 551-7711

Community Involvement Coordinator:

Beckie Himes

Phone Number:

913 551-7003

E-Mail Address:

himes.beckie@epa.gov

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tate Contact:
Mike Felix

Phone Number:

402 471-3388

Miscellaneous Information

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tate:

Ne

07S2

Congressional District:

03 Epa Organization:

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fd-Supr/Iane

Modifications

Created by:
Kenya
Owens/PLMG/R7/USEPA/U

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Created Date:

03

/19/1998 11:10 AM
Last Modified by:
Jude
Roach/SUPR/R7/USEPA/US
Last Modified Date:

05/20/2003

03

:09 PM

source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Hastings Ground Water Contamination

Environmental Pollution in Nebraska- Site: Hastings Ground Water Contamination
Hastings Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution

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Nebraska Superfund Site: Hastings Ground Water ContaminationFight Air Pollution & Water Pollution With an Environmental Toxic Tort Lawsuit

Hastings Ground Water Contamination

Hastings Ground Water

Contamination

Nebraska

Epa Id# Ned980862668

05/20/2003

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Npl Listinghistory

06/10/1986

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Nebraska Superfund Site: Hastings Ground Water Contamination
Fight Air Pollution & Water Pollution With an Environmental Toxic Tort Lawsuit