[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 99 (Monday, July 14, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1419-E1421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    THE DELETION OF HARRISBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FROM SUPERFUND

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GEORGE W. GEKAS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 14, 1997

  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, exactly 2 weeks ago, during the recent Fourth 
of July recess, at 2 p.m., on Monday, June 30, 1997, I participated in 
a brief ceremony which was the culmination of an effort that spanned 
nearly my entire career in the House of Representatives. That event was 
the removal, or deletion, of the Harrisburg International Airport from 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Superfund List, the 
nationwide priority list of hazardous waste sites. Very few things in 
which I have participated during my tenure as the Member of Congress 
from the 17th District of Pennsylvania will have the stunning regional 
impact as the seemingly small and bureaucratic action of this Superfund 
list removal.
  In addition to me, those participating in the deletion ceremony 
included Bradley L. Mallory, Pennsylvania's secretary of 
transportation; Elizabeth S. Voras, deputy secretary for aviation and 
rail freight [PADOT]; Timothy Fields, Acting Administrator for Solid 
Waste and Emergency Response for the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency; Maj. Joseph Hand, Deputy District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Baltimore District; M. Joel Bolstein, deputy secretary for 
special projects, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; 
and, many of those who toiled for years to accomplish this goal.
  In 1983, hazardous contamination was discovered in the soil and 
groundwater on and around the land of the Harrisburg International 
Airport [HIA] forcing the inclusion of HIA on the Superfund list in 
June 1986. The HIA Superfund site included not only the airport,

[[Page E1420]]

but also Penn State Capital Campus and adjacent industrial areas. And, 
for the next 14 years, I and my staff worked to achieve the end that is 
this deletion--the action that formally notes that the site has been 
cleaned of contaminants to EPA's satisfaction--and also to foster the 
beginning of a potentially huge increase in investments and jobs in the 
area. The removal of this land from the purview of the EPA umbrella 
opens the area, now free from the onerous legal and regulatory 
restraints which abound under Superfund, to massive business 
development.
  Mr. Speaker, this site has become a Superfund ``how to'' example for 
formerly used defense sites [FUDS], one which we hope both the 
Department of Defense and EPA will replicate nationwide. The HIA effort 
yielded a model participant advisory panel which held monthly status/
action meetings; it offered the concept of parceling out 
noncontaminated land for development, now an EPA standard guideline; 
and, it showed how a success oriented, versus regulation oriented, 
effort could cut redtape and yield faster and easier results. All in 
all, the people of central Pennsylvania can again be quite proud of how 
they have handled a major problem with a successful resolution.
  At the end of these remarks I would like to enter into the Record 
three items related to the HIA Superfund deletion: the EPA Public 
Comment Notice for the deletion; the final statement of deletion signed 
by Secretary Mallory, Assistant Administrator Fields, Major Hand, 
Deputy Secretary Bolstein, and myself; and, the statement I made at the 
deletion event. Finally, Mr. Speaker, may I offer my thanks to all of 
those whose hard work have led to this moment: my staff, current and 
past; the MAC group, in particular Nick DiNaro of EPA; and the citizens 
who live in and around Harrisburg International Airport whose lives 
have been so long affected by this 14-year adventure.

 The United States Environmental Protection Agency Announces a Public 
Comment Period for the Middletown Air Field Site, Middletown, PA, on a 
          Proposal to: Remove the Site From the Superfund List

       The public comment period will last 30 days from the 
     published date of this announcement.
       The cleanup of a former Air Force military base located in 
     Middletown, PA has been determined to be completed by the 
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Site has been 
     on EPA's Superfund list since June 1986, after 
     trichloroethylene was found in the Harrisburg International 
     Airport water supply. The EPA is now proposing to remove the 
     Middletown Air Field Superfund Site from its Superfund list 
     since a health threat no longer exists. The property was 
     initially established Camp George Gordon Meade by the Army on 
     rolling farmland as a basic training camp in response to the 
     Spanish-American War in July, 1898. In less than a year, the 
     tent camp reverted to a pickle farm operated by H.J. Heinz, 
     Company until May 15, 1917 when ground was broken for what 
     eventually became known as the Olmsted Air Force Base in 
     September 1947. Activities throughout the history of the Site 
     included: warehousing and supply of parts, equipment, general 
     supplies, petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) for the 
     Northeast Procurement District; complete aircraft overhaul 
     including stripping, repainting, engine overhaul, reassembly, 
     and equipment replacement; engine and aicraft testing; and
       The Air Force runway and most of the Air Force industrial 
     buildings (approximately 625 acres) are currently owned by 
     the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and the Pennsylvania 
     Department of Transportation (PADOT), which maintains and 
     manages the Harrisburg International Airport (HIA). HIA 
     conducts general airport operations and maintenance, and 
     leases buildings to fixed base operators and industrial 
     tenants. Operations performed by tenants at this Site 
     include:
       aircraft maintenance operations, aircraft paint stripping 
     and repainting, and parts cleaning,
       aircraft instrument overhaul and repair,
       fabric dying,
       machine shop operations,
       typewriter ribbon inking and cartridge assembly.
       Approximately 218 acres of former administrative and 
     housing facilities north of Route 230 are owned by the 
     Harrisburg Campus of the Pennsylvania State University. An 
     additional 93 acres of former Air Force warehouse facilities 
     just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) were sold to 
     First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. in 1995 by Fruehauf 
     Industries, which still retains ownership of the North Base 
     Landfill. Fruehauf was involved in the manufacturing of truck 
     trailers with Site activities including welding, punching, 
     fastening, foaming and painting.
       Based on the results of site investigations, EPA has 
     determined that:
       No further action, except for institutional controls, is 
     necessary to address soils at the Site.
       On-going monitoring of surface water and sediment in the 
     Susequehanna River is required. In addition, selected storm 
     drains are also to be sampled and evaluated in five years. 
     The sampling frequency may be modified by the Pennsylvania 
     Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) after one 
     year.
       On-going monitoring of the sentinel wells at the North Base 
     Landfill Area is required. No other actions for this area are 
     deemed necessary at this time.
       No action is required for surface water or sediment in 
     Meade Heights.
       In the event that the HIA should cease or reduce the 
     pumping of the production wells, PADEP will assess the 
     potential for currently contained hazardous substances to 
     migrate towards the Susquehanna River and may impose a 
     sampling and review period (not to initially exceed 5 years), 
     to assess whether any impact is occurring regarding the 
     Susquehanna River. After the initial review, PADEP will again 
     review the Site's status and determine if additional action 
     is warranted.
       Ground water use will be restricted in the event any new 
     wells or modification of usage to existing wells are to be 
     implemented at the Site. Ground water use at the Site will 
     require a permit or approval by PADEP prior to use.
       Based on the results of the supplemental study 
     investigation (SSI) and BRA, no additional action, than that 
     already required by the 1987 ROD and the 1990 ROD, as 
     modified by the 1992 Explanation of Significant Differences 
     (ESD), is required at the Site. It should also be noted that 
     based upon the SSI, the objectives of the Harrisburg Airport 
     Master Plan can be realized within the requirements of the 
     ``No Further Action'' alternative by utilizing engineering 
     and institutional controls.
       All necessary design and construction activities have been 
     approved by EPA and completed. EPA is proposing to remove the 
     Middletown Air Field site from the Superfund list since no 
     further actions, other than institutional controls and 
     monitoring are required.
       Documents relating to the investigation and cleanup leading 
     to this proposed deletion are available for public review at: 
     Middletown Public Library, 20 North Catherine Street, 
     Middletown, PA 17057, (717) 944-6412 and U.S. EPA Region III, 
     841 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 566-3157.
       For further information please contact: Nick Di Nardo, 
     Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA Region III, (215) 566-3365 
     or (800) 553-2509; or William Hudson, Community Involvement 
     Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region III, (215) 566-5532 or (800) 
     553-2509.


     
                                                                    ____
                      [From the Federal Register]

   National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan; National 
                         Priorities List Update

                            40 CFR Part 300

       Agency: Environmental Protection Agency.
       Action: Notice of Deletion of the Middletown Air Field site 
     from the National Priorities List.
       Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
     announces the deletion of the Middletown Air Field Superfund 
     site in Middletown, Pennsylvania from the National Priorities 
     List (NPL). The NPL is Appendix B of the National Oil and 
     Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA 
     promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive 
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
     1980 (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania have determined that all appropriate Fund-
     financed responses under CERCLA have been implemented and 
     that no further cleanup by responsible parties is 
     appropriate. Moreover, EPA and the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania have determined that remedial actions conducted 
     at the site to date have been protective of public health, 
     welfare, and the environment.
       Effective Date: June 30, 1997.
       For further information contact: Nicholas J. DiNardo, 
     Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection 
     Agency, Regional III, (215) 566-3365.
       Supplementary information: The site to be deleted from the 
     NPL is: Middletown Air Field, Middletown, Pennsylvania.
       A Notice of Intent to Delete for this site was published 
     May 23, 1997 (53 CFR 30452). The closing date for comments on 
     the Notice of Intent to Delete was June 23, 1997. EPA 
     received no comments.
       The EPA identifies sites which appear to present a 
     significant risk to public health, welfare, or the 
     environment and it maintains the NPL as the list of those 
     sites. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of Hazardous 
     Substance Response Trust Fund (Fund-) financed remedial 
     actions. Any site deleted from the NPL remains eligible for 
     Fund-financed remedial actions in the unlikely event that 
     conditions at the site warrant such action. Section 
     300.425(e)(3) of the NCP state that Fund-financed actions may 
     be taken at sites deleted from the NPL. Deletion of a site 
     from the NPL does not affect responsible party liability or 
     impede agency efforts to recover costs associated with 
     response efforts.


                  List of Subjects in 40 CFR part 300

       Hazardous Waste


                          Part 300--[AMENDED]

       1. The authority citation for Part 300 continues to read as 
     follows:
       Authority: Section 105, Pub. L. 96-510, 94 Stat. 2764, 42 
     U.S.C. 9605 and sec. 311(c)(2), Pub. L. 92-500 as amended, 86 
     Stat. 865, 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); E.O. 12316, 46 FR 42237; 
     E.C. 11735, 38 FR 21243.

[[Page E1421]]

                          Appendix B [AMENDED]

       2. THE NPL Part 300; Appendix B, is amended a follows
       Remove: Middletown Air Field, Middletown, Pennsylvania

                                          Timothy Fields, Jr.,

                                Acting Assistant Administrator for
                               Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
       This Notice of Deletion of the Middletown Air Field site 
     from the National Priorities List is hereby concurred by:

                                         Hon. George W. Gekas,

                                              U.S. Representative,
                                      17th District, Pennsylvania.

                                           Bradley L. Mallory,

                                                        Secretary,
                        Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

                                          Maj. Joseph T. Hand,

                                         Deputy District Engineer.
                 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District.

                                             M. Joel Bolstein,

                            Deputy Secretary for Special Projects,
              Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.


     
                                                                    ____
 Statement of Congressman George W. Gekas at the HIA Deletion Ceremony 
                            on June 30, 1997

       In 1898, the land on which we stand was irrevocably 
     transformed when it became Camp George Gordon Meade of the 
     United States Army in response to the needs of the ongoing 
     Spanish-American War.
       Now, nearly 100 years later, with the signing of this 
     deletion agreement, this site will benefit from yet another 
     major transformation: from an EPA Superfund site to a PA 
     super-development site.
       In the intervening century between these two monumental 
     episodes, Olmsted Air Force Base, as the area became known, 
     served as a pickle plant, and then as a major Air Force depot 
     for engine overhauling. During WWII and the Korean War, 
     Olmsted provided critical support for the Air Force. 
     Employment at the base during the peak years topped 17,000. 
     But, in 1964, in a force downsizing reminiscent of today, 
     Olmsted Air Force Base began a three-year phaseout. The 
     action was a devasting one, substantially reducing the size 
     of the Middletown community. And 30 years ago tomorrow--July 
     1, 1967--the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took ownership of 
     the former Olmsted base.
       But the community and the region did not give in when the 
     Air Force gave up. In the intervening years, the once-
     thriving military base became an international airport, and 
     civilian, not military production took over the vacant 
     acreage. The site and region were moving towards major 
     redevelopment, turning a brownfield site, desolate from 
     neglect, into a job site, flush with entrepreneurial 
     prospects poised to create thousands of new jobs. That is, 
     until May, 1983.
       In May, 1983, job creation's forward movement ceased when 
     the discovery of volatile organic compound (VOC) 
     contamination was found in supply wells in and around the 
     Harrisburg International Airport, the now former Olmsted AFB. 
     Through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
     Resources, testing revealed a broader scope of groundwater 
     contamination than previously thought, extending to 
     surrounding homes, the Sunset Golf Course, Lisa Lakes Trailer 
     Park, and other areas.
       With the assistance of the late Senator John Heinz, Senator 
     Arlen Specter, then State Senator John Shumaker and State 
     Representative Rudy Dininni, my office contacted and worked 
     with DER, PA-DOT, the U.S. Air Force, the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, and many others, to determine the course 
     of action to be taken. In October of that year we requested 
     of the EPA that the Harrisburg International Airport be 
     included on the newly-passed National Priorities List for 
     Hazardous Sites (NPL) which would qualify the area for 
     funding through EPA's Superfund. Three years later, in June 
     of 1986, HIA was added to the NPL, the Superfund list.
       From 1986 through 1992, many meetings were held with the 
     related local, state, and federal entities in an effort to 
     determine the proper course of action for the cleanup and 
     deletion of the site. A major step forward in the effort to 
     create an effective cleanup policy was the formation of 
     the Middletown Advisory Committee (MAC), made up of 
     representatives from the affected parties. The MAC group 
     began monthly meetings to work through the many problems 
     associated with Superfund sites and devise solutions. The 
     cleanup/deletion goal, shared by all parties, created an 
     originality of thought that certainly benefited HIA, and 
     we think was very useful to EPA at other sites as well.
       While moving forward, the cleanup process was not without 
     problems. And many of those problems related to money: the 
     more cleanup done, the more it cost. And with other sites to 
     contend, and the responsible party--the Air Force--was not a 
     limitless source of funds. New funding, totaling over $9 
     million, had to be specifically appropriated for cleanup at 
     HIA through the United States Congress. My office became the 
     focal point for those appropriations requests.
       Successes began to be tallied: by 1994 the cleanup of HIA 
     was well underway; Sunset Golf Course was nearly finished. In 
     1996 the sale of a valuable parcel of uncontaminated land 
     (but still located on the grounds of the former Olmsted AFB 
     and thus the current Superfund site) on the Fruehauf Trailer 
     Corporation property occurred, spurring growth and thousands 
     of new jobs. And, by early 1997, the cleanup was all but 
     finished, leaving little but regulatory requirements and 
     paperwork.
       Which brings us to today. To this ceremony about an end and 
     a beginning.