Derby Tank Car – past, present and future By GWYNNE ISON Derby Tank Car has been an issue for many years. While the abandoned property is not in the city limits of Ekron, it continues to be linked to the city due to its proximity. Following is a brief timeline of an ongoing process regarding the operation and cleanup of this site. The Derby Tank Car Cleaning and Manufacturing business operated at the site between 1974 and 1994. The business cleaned, painted, lined and repaired railroad tank cars. The owner of the business died during 1991. The business operated until 1994 when it was abandoned. During 1995-1996, the Superfund Branch performed an interim removal action from the abandoned property. The removal action included profiling and disposal of various substances including petroleum, animal fat, paint, paint solvents, acids and bases. Accumulations of spent sandblasting material were also disposed. The Superfund Branch conducted a number of soil and groundwater sampling exercises between 1997 and 2000. Soil sampling efforts were undertaken to measure for possible releases at several areas of former operations – the paint and sandblasting buildings, sandblasting waste storage areas and the former rail lines. On Dec. 10, 2003, Nathan Hancock and Timothy Hubbard with the Superfund Branch of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet met at the Derby Tank Car site for the purpose of holding a pre-bid meeting as part of a bid package that Hancock had issued on Dec. 2, 2003, for the profiling and containerization of a number of waste materials on the site. Present at the meeting were Dan Sundeen, Meade County Solid Waste, Mike Brady, INTECH LLC; Art Davis, Pettit Environmental; Chris Robinson and Chris Ward, Chase Environmental; and Theresa Bascom, ADR, LLC. In his report of that meeting, Mr. Hancock indicated they had identified several areas where soil contaminants were found above residential screening numbers, and he was performing state lead actions because the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet had not identified potentially responsible parties who could address the site. Later at a meeting with the mayor of Ekron, Hancock advised the cabinet did not have any identified at this time. He stated the plan was to remove the remaining waste items using Hazardous Waste Fund monies. He also explained his plans to secure a consulting firm to complete the characterization and develop a cleanup plan. During early January 2004, the Superfund Branch contracted an additional removal action to remove some additional waste materials – gas cylinders, paint wastes, oily waters and sandblasting grit – from the site. On April 16, 2004, Hubbard sent a memorandum to James Abbott, director, Division of Engineering, Department for Facilities Management. In this memo, Hubbard recommended that money from the Hazardous Waste Assessment Major Projects Account be utilized to develop a remedial proposal for the State Priority List Site known as Derby Tank Car. Since viable responsible parties are not available to correct these issues, said Hubbard, the Division proposed to address the problem pursuant to the statutory authority in KRS 224.01-400 (15)(c). He further indicated the need to procure the services of a qualified environmental engineering firm to develop a plan which included, at a minimum, research on background information that will assist in characterizing the site; a site characterization investigation consisting of soil, sediment and groundwater sampling; development of a groundwater investigation plan to characterize any impact to local groundwater quality; and development of a remediation plan based on these findings. Hubbard requested that the Superfund Branch be included within the selection committee, and for reasons of project continuity and timely completion of the project, recommended that one firm be selected to perform both the investigative and remedial work phases. He requested a total of $200,000 for the project and indicated more time and funds may be needed to complete the work. I want the citizens of Meade County to understand the chemical cleanup at Derby Tank Car has been and continues to be an ongoing effort on the part of many, not just one individual. Click Here to Go Back
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