south cavalcade street epa region 6 houston, harris … · 2020. 6. 25. · south cavalcade street...

South Cavalcade Street 1 EPA Publication Date: July 2015

Current Status

Currently, there is no exposure from the contaminated soil at the South Cavalcade Street Superfund Site

(Site) because it is capped under concrete. Also currently, there is no exposure to contaminated ground

water from the Site since the water is not being used as the source of drinking water on-site and off-site.

The Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment #2 for the ground water was signed by the EPA on

September 24, 2014. The remedy selected is establishing a Technical Impracticability (TI) Waiver

Zone (TI Zone) with short-term and long-term monitoring and institutional controls. Pursuant to

the ROD Amendment #2, in December 2014, Beazer East Inc.’s (Beazer’s) contractor drilled

twenty six new ground water monitoring wells on-site and off-site at the Site and installed four

additional wells during the week of January 15, 2015 using a smaller rig. The first quarterly

sampling of these new wells and other wells were conducted the week of February 23rd, in

accordance with the Remedial Design and Short-Term and Long-Term Groundwater Monitoring

Plan, dated November 25, 2014. The results of the sampling were submitted by Beazer in the

quarterly monitoring report along with the Remedial Action Report. The EPA and the Texas

Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have submitted comments on the 2015 First

Quarter Groundwater Monitoring Report and Beazer is in the process of submitting revised pages.

The EPA, in concordance with the TCEQ, has approved the Remedial Action Report on June 24,

2015.

The second quarterly sampling of the wells was conducted the week of June 1, 2015. Wells were

decommissioned the week of June 29, 2015 in accordance with the approved Well Field

Decommissioning Plan.

The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) is planning a north-south extension of the Hardy

Toll Road, to be built in the rail right-of-way adjacent to the western boundary of the Site. The

HCTRA is also planning on expanding Collingsworth Street adjacent to the southern boundary of

the Site. The EPA, the TCEQ and the responsible party Beazer have had various meetings,

conference calls and email exchanges to discuss HCTRA’s plans for the Hardy Toll Road extension

and Collingsworth Street expansion. The EPA and Beazer’s contractor met with HCTRA and their

contractors recently on January 14, 2015 to discuss the detention pond design, to be installed

southwest of the Site. HCTRA’s contractors are following-up on items from the discussions.

The EPA, TCEQ, and Beazer continue to work with the Northern Property Owner regarding their

plans for establishing their commercial operation. The EPA also continues to address and follow-

up on any questions from the community members.

SOUTH CAVALCADE STREET

Houston, Harris County, Texas EPA ID# TXD980810386

Site ID: 0602895

Last Updated: July 2015

EPA Region 6

Congressional District 18

Contact: Raji Josiam

214.665.8529


Background

National Lumber and Creosoting Company constructed and operated a wood preserving facility on

the Site from 1910 to 1938, at which time the property was acquired by the Wood Preserving

Corporation, a subsidiary of Koppers Company. In 1940, that Corporation became a part of

Koppers Company, Inc., now known as Beazer East, Inc., (Beazer) and operated the wood treating

facility from 1940-1962. Koppers constructed a coal tar distillation plant in the southeastern

portion of the Site, which operated from 1944 to 1962, at which time the property was again sold,

and later subdivided.

In 1983, the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority investigated the Site for potential use and

found evidence of creosote in the subsurface. The Site was referred to the Texas Department of

Water Resources (TDWR) for further investigation and, in 1984, recommended to EPA for

placement on the National Priorities List (NPL). The Site was added to the final List on June 10,

1986, for further assessment and remedial action.

The Site occupies approximately 66 acres of land located approximately three miles north of

downtown Houston, Texas, and about one mile southwest of the intersection of Interstate Loop 610

and U.S. Highway 59. The Site is bounded by Cavalcade Street to the north, Collingsworth Street

to the south, and the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Company (HB&T) Passenger Main to the

east, and HB&T and Union Pacific Railroad to the west. The Site is situated in what would be

considered a light industrial corridor, and is bounded on the west side by a large residential area.

The Site is rectangular in shape and is approximately 3,400 feet long in the north-south direction by

900 feet long in the east-west direction.

A wood treating plant operated at the Site from 1910 until 1962. Creosote and various metallic

salts were used as the wood preservatives. The wood treating process area was located in the

southern portion of the Site along Collingsworth Street. Koppers Company, Inc. (Koppers), now

known as Beazer, operated the wood treating facility from 1940 until its closure in 1962. A coal tar

distillation plant was also operated by Koppers on the southeastern portion of the Site from about

1944 until 1962.

The Site is currently occupied by trucking firms, with much of the ground surface (particularly in

the southern half of the Site) covered by pavement, buildings, or storage areas. A ground water

treatment facility is located at the eastern boundary in the central portion of the Site became

inoperative due to a lightning strike in April 2006. Since April 2006, Dense Non-Aqueous Phase

Liquid (DNAPL) has continued via manual pumping of DNAPL from the collection wells. Two

areas of contaminated soil, along the southeastern boundary and in the south portion of the Site,

have been capped and are being used for truck parking. The northern contaminated area of the Site

was purchased in March 2013 by a commercial entity.

Contaminated ground water is found both in the southern area and the northern area of the Site in

the shallow zone and intermediate zone aquifers. The shallow zone aquifer is located approximately

5 feet below ground surface on-site and approximately 10 feet below ground surface off-site and is

approximately 11 feet thick. The intermediate zone aquifer is at depths below 40-50 feet below

ground surface. Below both these zones is clay with a minimum thickness of approximately 40 feet

and typically extend to approximately 115 feet below grade.


Site Photos

Well Installation – (Jan 2015) Evaluation of Core – (Jan 2015)

South Cap Southeastern Cap

Benefits

Contaminated soils have been contained and capped in two separate areas of the Site, eliminating

any potential for direct contact with impacted soils and ensuring current and future protection of

human health and the environment.

The groundwater was extracted and treated which included the recovery and treatment of a Dense

Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) from 1996 to 2006. The groundwater treatment system,

located at the eastern boundary in the central portion of the Site, became inoperative due to a

lightning strike in April 2006. Since April 2006, DNAPL recovery has continued via manual

pumping of DNAPL from the collection wells. The DNAPL extraction system, in operation since

1996, has removed over 4000 gallons of product. Based on the long-term operation of the pump

and treat system, an evaluation of treatment technologies, and the intermittent occurrence of

creosote in the aquifers, the EPA has concluded that it is technically impracticable to restore the

ground water using existing treatment technologies. Hence EPA selected the TI Waiver with

Institutional Controls for ground water to ensure no future exposure to the contaminated ground


water.

There is no known exposure to contaminated ground water in the area. Drinking water is provided

by the City’s municipal water system, and there is no indication of private well use down gradient

from the Site. Apart from the controls in place currently, institutional controls will be established at

the Site to ensure that future use will remain non-residential and to prohibit on-site ground water

use.

National Priorities Listing (NPL) History

NPL Inclusion Proposal Date: October 15, 1984

NPL Inclusion Final Date: June 10, 1986

HRS Score: 38.69

Site Maps


Health Considerations

Primary risk from the Site stems from the carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

(cPAHs), volatile organics, and metal salts associated with creosote and the wood preservation

process. These constituents are found both in the contaminated soils and in ground water, as

DNAPL and dissolved-phase constituents.

TX DSHS has compiled a Cancer Cluster Investigation Report for area codes 77009 and 77026 in

2014. A correlation of elevated cancer rates in the area to environmental exposure could not be

established. Based on these findings, TX DSHS does not recommend a detailed epidemiologic

study of cancers at this time in this area.


Record of Decision (ROD)

The Record of Decision for the Site was signed by EPA on September 26, 1988, and remedies

selected for surface soils (0-6”), surficial soils (0-6’ below ground surface), and ground water:

Soils: The ROD recommended soil flushing and washing to reach a risk-based remedial goal of

700 parts per million for carcinogenic PAHs, based on ingestion and direct contact. A subsequent

pilot study demonstrated that the contaminants would not reduce to the required levels. Beazer

East, Inc. submitted a proposal to contain contaminated soils under a protective cap. On June 26,

1997, the Regional Administrator signed an Amended ROD to allow contaminants to be sealed and

contained under a six-inch thick reinforced concrete cap. Two areas of contaminated soils were

capped, with a remedial design that optimized reuse of the property as parking space for trucks.

Construction was completed in June 2000.

Ground Water: The ROD required the extraction and treatment of contaminated ground water,

including the recovery and treatment of a (DNAPL) to the maximum extent practicable. Remaining

contamination would then be allowed to naturally attenuate to background levels. The decision

document also allowed biological treatment to reach remedial goals.

In 1995, EPA agreed to reconsider the remedial goals outlined in the 1988 ROD against other

options, including monitored natural attenuation or a Technical Impracticability (TI) waiver. Based

on the long-term operation of the pump and treat system, an evaluation of treatment technologies,

and the intermittent occurrence of creosote in the aquifers, the EPA has concluded that it is

technically impracticable to restore the ground water using existing treatment technologies. The

Proposed Plan for the ground water remedy was published on July 25, 2013 and the public

comment was extended another 30 days and ended September 23, 2013. A public meeting was held

on August 6, 2013 at Jefferson Davis High School to present the proposed plan and receive

comments. The meeting was well attended by the residents and stakeholders including City of

Houston, Harris County, on-site businesses, and contractors. The public meeting panel was

represented by the EPA, the TCEQ, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (TX

DSHS). The EPA has also received several calls and a few written comments from the residents and

other stakeholders since the meeting. All the comments and questions received were considered

and the Selected Remedy was documented in a Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment #2 signed

on September 24, 2014. The responses to the comments are also included in the ROD Amendment

#2.

The remedy selected in the September 2014 ROD Amendment #2 has the following components:

Establishing Technical Impracticability (TI) Zones in the northern and southern area

Preventing human exposure to contaminated ground through the implementation of institutional

controls (such as deed restrictions or restrictive covenants) to restrict access to, or use of,

contaminated water and restricting the installation of ground water wells within the designated

TI Zone

Demonstrating on an ongoing basis that contaminated ground water within the TI Zone is being

contained through natural processes or conditions

Waiving the ground water cleanup levels within the TI Zones

Removing of creosote on an ongoing basis in the impacted monitoring wells, as has been done

in the past


Conducting short-term ground water monitoring to verify the TI Zone Boundary; conducting

long-term ground water monitoring to ensure that the plume is not expanding; taking

appropriate contingency measures as necessary

Decommissioning and dismantling the ground water extraction and treatment system

Annual inspections will continue to be conducted to evaluate the integrity of the condition of the

containment caps and identify necessary actions to be taken. In addition, annual evaluations will be

conducted to ensure that land and ground water use at and in the vicinity of the Site has not changed

and to verify the continued absence of complete exposure pathways for the Site ground water.

The EPA is required by Statute to conduct a Site review every five years (Five-Year Review) to

ensure that the remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment. The Third

Five-Year Review was completed in September 2012 and the fourth one is planned for completion

in September 2017. The Third Five-Year Review includes the following conclusions:

The soil remedial actions implemented at the site are protective of human health and the

environment. The concrete cap eliminates direct contact with impacted soil.

The ground water remedy is protective of human health and the environment. Once the selected

remedy is implemented, the ground water remedy will continue to be protective in the future.

The Third Five-Year Review for the South Cavalcade Superfund Site is available at

http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/texas/south_cavalcade/final-5-year-review-south-cavalcade.pdf.

Site Contacts

EPA Remedial Project Manager: Raji Josiam 214-665-8529

EPA Site Attorney: Gloria Moran 214-665-3193

EPA Regional Public Liaison: Donn Walters 214-665-6483

EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Bill Little 214-665-8131

TCEQ Project Manager: Marilyn Long 512-239-0761

EPA Superfund Region 6 Toll Free Number: 1-800-533-3508

TCEQ Superfund Toll Free Number: 1-800-633-9363

Information Repositories

Houston Central Library

Houston Metropolitan Research Center

(Julia Ideson Building) 500 McKinney Street

Houston, Texas 77002

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10 am – 6 pm

Wednesday: 10 am -8 pm

Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm

Friday and Sunday: Closed

Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality

Building E, Records

Management, First Floor 12100 Park 35 Circle

Austin, Texas 78753

(512) 239-2920

Monday – Friday: 8 am to 5 pm

http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/texas/south_cavalcade/final-5-year-review-south-cavalcade.pdf

south cavalcade street epa region 6 houston, harris … · 2020. 6. 25. · south cavalcade street...

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