U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Community Update #2
Eastland Woolen Mill Site
Corinna, Maine
Fall/Winter Investigation Program
February 1999

Overview

The Eastland Woolen Mill Site (the Site) is located on Main Street in Corinna, Maine. The mill began operations at the beginning of this century. Chemicals used in the wool dying process, including chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, and trichlorobenzene ended up in the Sebasticook River, which flows directly underneath the building. These chemicals eventually reached the groundwater from dumping of chlorobenzene into the soil or leaks in the tanks onsite. These chemicals have also contaminated the groundwater, including several private drinking water wells adjacent to the site. 

The Eastland Woolen Mill Company worked with the town of Corinna to develop a public drinking water system that currently provides clean water to homes affected by the chemicals in the groundwater. However, due to their 1996 bankruptcy, the Eastland Company was no longer able to financially support the water system and abandoned the mill building. Since that time, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has provided the Corinna Water District with financial support to continue to operate the water supply system. In addition, DEP has been very active in efforts to protect public health through conducting investigations of the contamination and monitoring the water supplies. DEP also performed an inventory of hazardous materials on the property and shipped them offsite for disposal. 

The work completed by DEP at the Site has established a clear path for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) involvement. EPA began investigations at the site in November 1998. The initial results of EPA's field work and plans for future cleanup activity are described in this newsletter.

What work has EPA completed thus far?

EPA has completed the field work portion of its initial investigation of the Site. The purpose of this work is to better define the extent of the contaminated soil underneath of the mill structure and to locate possible contaminated areas on the rest of the Site. Based on analyses of the information collected, EPA will determine if conditions at the Site warrant an early cleanup. 

Under contract with EPA, the United States Army Corp of Engineers (COE) performed these initial field activities. Please refer to Community Update #1 issued in December 1998 for more details about this initial field work.

Over the past two months, the COE and their contractors have:

• drilled 29 holes into the overburden soil for sampling;
• installed 3 new groundwater monitoring wells and collected water samples from these wells;
• collected and analyzed approximately 50 soils samples; and, 
• collected and analyzed approximately 20 samples from water, sludges, sediments, flooring, and paint within the building.

EPA's preliminary evaluation of the data from the investigation program confirms the significant presence of chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, and trichlorobenzene in subsurface soils adjacent to, and underneath the mill building. Preliminary results also indicate the presence of mercury, chromium, oils, and chlorobenzenes inside of the mill building.

The final results from these field studies should be available by late April or early May 1999 at the Corinna Library.

How will EPA use the final information from these field investigations?

EPA will use the information collected during the recent investigation program for two purposes. 

First, EPA will combine the new information with historical information about the site to determine the need to implement an early cleanup action (see below: "EPA Plans for Early Cleanup"). EPA has the ability to initiate emergency cleanups (termed Removal Actions) at contaminated sites if the contamination poses an immediate threat to human health and/or the environment. Removal actions are short-term cleanups authorized under the Superfund Law that generally require less than 1 year to complete. 

Second, EPA will use the information to develop a comprehensive Work Plan in spring 1999 for the remedial investigation of the Site. The remedial investigation (RI) is a program of studies to determine the nature and extent of contamination at sites that have been placed on the national priorities list (NPL). NPL sites, such as the Hows Corner/West Site in Plymouth, Maine, are listed by EPA as uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term cleanup under the Superfund Program. You will probably hear EPA officials refer to these long-term cleanups as, "Remedial Actions". 

Information that EPA collects during the RI serves as the basis for determining the severity of health threats posed to humans and the environment by contaminated sites. The RI also provides the basis for evaluating alternative proposed cleanup scenarios in a report called, a "Feasibility Study."

Combined, the Remedial Investigation, Human Health Risk Assessment, Ecological Risk Assessment, and Feasibility Study reports provide the supporting information that EPA would need to make a decision regarding a possible long-term cleanup action at the Eastland Woolen Mill Site.

RI Work Plan Development

Beginning this month and continuing through April, EPA expects to conduct additional investigations to further develop the RI Work Plan. During these investigations, EPA will:

• Evaluate the fractures in the bedrock of current monitoring wells and former drinking water supply wells (this evaluation will provide greater insight into how contaminants may be traveling through the groundwater);
• measure water levels to interpret groundwater flow directions;
• characterize further the geology of the area; and,
• measure surface water levels. 

The Work Plan will define the investigations and information required to complete the major reports for the Site. EPA expects to begin the first significant field program in summer or fall of 1999 and hopes to complete the investigation phase of the cleanup by the end of 2000. If EPA is able to complete all of the necessary investigation work by the end of 2000, then EPA would likely propose the long-term cleanup for the Site by early 2001.

No Shortage of Technical Expertise!

In addition to the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA has hired the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to further study the geology and hydrogeology of the site. This information will help EPA to better understand how contamination in the groundwater beneath the site is moving and how this contamination may be impacting the drinking water aquifer beyond the boundaries of the site. USGS will also monitor water levels in existing wells and in the East Branch of the Sebasticook River to further understand how groundwater is moving in the area.

EPA Plans for Early Cleanup

Based upon the historical data collected by DEP and the information recently collected by the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA has decided to begin the planning phase for a possible early cleanup of the Eastland Woolen Mill Site. 

This early cleanup would be implemented using the Non-Time-Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) authority. A NTCRA is one option the EPA may utilize, when appropriate, to cleanup Superfund Sites more cost effectively and timely. 

The steps in the NTCRA process are:

• Sign an Approval Memorandum that authorizes EPA to expend federal funds to perform an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA);
• Perform the EE/CA which summarizes existing information, develops a set of cleanup alternatives, and evaluates the alternatives based upon cost; effectiveness; and implementibility;
• Issue a fact sheet to the public presenting the cleanup alternative recommended by EPA for the site and announcing the availability of the EE/CA for public review;
• Hold an informational meeting to discuss the EE/CA and fact sheet;
• Conduct a public comment period on the EE/CA and fact sheet;
• Consider and respond to all public comments in a document called, "Response to Comments," and sign an Action Memorandum, which is a document that formally establishes EPA's decision to proceed with an early action and the cleanup alternative to be implemented;
• Determine if any private parties are available to financially contribute to the cleanup;
• Design the cleanup and develop the plans and specifications to implement the early action; and,
• Perform the cleanup.
  

On January 29, EPA completed step one in the NTCRA process in signing the Approval Memorandum. EPA also began step two during the first week of February in starting work on the EE/CA.

The most optimistic schedule would result in a final EE/CA by May 1999 with a comment period ending in June and an Action Memorandum signed by the end of June or early July 1999. This would allow for the start of an early cleanup some time in October/November 1999.

One important fact to note is that all Superfund cleanup projects in the U.S. are funded through EPA Headquarters in Washington D.C. These projects are ranked to determine which Sites should receive priority funding. There is seldom sufficient funding to perform all of the proposed cleanup projects in a given year. Thus, the cleanup proposal for this Site will only proceed if an Action Memorandum is signed and funding is received.

Will EPA take the mill building down as part of the early cleanup...............?

Not necessarily. In this newsletter, EPA is only announcing that there is sufficient information to proceed with the planning process for an early cleanup. Based on EPA's early cleanup proposal, three possible outcomes are possible:

1. the EE/CA may conclude that EPA could proceed with the soil cleanup without demolishing the building;
2. the EE/CA could conclude that building demolition is a necessary part of the early cleanup; and,
3. the EE/CA or public comments could suggest a reason(s) why EPA should not perform an early cleanup or demolish the building.

However, based on what EPA knows thus far, it is likely that some portion of the building will require demolition as part of any soil cleanup.

What is the status of the Eastland Woolen Mill Site as a candidate for NPL designation?

Currently, EPA is reviewing the package of information (Hazard Ranking System Package) submitted by DEP that documents the basis for the placement of the Site on the NPL. EPA New England will work with DEP to finalize this package and hopefully complete the Hazard Ranking System Report this coming summer or fall to determine whether the Site will be designated on the NPL.

If you have questions or concerns about the Eastland Woolen Mill Site, please contact one of the following officials:

U.S. EPA
Technical Questions:
Ed Hathaway, Project Manager
(617) 918-1372
hathaway.ed@epa.gov

Community Outreach
Erin Heskett, Public Affairs

(617) 918-1054
heskett.erin@epa.gov

Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Kathy Niziolek
(207) 287-4861
kathy.d.niziolek@state.me.us

Town of Corinna 
Judy Doore
(207) 278-4183
corinna@tdstelme.net

Back