(Lenexa, Kan., Feb. 8, 2016) - E.P.A. Region seven will host a public meeting next month in Waterloo, Iowa, to discuss the agency's suggested remedy for environmental contamination at the former Waterloo Industries facility, a 10.3-acre property located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Ansborough Avenue and U.S. Hwy. 218 in Waterloo.
The public meeting will be held from five p.m. to seven p.m. on
Monday, March 14, 2016, at the Black Hawk Co. YMCA, 669 S. Hackett Road, in Waterloo. E.P.A. is hosting the meeting in response to a local resident's request.
The former Waterloo Industries facility, at 300 Ansbrough Avenue, operated as a manufacturing and metal fabricating facility from approximately 1946 to 1997. The main building at the location currently contains a recycling operation, a self-storage facility, and a gymnasium. Since 1997, several environmental investigations have been conducted at the site, revealing contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or industrial solvents, in soil, groundwater and vapors beneath the main building slab, and from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a small area of surface soil north of the main building.
E.P.A. is proposing that a vacuum extraction system be installed to extract vapors from beneath the building slab, prevent vapor intrusion into the building, and address groundwater contamination beneath the slab. The suggested remedy also includes a sub-slab depressurization system to prevent accumulation of vapors inside the building, and implementation of long-term institutional controls to restrict the property's use to industrial purposes. Vacuum extraction and venting of extracted vapors to outside air is a standard practice for remediation systems that allows vapors to dissipate safely and prevent their build-up in enclosed spaces.
EPA's suggested remedy for the facility is outlined in an official Statement of Basis document, which is accessible for review
online, or in hard copy form during normal business hours at the Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial Street, Waterloo, Iowa, 50701, or at the E.P.A. Region seven Records Center, 11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kan., 66219. E.P.A. has extended a public review period for the Statement of Basis. The period will end on
March 21, 2016. All written comments should be sent to: Dan Gravatt, E.P.A. Region seven (AWMD/WRAP), 11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kan., 66219
