Purpose

This Decision Document (DD) is prepared in accordance with the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (ACSIM) memorandum (ACSIM, 2003) detailing policies for staffing and approving DDs, Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) management guidance (DERP, 2001) and the RFAAP RCRA Permit, Part II sect. D (4) (USEPA, 2000) (EPA ID No. VA1210020730). This DD describes the selection of No Further Action for Solid Waste Management Unit 58 - the "Rubble Pile" at Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP). No Further Action was selected in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA), the RFAAP Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit requirements (USEPA, 2000) (EPA ID No. VA1210020730), and the Final RCRA Corrective Action Plan (USEPA, 1994), as applicable.

SWMU 58 is located in the south-central portion of the Horseshoe Area, east of the main bridge over the New River and directly west of SWMU 32 (Inert Waste Landfill No. 1). There are several buildings, an overhead steam pipe, and gravel and paved roads in the vicinity. SWMU 58 is roughly triangular in shape with each side approximately 300 ft long. Although the pile is irregular in height, the highest elevation point measured at the top of the pile during the advancement of soil boring 58SB04 in July 2002 was 1,771 ft msl or 35 ft above the natural ground surface elevation of 1,736 ft msl. According to facility representatives interviewed during a March 1990 facility visit, SWMU 58 was used as a one-time construction debris disposal site in 1979. During clearing activities prior to the construction of the Continuous Automated Multi-Base Line (CAMBL), pine trees and surface debris were pushed into a pile and then covered with dirt and fill material. It is believed that vegetation (trees/brush) from the clearing activities was burned to reduce the volume of the pile. It is also believed that no other materials were disposed at SWMU 58.

The results of the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) human health and ecological risk assessment results indicated that no unacceptable risk is associated with unrestricted reuse of the SWMU 58 area. This is a more-conservative use of the property than the current or anticipated future land use for SWMU 58 (open riparian space). Based on no unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, the Army has selected No Further Action as the preferred remedial alternative for SWMU 58 with concurrence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region III, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) and the U.S. Army for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM). Documents supporting this decision are located in the RFAAP information repository.