Three sites on the Elizabeth
River have been placed on the National Priorities List ("Superfund"
sites) by EPA for contamination levels in need of clean up:
The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), Region III, assures that these Superfund sites are cleaned
up in accordance with federal regulations.
The grassroots, non-profit
Elizabeth River Project promotes voluntary action, beyond regulatory
requirements, for river facilities. The Elizabeth River Project provides
a forum for
voluntary cooperation among all interests participating in
cleanup efforts, including Superfund sites, non-listed sites and public
and private agencies. The Sediment Remediation Partnership Committee of
the Elizabeth River Project provides a voluntary forum for public and
private interests, including Superfund sites, non-listed sites, federal,
state and private agencies, to share data and coordinate cleanup plans
for maximum effectiveness. For more information, contact Joe Rieger,
757-399-RIVR, jrieger@elizabethriver.org . (Click here for file transfer)
EPA has placed Atlantic Wood
Industries, Inc., Norfolk Naval Shipyard and St. Juliens Annex on the
National Priorities List, which is a listing of the nation's most
serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. More
information for each site is available at the links below.
Atlantic
Wood Industries, Inc. -
The 47.5-acre site is the location of a former
wood-treatment facility just south of the Jordan Bridge and the Norfolk
Naval Shipyard along the banks of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth
River in Portsmouth, Virginia.
- Focused Feasibility Study
- Alternative Summary OU1 Soil and
DNAPL
File size: 4 MB
- Feasibility Study
- Alternative SummaryOU2 Groundwater
File size: 3 MB
- Feasibility Study
- Alternative Summary OU3 River Sediment
File size: 2 MB
Norfolk Naval Shipyard -
The site includes the main shipyard area and
three landfills along Paradise Creek in Portsmouth, Virginia. The
Norfolk Naval Shipyard is recognized as a “Model Level†River Star as
part of Elizabeth River Project’s River Star program for recent
exemplary progress cleaning up several Superfund landfills. For more
information, contact Pam Boatwright, 757-399-RIVR,
pboatwright@elizabethriver.org
Collaborative Efforts Recognized! Staff from the Navy and its
contractors, EPA, the Elizabeth River Project, Atlantic Wood Industries,
the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia
Institute of Marine Science received the 2004 Coastal America Spirit
Award in recognition of the restoration work done at the Atlantic Wood
and Norfolk Naval Shipyard sites. The Coastal America Spirit Award is
presented to unique, multi-agency partnerships that demonstrate the
Coastal America spirit of teamwork in restoring and protecting our
nation's coastal resources. Coastal America is a partnership among
federal, state and local governments and private alliances to address
environmental problems affecting our nation's coast, waterways and
wetlands.
St. Juliens Creek Annex (US Navy) -
The 490-acre site is located at the
confluence of St. Julien’s Creek and the Southern Branch of the
Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, Virginia. The site has a long history of
use for storage, assembly and testing naval gun ammunition.
The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is
an active partner in the Elizabeth River cleanup and has developed a
GIS-based Watershed Database and Mapping Project to facilitate clean-up
and restoration activities. The project includes an inventory of
contaminated sediment data and other information that supports
conceptual models that help understand the risks and what clean-up
approaches would best help the river.
