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Melton Kelly Property

No further Superfund environmental response actions are required at this unauthorized metals salvage site in Chatfield, Navarro County.

Site Background

The Melton Kelly property site is located on County Road 3250, in a rural, agricultural area, approximately four miles northeast of Chatfield, Texas. The site is located on a 46-acre tract of pasture land and consists of three identifiable burn areas that were used for metal salvage operations. On or before February 1, 1994, salvage material (insulated copper wire, tubing, electrical parts, switches, and circuit cards, etc.) was transported to the site, placed in piles, and burned using automobile tires to ignite the debris. Recoverable metals were removed from the ash piles and presumably sold for salvage value. Remaining scrap and ash-like wastes were left in place.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

  • January 15, 2001, a hazard ranking system (HRS) documentation record was prepared for the Melton Kelly Property site.
  • July 27, 2001, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (26 TexReg 5703), and the Corsicana Daily Sun, describing the site, proposing the site for listing on the state Superfund registry, also proposing commercial/industrial land use specifications for remediation of the site contamination. The land use designation may be considered in any remedial action proposed for the site. A public meeting to receive citizen comments, was to be held at the Chatfield Community Center on August 30, 2001.
  • August 30, 2001, a public meeting was held at the Chatfield community center to receive community comments on the proposal to list the Melton Kelly property on the Superfund registry and use commercial/industrial land use specifications for
    remediation of the site contamination.
  • October 15, 2001, a community relations plan was prepared for the Melton Kelly Property site.
  • November 20, 2001, TNRCC issued a work order to initiate the remedial investigation at the site.
  • December 5, 2001, a second round of well sampling was completed.
  • January 3, 2002, a fence was constructed around the largest spot of contamination to limit unauthorized access and signs were posted warning of contamination.
  • February 25, 2002, letters were sent to nearby residential water well owners, advising them of the results of the second round of well sampling.
  • July 26, 2002, TNRCC's contractor conducted field work installing and sampling on-site monitor wells, collecting soil, sediment, and waste samples.
  • September 1, 2002, effective date of the name change from Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
  • November 4, 2002, TCEQ reviewed and approved the report of the results of phase 1 of the remedial investigation.
  • November 14, 2002, the TCEQ project manager visited the site with the contractor to survey previous sampling locations and to identify locations for additional sampling.
  • December 3, 2002, TCEQ issued a work order to the contractor to perform additional sampling, which will initiate the second phase of the remedial investigation.
  • December 12, 2002, based on the review of the first phase technical memorandum, which summarized distribution of contaminants of concern found during the first round of sampling, TCEQ amended the field sampling plan.
  • January 22, 2003, TCEQ's contractor initiated field sampling for the second phase of the remedial investigation. The contactor collected additional samples from soil at the burn site. In addition, another round of surface water samples was taken and a second round of monitoring well sampling was completed.
  • February 5, 2003, TCEQ visited the site to locate the positions of additional sediment and soil samples. The purpose of the additional sampling was to attempt to establish the horizontal boundary of the contamination.
  • February 6, 2003, the pipe in the existing house well was removed and a piezometer was installed and the groundwater was sampled.
  • February 28, 2003, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (28 TexReg 1970) announcing the intent to perform a removal action at the site.
  • March 6, 2003, TCEQ sent out letters to the potentially responsible parties, requesting a good-faith offer to perform a removal action at the site. The letters specified a deadline for a response.
  • March 11, 2003, TCEQ issued a work order to the contractor to prepare a sampling and monitoring report for the two sampling events since the first phase technical memorandum.
  • March 25, 2003, TCEQ requested the contractor to prepare a cost proposal for the removal of contaminated soils and sediment.
  • March 26, 2003, TCEQ issued a work order to finalize the ecological risk assessment.
  • April 15, 2003, the remedial investigation sampling was completed, and it was determined that a removal of the contamination would complete the remediation of the site. A wetland delineation is required before the removal can take place. TCEQ issued a work order to the contractor to prepare a removal work plan.
  • May 15, 2003, a wetland delineation report was completed and submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approval and issuance of a permit for the removal of the contamination from the site.The completion of the wetland delineation report completed the ecological risk assessment of the site.
  • June 5, 2003, TCEQ mailed letters to residents in the area of the site, informing them of plans for upcoming soil removal. The letters outlined the purpose, time and dates of the work, area of excavation, and advised local residents to expect an increase in truck traffic during the removal.
  • June 6, 2003, a permit for the removal of the contamination from the site was issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. TCEQ approved the contractor's removal work plan.
  • August 1, 2003, removal of contaminated soil was completed, and the excavated material was treated to meet Class 2 non-hazardous waste disposal standards. Confirmation sampling was done to ensure that waste was ready for off-site disposal and cleanup standards. The excavated area was then backfileld with clean fill material.
  • August 19, 2003, TCEQ accepted the removal report and concluded in a memo to the file that the site was cleaned to commercial/industrial standards and no further remedial action was warranted.
  • November 14, 2003, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register, (28 TexReg 10330) and the Corsicana Daily Sun, proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC &167;335.344(c), and inviting public comment on the determination that due to removal actions that have been performed, the site no longer presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action is necessary. A public meeting to receive citizen comments is to be held at the Chatfield-Tupelo Community Center in Chatfield on December 18, 2003. A notice has been filed with the real property records in Navarro County that the site is not appropriate for residential land use.
  • December 18, 2003, a public meeting was held at the Chatfield-Tupelo Community Center in Chatfield, to receive community comments on the determination that due to removal actions that have been performed, the site no longer presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment, and on the intent to delete the Melton Kelly property site from the Superfund registry. No further remedial action is planned.
  • February 13, 2004, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register, (29 TexReg 1439), officially deleting Melton Kelly Property from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC 335.344(c). No challenges or comments were received on the determination that the site no longer posed an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. In accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code §361.188(d), a notice will be filed in the real property records of Navarro County, stating that the site has been deleted from the state Superfund registry.

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