South Valley Superfund Site

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The South Valley Superfund site is located in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is situated near the Rio Grande in an industrial portion of the city. Seven Potentially Responsible Parties are currently engaged in characterization and remedial activities ranging from soil remediation to ground-water cleanup. The Department of Energy is a Potentially Responsible Party because of the Atomic Energy Commission's ownership of an industrial facility in the South Valley from 1951-1967. The Department of Energy is acting under an agreement with General Electric Company to reimburse 43.2 percent of the cost for remediation.

FACILITY MISSION

General Electric currently owns and operates the facility and land for aircraft engine production. The Department of Energy is not involved in any current decisions concerning the mission of the facility. Between 1951 and 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission used the facility to produce weapons components. The Environmental Protection Agency believes that various Atomic Energy Commission production activities contributed to volatile organic compound contamination of soil and ground water that is currently being remediated.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act is the prime regulatory driver for this site. All Department of Energy cost reimbursements for remediation and waste management activities at this site are included within the scope of the Environmental Restoration program. There are no current or planned nuclear material and facility stabilization activities at this site.

FUTURE USE

The Department of Energy is not involved in future-use decisions for this site. However, this baseline estimate assumes General Electric will continue to use the property for industrial purposes. Ground water will be cleaned up to the most stringent drinking water standards set by either the Environmental Protection Agency or the New Mexico Environment Department. Soil has been remediated to Environmental Protection Agency risk-based levels.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

The Department of Energy is involved at this site as a Potentially Responsible Party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. From 1951 to 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission owned the South Albuquerque Works facility to produce weapons components. American Car and Foundry operated the facility for the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1967, the U.S. Air Force purchased the facility and General Electric operated it for military aircraft engine production. The Air Force renamed the facility "Plant 83". In 1984, General Electric purchased the facility. See the Site Map for the location of Environmental Restoration program activities.

In 1979, volatile organic compound contamination was discovered in the City of Albuquerque's San Jose 6 drinking water production well. The Environmental Protection Agency identified the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and General Electric as Potentially Responsible Parties for two operable units within the Superfund site: the Plant 83 Operable Unit and the San Jose Operable Unit. All owners and operators were identified as having conducted activities that potentially contributed to the soil and ground-water contamination.

Between 1984 and 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency conducted a Remedial Investigation and a Feasibility Study that led to the 1988 Record of Decision. The Plant 83 Record of Decision indicated a need for further characterization of soil, shallow aquifer and deep aquifer decontamination, the implementation of a soil vacuum extraction system, a shallow aquifer pump-and-treat system, and a deep aquifer pump-and-treat system. The San Jose Record of Decision required the plugging and abandonment of several private and city ground-water wells, including 30 years of site monitoring.

The three Potentially Responsible Parties attempted to negotiate cost allocations and management strategies with no clear success. In 1989, to accelerate the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act process, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a 106 Administrative Order against General Electric (the current owner) and tasked the company to help with cleanup management and associated liabilities. The three Potentially Responsible Parties negotiated a "Settlement Agreement" to delineate roles, responsibilities, and cost allocation. Nine percent of the cost was allocated to General Electric, 43.2 percent was allocated to the Department of Energy, and 47.8 percent was allocated to the Air Force. Allocation was based purely on time of ownership. General Electric is responsible for project management, planning, and execution, with approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Environmental Protection Agency Region VI, with input from the New Mexico Environment Department and the City of Albuquerque, is the prime regulator for the two operable units.

Other cleanup activities are ongoing in the Superfund area. They include volatile organic compound ground-water cleanup by the UNIVAR Corporation; petroleum soil and ground-water cleanup by Chevron and Texaco (Giant); petroleum and volatile organic compound ground-water and soil cleanup by Whitfield Tank Lines; and soil and ground-water cleanup by ATA Pipelines. See the Site Map for the location of Environmental Restoration program activities.

Operable Unit 1

The Record of Decision for this operable unit called for a replacement well for the city's contaminated wells. The 1985 Record of Decision was satisfied in April 1987 with the installation of Burton well #4 in the city's ground-water well network. No further action has been or will be necessary.

Operable Unit 2: San Jose 3 and San Jose 6

The Environmental Protection Agency wanted all public and private contaminated wells, plugged and abandoned to prevent vertical movement, and it issued the San Jose Record of Decision in 1988. The Record of Decision also called for long-term monitoring of contamination.

All contaminated wells were verified with sampling, plugged, and abandoned when access and permission was granted. The final two contaminated wells, the city's San Jose 3 and San Jose 6 wells, were plugged in FY 1995.

A monitoring network was installed to monitor contamination. In FY 1996, the network will be "transferred" to Operable Unit 3 (Plant 83) to close out Operable Unit 2.

Operable Unit 3: Plant 83

The Plant 83 Record of Decision, signed in 1988, required further characterization, soil remediation, and ground-water remediation for two distinct aquifer zones. This operable unit is responsible for the majority of environmental restoration activity and funding.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment of volatile organic compound contamination in soil and ground water is complete. Characterization included shallow, intermediate, and deep ground-water monitoring well installation, multiport well installation, soil vapor sampling, hydropunch sampling, and the development of a 3-D ground-water model.

The primary constituents discovered were trichloroethane, dichloroethene, dichloroethane, and tetrachloroethene with smaller amounts of benzene, toluene, ethylene, xylene and methyl-tert-butyl ether from the nearby petroleum companies. An extensive study of metals in ground water indicated metals were present but not in sufficient amounts to warrant cleanup. In addition, metal contamination cannot be attributed solely to the three Potentially Responsible Parties.

Volatile organic compound contamination is not severe, but it is widespread. Volatile organic compound levels in the deep zone ground water average less than 50 micrograms per liter, with a maximum concentration of 690 micrograms per liter of trichloroethane. The plume has a distinct center of mass with a sizable zone of much lower levels of volatile organic compounds. The plume has an approximate depth ranging between 15 and 35 meters (49 and 115 feet) below ground surface and a surface area of roughly 28 hectares (70 acres). The shallow zone levels range from 100 parts per billion to a maximum concentration of 1,848 parts per billion total volatile organic compounds. The area of the plume is approximately 3.2 hectares (8 acres) in area and ranges from 2.4 to 9.2 meters (8 to 30 feet) below the ground surface. A fairly continuous silty clay layer separates the shallow zone from the deep zone of the aquifer.

REMEDIATION

A pilot scale vacuum extraction system for soil decontamination in the north and south Plant 83 areas began in 1992. The pilot scale system, using small vapor extraction ports and a movable carbon treatment system, was operable for approximately one year. The system removed approximately 15.8 kilograms (35 pounds) of volatile organic compounds. After the pilot project, the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed residual contaminant levels and declared that No Further Action was necessary on the soil.

The shallow zone pump-and-treat system began operation in April 1994 and has run continually since then. The system, designed to de-water the shallow aquifer, runs at approximately 20 to 40 liters per minute (5 to 10 gallons per minute). Volatile organic compound removal has been slow, but the ground water has dropped approximately 1.8 meters (6 feet) since operation began. The system, which is expected to run through FY 1997, uses eight extraction wells (six on plant property and two within the San Jose neighborhood) and discharges the water to the General Electric North Plant cooling towers. After shallow aquifer water depletion, the Environmental Protection Agency will review residual soil and soil vapor sample results to determine if any further action is required. Water is treated to applicable New Mexico and Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards. The pump-and-treat system creates no waste.

The Environmental Protection Agency approved the final design of the deep zone aquifer pump-and-treat system in August 1995. Extraction, injection, and monitoring well construction began in the summer of 1995. Completion of final construction is expected in June 1996. The prime goal of the deep aquifer system is contaminant control. Aquifer remediation is a secondary goal. The system uses three extraction wells and nine reinjection wells and is designed to operate at approximately 5,000 liters per minute (1,300 gallons per minute) through an air stripping/activated carbon treatment system.

LONG-TERM SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING

An extensive network has been installed to monitor the contamination in place and the performance of both pump-and-treat systems. The Plant 83 monitoring network will also monitor the San Jose Operable Unit. The sampling rate varies with each well in the network, but most wells are sampled on a quarterly basis. The future frequency of sampling could drop after remedial design, construction, and implementation. This report assumes that monitoring will continue until FY 2010.

Direct Program Management/Support

All program management and technical support costs incurred are reimbursable under the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The Department pays for these costs based on the cost allocation formula in the Settlement Agreement.

DESCRIPTION OF PERSONNEL

One Department of Energy employee manages the activities to support the Department of Energy's responsibility for the remedial activities at the site, and one contractor employee supports the activities of the Department of Energy and the Air Force.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the South Valley Superfund site.

COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS ESTIMATE

No major changes in the estimated scope have occurred since the submission of the 1995 Baseline Environmental Management Report. The 43 percent reduction in estimated life-cycle costs reflects a 33 percent reduction in project duration. This accelerated schedule significantly reduces the surveillance and monitoring requirements.