[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.