PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that addresses a source of contaminated soil at the former Shaffer Equipment Company (SEC) property in Minden, West Virginia. Today’s ROD, which applies to the polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) located at the SEC property at the Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Area Superfund Site (Site), lays out in detail why EPA has concluded that the proposed plan and selected cleanup method will meet the needs of the project.
“EPA’s Record of Decision is a significant step forward in protecting the community and waterway from the threat of contaminants like PCBs, and there is still more work to be done,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Administrator Adam Ortiz. “EPA will continue to investigate and study the remaining portions of the site and will work with our partners at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prepare for the cleanup of the property.”
The site is comprised of the SEC property, Arbuckle Creek sediments, and a handful of other areas where related contamination may be located. Site soils and sediment were historically contaminated with PCBs, which were used by the Shaffer Equipment Company from 1970 to 1984 to manufacture electrical substations for the local coal mining industry.
The components of the SEC property cleanup plan include the excavation, removal, and disposal of the contaminated soil and cap, and backfilling with clean soil as needed. The cleanup method will be designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Once the design is complete, the remedial action, or property cleanup, can begin.
The EPA is also continuing to direct a very detailed investigation of the contamination in Arbuckle Creek and the New River watershed and properties adjacent the creek (see map below).
In 2017, the EPA, hearing concerns from the community about residual contamination, resampled the site and held public meetings in 2017 and 2018 to share and review the results. Testing found low PCB levels that did not indicate an immediate threat to human health. Most of the contamination was found in the creek floodplains and had moved down and deposited into land parcels along the creek. The EPA listed the Site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in 2019.
EPA released the proposed SEC property cleanup plan for public comment in March 2023. During the public comment period, EPA held a public meeting to inform the community of the plan and to receive public comments. To read the EPA’s ROD and to view EPA’s responses to public comments, please visit www.epa.gov/superfund/shaffer.
EPA in West Virginia
The EPA has a new ArcGIS Story Map that explores the infrastructure, community, and revitalization work in West Virginia. This easy-to-use tool shows where some of the $500 million the EPA has invested in West Virginia is being used, what communities and environmental resources are benefiting from infrastructure projects, and how the public and stakeholders can learn more about current EPA activities in the state. Learn more about how the EPA works in West Virginia by visiting our new public Story Map here!