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Rogers Delinted Cottonseed - Farmersville

No further Superfund environmental response actions are required at this former cottonseed delinting processing site in Farmersville, Collin County.

Site Background

The Rogers Delinted Cottonseed Co. site is located approximately one mile east of Farmersville, at the intersection of State Highway 380 and Farm to Market Road 547 in Collin County. The site occupies 81-acres. The cottonseed delinting facility operated from 1965 to 1984, when it was abandoned. The site may be divided into three separate areas: 1) the processing area in the northwest corner of the property (approximately 20 acres); 2) irrigation fields located south and east of the processing area (approximately 30 acres); and 3) remaining undeveloped land located along the eastern portion of the site. Arsenic compounds were used to defoliate the cotton plants. The facility then delinted the cottonseeds by washing them with five percent sulfuric acid to chemically remove husks, lints, fibers, and other suspended particulate matter. The process also included the use of a fungicide to protect the delinted cottonseeds. The spent acid solution from the process area was collected in two surface impoundments. The impoundments were used as settling ponds to separate the suspended solids from the acid solution. The water from the impoundments was discharged by evaporation and irrigation of the cotton fields. A screening site inspection conducted in 1995, identified and investigated the specific areas where hazardous substances were either used, stored, or spilled. Twenty acres, formerly used to grow cotton, were sold to Step of Faith Worship Center on April 27, 1999. The religious group planned to operate a church and a private school on the property.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

  • February 1, 2000, fences were constructed around the former process building and the two surface impoundments to limit unauthorized access, and signs were posted warning of contamination.
  • January 15, 2002, a hazard ranking system (HRS) document was prepared for the Rogers Delinted Cottonseed Co. site.
  • June 26, 2002, elected city, county and state officials were sent a briefing facsimile report on the proposal of the site to the state Superfund registry.
  • June 27, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Farmersville Times describing the site, proposing the site to the state Superfund registry, and announcing a public meeting to receive citizen comments was to be held at the Farmersville City Council Chambers on August 15, 2002.
  • June 28, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (27 TexReg 5865) describing the site and proposing the site for listing on the state Superfund registry. A public meeting to receive citizen comments, was to be held at the Farmersville City Council Chambers on August 15, 2002.
  • August 15, 2002, a public meeting was held to receive comments on the proposal to list the site on the Texas Superfund registry and the proposed designation of a portion of the site as residential and the remainder as commercial/industrial use specifications for remediation of the site contamination.
  • August 15, 2002, an updated community relations plan (CRP) was prepared for the Rogers Delinted Cottonseed Co. site.
  • August 19, 2002, the contents of the drums stored in the process building were sampled and overpacked for disposal.
  • 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, a deed notice that the property has been proposed to the Superfund registry was filed with the real property records in Collin County.
  • December 4, 2002, all the drums from inside the on-site building were removed and sent to an authorized facility for disposal.
  • March 2003, field activities were completed for the first phase of the remedial investigation. Samples were collected of surface and subsurface soils, sediments, surface water and groundwater, and analyzed for the chemicals of concern.
  • May 29, 2003, the first phase technical memorandum was reviewed and comments were provided to the consultant. The pump test conducted on the monitor wells revealed that there is no groundwater bearing unit at the site. No further action on groundwater is required. Soil samples from the church property did not indicate the presence of any chemicals of concern above the health-based protective concentration level.
  • July 7, 2003, a work order was issued and field activities were started for the second phase of the remedial investigation. Field activities included decontamination of the process building, the warehouse, and delineation of an area found in the first phase to be contaminated with lead and PCB.
  • July 10, 2003, the final technical memorandum was received and approved.for the first phase of the remedial investigation.
  • November 2003, TCEQ issued a work order to develop the third phase field and sampling plan and a work order plan for a treatability study to determine options for closure of two on-site surface impoundments.
  • December 2003, TCEQ reviewed and accepted the data usability study from the second phase of the remedial investigation. Also, a work order was issued to finalize the screening level ecological risk assessment report.
  • February 2004, TCEQ approved the treatability study work plan to determine options for closure of two on-site surface impoundments.
  • March 2004, a work order was issued for a bench scale treatability study to explore treatment options for two on-site surface impoundments.
  • July 2004, TCEQ issued a work order to the contractor to amend the treatability study work plan. The amendment included a revised treatment method for the acid water in the surface impoundments.
  • November 2004, the revised treatability study work plan was approved. The contractor conducted the field work for the treatability study. The final remedial investigation technical memorandum was also approved.
  • December 2004, a work order was issued to develop a removal action plan that would initiate the “cleanup under way” status at the site.
  • December 10, 2004, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11475) announcing the intent to perform a removal action at the site. Contaminated soil, sediment and water will be removed for off-site disposal.
  • February 2005, the removal action work plan was finalized and a cost estimate was initiated.
  • April 2005, a work order was issued to perform removal and disposal of contaminated soils and sediment, and treatment and disposal of the acid water in the surface impoundments.
  • May 2005, the removal action continued, and soil has been removed and stockpiled pending disposal. Water treatment continues and the solidification is under way of sludge in pond No. 1.
  • August 2005, water treatment was complete. Solidification and filling of both ponds was complete.
  • August 31, 2005, the project manager determined that the site has been remediated to industrial/commercial levels. No further remedial action is planned under Superfund.
  • January 20, 2006, an affidavit of lien payable to the commission was filed in the Collin County real property records by the TCEQC. The lien was filed pursuant to the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, Texas Health and Safety Code §361.194, to recover the state's portion of costs associated with cleanup of the 9.979 acres involved.
  • February 23, 2006, a legal notice was published in the Farmersville Times proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c) and inviting public comment on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further Superfund remedial action is planned as long as the site is not used for residential purposes.
  • February 24, 2006, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (31 TexReg 1352) proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c) and inviting public comment on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further Superfund remedial action is planned as long as the site is not used for residential purposes. A public meeting to receive citizen comments, was to be held at the Farmersville City Council Chambers on March 30, 2006.
  • May 26, 2006, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (31 TexReg 4504), officially deleting the Rogers Delinted Cottonseed site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c). Due to remediation actions performed, it was determined that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. The fence, used to restrict access to the site, has been removed. A deed notice has been filed in the real property records of Collin County which restricts use of the property to commercial - industrial (non-residential).

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