PROPOSAL FOR EXPEDITED REMOVAL ACTIONS

AT FORT SHERIDAN

Why are expedited removal actions being proposed for Fort Sheridan?

During the investigation and cleanup process at Fort Sheridan, the Army identified four sites with contaminated surface soil in small, discrete volumes. From a range of alternatives considered by the Army, one alternative emerged as common to all four sites:

excavation and removal. This alternative provided early mitigation of risk and the most permanent approach to cleaning up the four sites of all the alternatives considered. Conducting removal actions at the sites shortens the time to achieve long-term, permanent cleanup at Fort Sheridan. The 9 criteria set forth in the U.S. EPA “A Guide To Preparing Superfiind Proposed Plans, Records Of Decision And Other Remedy Selection Decision Documents” were considered in deciding on the removal and excavation alternative and they are the following:

1. Overall protection of human health and the environment

2. Compliance with ARARs

3. Long-term effectiveness and permanence

4. Reduction of toxicity, mobility, or volume through treatment

5. Short-term effectiveness

6. Implementability

7. Cost

8. State acceptance

9. Community acceptance

What sites will be the subject of removal actions?

Building 70, Vehicle Storage Area 8 (VES 8), Coal Storage Area 3 (CSA 3) and the Water Tower Soil will have removal actions conducted.

When will the removal actions take place?

The removal actions will be completed during the 2002 construction season and will be coordinated with the construction of the caps on Landfills 6 and 7.

What will the removal actions entail?

Contaminated soil will be excavated from the four sites and the excavations will be backfllled with clean soil. Estimated volumes of contaminated soil to be removed from the sites are: 1,463 cu yd from Building 70, 1,191 cu yd from VES 8, 1,250 cu yd from CSA 3 and 1,628 cu yd from the Water Tower. Two options are available for disposing of the contaminated soil. Either the soil will be placed in trucks and hauled to an off-property permitted landfill or it will be used as fill at Landfill 6 or 7 under the impermeable cap.

Final disposal of the contaminated soil will be determined in consultation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA).

What cleanup standards have been selected for each site?

Soil will be excavated from each site until residential cleanup standards have been achieved. This means that after completion of the removal actions, all four sites will be available for unrestricted future land use. The cleanup standards that will be used were determined during the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RL/FS) process. They have been reviewed and agreed upon by the Army, the IEPA, and the U.S. EPA.