This Work Plan outlines the scope of work to be conducted to investigate the subsurface contaminant conditions at the property formerly leased by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) in Powhattan, Kansas (Figure 1.1). Data obtained during this event will be used to (1) evaluate potential contaminant source areas on the property; (2) determine the vertical and horizontal extent of potential contamination; and (3) provide recommendations for future action, with the ultimate goal of assigning this site No Further Action status. The planned investigation includes groundwater monitoring requested by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in accordance with Section V of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the KDHE and the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The work is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. A nonprofit, multidisciplinary research center operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne provides technical assistance to the CCC/USDA with environmental site characterization and remediation at former CCC/USDA grain storage facilities. Argonne issued a Master Work Plan (Argonne 2002) that has been approved by the KDHE. The Master Work Plan describes the general scope of all …

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). This report provides results for the most recent monitoring event, in April 2008. Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), groundwater was initially sampled twice yearly for a recommended period of two years (in fall 2005, in spring and fall 2006, and in spring and fall 2007). The samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. During the recommended two-year period, the originally approved scope of the monitoring was expanded to include vegetation sampling (initiated in October 2006) and surface water and stream bed sediment sampling (initiated in March 2007, after a …

On September 8-9, 2005, representatives of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA), and Argonne National Laboratory met at the KDHE's offices in Topeka to review the status of the CCC/USDA's environmental activities in Kansas. A key CCC/USDA goal for this meeting was to obtain KDHE input on the selection of possible remedial approaches to be examined as part of the Corrective Action Study (CAS) for this site. As a result of the September meeting, the KDHE recommended several additional activities for the Everest site, to further assist in selecting and evaluating remedial alternatives for the CAS. The requested actions included the following: (1) Construction of several additional interpretive cross sections to improve the depiction of the hydrogeologic characteristics affecting groundwater and contaminant movement along the apparent main plume migration pathway to the north-northwest of the former CCC/USDA facility, and in the vicinity of the Nigh property. (2) Identification of potential locations for several additional monitoring wells, to better constrain the apparent western and northwestern margins of the existing groundwater plume. (3) Development of technical recommendations for a stepwise pumping study of the Everest aquifer unit in the …

This document reports the results of groundwater monitoring in September 2005 and March 2006 at the grain storage facility formerly operated at Morrill, Kansas, by the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA). These activities were the first and second twice yearly sampling events of the two-year monitoring program approved by the CCC/USDA and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) project managers. The monitoring network sampled in September 2005 consisted of 9 monitoring wells (MW1S-MW5S and MW1D [installed in the mid 1990s] and MW6S-MW8S [installed in 2004]), plus 3 private wells (Isch, Rillinger, and Stone). The groundwater samples collected in this first event were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dissolved hydrogen, and additional groundwater parameters to aid in evaluating the potential for reductive dechlorination processes. After the monitoring in September 2005, Argonne recommended expansion of the initial monitoring network. Previous sampling (August 2004) had already suggested that the initial network was inadequate to delineate the extent of the carbon tetrachloride plume. With the approval of the CCC/USDA and KDHE project managers, the monitoring network was expanded in January 2006 through the installation of 3 additional monitoring wells (MW9S-MW11S). Details of the monitoring well installations are …

On September 8-9, 2005, representatives of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA), and Argonne National Laboratory met at the KDHE's offices in Topeka to review the status of the CCC/USDA's environmental activities in Kansas. As a result of this meeting, the KDHE recommended several additional activities to augment the CCC/USDA's investigations at Everest, Kansas, and assist in the selection of remedial approaches to be evaluated as part of a Corrective Action Study (CAS) for this site. The requested actions included the following: (1) Construction of several additional interpretive cross sections illustrating the hydrogeologic setting along the apparent main plume migration pathway to the north-northwest of the former CCC/USDA facility, as well as in the vicinity of the Nigh property. (2) Installation of additional permanent monitoring wells, to better constrain the apparent western, northern, and northwestern margins of the existing groundwater plume. (3) Development of technical recommendations for a phased pumping study of the Everest aquifer unit in the area near and to the north of the Nigh property.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), formerly operated grain storage facilities at two different locations at Everest, Kansas (Figure 1.1). One facility (referred to in this report as the Everest facility) was at the western edge of the city. The second facility (referred to in this report as Everest East) was about 0.5 mi northeast of the town. The CCC/USDA operated these facilities from the early 1950s until the early 1970s, at a time when commercial fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were in common use by the CCC/USDA and private industry for the preservation of grain in storage. In 1997 the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) sampled several domestic drinking water and non-drinking water wells in the Everest area as part of the CCC/USDA Private Well Sampling Program. All of the sampled wells were outside the Everest city limits. Carbon tetrachloride contamination was identified at a single domestic drinking water well (the Nigh well, DW06; Figure 1.1) approximately 3/8 mi northwest of the former Everest CCC/USDA grain storage facility. Subsequent KDHE investigations suggested that the contamination in DW06 could be linked to the former use of grain fumigants at the CCC/USDA …

The 2007 investigation of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform contamination at Powhattan, Kansas, was conducted at the request of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE 2006a). The Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory implemented the investigation on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA). The primary purposes of the investigation were to evaluate potential contaminant source areas on the former CCC/USDA property, determine the horizontal and vertical extent of potential contamination, conduct groundwater monitoring, and provide recommendations for future action.

On September 7, 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) presented a Scoping Memo (Argonne 2005) for preliminary consideration by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), suggesting possible remedial options for the carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Everest, Kansas. The suggested approaches were discussed by representatives of the KDHE, the CCC/USDA, and Argonne at the KDHE office in Topeka on September 8-9, 2005, along with other technical and logistic issues related to the Everest site. In response to these discussions, the KDHE recommended (KDHE 2005) evaluation of several remedial processes, either alone or in combination, as part of a Corrective Action Study (CAS) for Everest. The primary remedial processes suggested by the KDHE were the following: Hydraulic control by groundwater extraction with aboveground treatment; Air sparging (AS) coupled with soil vapor extraction (SVE) in large-diameter boreholes (LDBs); and Phytoremediation. As a further outcome of the 2005 meeting and as a precursor to development of a possible CAS, the CCC/USDA completed the following supplemental investigations at Everest to address several specific technical concerns discussed with the KDHE: (1) Construction of interpretive cross sections at strategic locations selected by the KDHE along the main …

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. On the basis of available information, the CCC/USDA believes that one or more third parties operated this facility after termination of the CCC/USDA's lease in 1971. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), the groundwater has been sampled twice yearly for a recommended period of two years. The samples are analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. The sampling is presently conducted in a network of 12 monitoring wells and 3 private wells (Figure 1.1), at locations approved by the KDHE. The scope of the originally approved monitoring has been expanded to include …

On February 15, 2007, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) submitted Recommendations for Remedial Action at Everest, Kansas. Those Recommendations were accepted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in a letter to the CCC/USDA dated March 5, 2007. The approved Recommendations document outlines a plan for systematic groundwater sampling and monitoring at Everest to provide data necessary for the critical evaluation of remedial options - including a phytoremediation alternative - for restoration of the groundwater and protection of the surface waters of the intermittent creek at this site. Phase I of the KDHE-approved monitoring plan includes the following activities: (1) Groundwater sampling at existing monitoring wells, with analyses for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and selected biodegradation parameters; (2) Sampling of surface waters along the intermittent creek for VOCs analyses; and (3) Periodic manual measurement and automated recording of groundwater and surface water levels in the vicinity of the intermittent creek. The locations selected for groundwater and surface water sampling and analyses under the approved monitoring program were determined in consultation with the KDHE. As a result of subsequent discussions among representatives of the KDHE, the CCC/USDA, and Argonne regarding the technical program …

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), operated grain storage facilities at two different locations at Everest, Kansas (Figure 1.1). One facility (referred to in this report as the Everest facility) was at the western edge of the city of Everest. The CCC/USDA operated this facility from 1950 until the early 1970s. The second facility (referred to in this report as Everest East) was about 0.5 mi northeast of the town. The CCC/USDA operated this facility from 1954 until the early 1970s. While these two former CCC/USDA grain storage facilities were in operation, commercial grain fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were in common use by the CCC/USDA and the private grain storage industry to preserve grain. In 1997, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) sampled several domestic drinking water and nondrinking water wells in the Everest area. The KDHE sampling was part of the CCC/USDA Private Well Sampling Program, which was initiated to determine whether carbon tetrachloride was present in domestic wells near former CCC/USDA grain storage facilities in Kansas. All of the sampled domestic drinking water wells were located outside the Everest city boundaries. As a result of this sampling, carbon …

The Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) operated a grain storage facility at the western edge of Everest, Kansas, from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Sampling by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in 1997 resulted in the detection of carbon tetrachloride in one domestic well (the Nigh well) northwest of the former facility. On behalf of the CCC/USDA, Argonne National Laboratory subsequently conducted a series of investigations to characterize the contamination (Argonne 2003, 2006a,b,c). Automatic, continuous monitoring of groundwater levels began in 2002 and is ongoing at six locations. The results have consistently indicated groundwater flow toward the north-northwest from the former CCC/USDA property to the Nigh property, then west-southwest from the Nigh property to the intermittent creek. Sitewide periodic groundwater and surface water sampling with analysis for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) began in 2008. Argonne's combined data indicate no significant downgradient extension of contamination since 2000. At present, the sampling is annual, as approved by the KDHE (2009) in response to a plan developed for the CCC/USDA (Argonne 2009). This document presents a plan for collecting indoor air samples in homes located along and adjacent to the defined extent of …

On September 7, 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) presented a Scoping Memo (Argonne 2005) for preliminary consideration by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). This document suggested possible remedial options for the carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Everest, Kansas. The suggested approaches were discussed by representatives of the KDHE, the CCC/USDA, and Argonne at the KDHE office in Topeka on September 8-9, 2005, along with other technical and logistic issues related to the Everest site. In response to these discussions, the KDHE recommended (KDHE 2005) evaluation of several remedial processes, either alone or in combination, as part of a Corrective Action Study (CAS) for Everest. The primary remedial processes suggested by the KDHE included the following: (1) Hydraulic control by groundwater extraction with aboveground treatment; (2) Air sparging-soil vapor extraction (SVE) in large-diameter boreholes; and (3) Phytoremediation. As a further outcome of the 2005 meeting and as a precursor to the proposed CAS, the CCC/USDA completed the following supplemental investigations at Everest to address several specific technical concerns discussed with the KDHE: (1) Construction of interpretive cross sections at strategic locations selected by the KDHE along the main plume migration …

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE 2005), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). This report provides results for the most recent monitoring event, in October 2008. Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), groundwater was initially sampled twice yearly for a period of two years (in fall 2005, in spring and fall 2006, and in spring and fall 2007). The samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. During the two-year period, the originally approved scope of the monitoring was expanded to include vegetation sampling (initiated in October 2006) and surface water and stream bed sediment sampling (initiated in March 2007, after a visual …

Everest, Kansas, is a small rural community (population approximately 300) located in the southeast corner of Brown County, in the northeastern corner of Kansas. Carbon tetrachloride and chloroform contamination in groundwater at Everest was initially identified in 1997 as a result of testing performed under the Commodity Credit Corporation/U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) private well sampling program conducted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The KDHE collected samples from seven private wells in and near Everest. Carbon tetrachloride and chloroform were found in only one of the wells, the Donnie Nigh domestic well (owned at that time by Tim Gale), approximately 3/8 mi northwest of the former Everest CCC/USDA facility. Carbon tetrachloride and chloroform were detected at 121 {mu}g/L and 4 {mu}g/L, respectively. Nitrate was found at 12.62 mg/L. The USDA subsequently connected the Nigh residence to the Everest public water supply system. The findings of the 2011 monitoring at Everest support the following conclusions: (1) Measurements of groundwater levels obtained manually during annual monitoring in 2009-2011 (and through the use of automatic recorders in 2002-2010) have consistently indicated an initial direction of groundwater flow from the former CCC/USDA facility to the north-northwest and toward the Nigh …

This transmittal is a response to your request of January 22, 2009, for a letter work plan outlining a program of annual groundwater and surface water monitoring at Everest, Kansas. Once yearly, they propose to conduct surface water sampling at the 5 locations shown in Figure 1 and groundwater sampling in the 16 wells identified in Figure 2. The wells will be sampled according to the low-flow procedure. The next sampling event is planned for April 2009. The surface water and groundwater samples collected will be preserved, shipped, and analyzed for volatile organic compounds as in previous work at Everest. Results will be reported to the KDHE. This monitoring program will continue until identified plume conditions at the site indicate a technical justification to change the monitoring program.

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). Under the KDHE-approved Monitoring Plan (Argonne 2005b), the groundwater is being sampled twice yearly for a recommended period of two years. The samples are analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. The sampling is presently conducted in a network of 12 monitoring wells and 3 private wells (Argonne 2006a; Figure 1.1), at locations approved by the KDHE.

Carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Morrill, Kansas, was initially identified in 1985 during statewide testing of public water supply wells for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). High levels of nitrate were also present in the wells. The city of Morrill is located in Brown County in the northeastern corner of the state, about 7 mi east of Sabetha (Figure 1.1). The population of Morrill as of the 2010 Census was approximately 230 (down from 277 in 2000). All residents of Morrill now obtain their drinking water from the Sabetha municipal water system via a pipeline constructed in 1991. The findings of the April 2011 and October 2011 monitoring events at Morrill support the following conclusions: (1) Groundwater flow during the 2011 review period (as in prior years) was predominantly to the south, from the vicinity of the former CCC/USDA facility toward Terrapin Creek. Automatic water level monitoring data suggest that spring precipitation and recharge represent the predominant factors affecting the local groundwater level patterns. (2) No significant changes were observed in the concentration or distribution of carbon tetrachloride in groundwater during the spring and fall 2011 monitoring events versus the spring and fall 2010 monitoring events. In October 2011, a …

Carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Morrill, Kansas, was initially identified in 1985 during statewide testing of public water supply wells for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). High levels of nitrate were also present in the wells. The city of Morrill is located in Brown County in the northeastern corner of the state, about 7 mi east of Sabetha. The population of Morrill as of the 2000 census was approximately 277. All residents of Morrill now obtain their drinking water from the Sabetha municipal water system via a pipeline constructed in 1991. Starting in 1922, eight different public wells formerly served the Morrill municipal system at some time. Because of poor water quality, including high nitrate levels attributed to numerous animal feeding operations in the vicinity and application of fertilizer on agricultural lands, use of the local groundwater from any public well for municipal supply purposes was terminated in 1991 in favor of obtaining water from the Sabetha municipal water system. Investigations of the carbon tetrachloride and nitrate contamination by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in 1989, 1994, and 1996 (KDHE 1989; GeoCore 1994a-e, 1996) identified a localized plume of carbon tetrachloride in groundwater extending downgradient from a …

The Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) began its environmental investigations at Everest, Kansas, in 2000. The work at Everest is implemented on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, under the oversight of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The results of the environmental investigations have been reported in detail (Argonne 2001, 2003, 2006a,b). The lateral extent of the carbon tetrachloride in groundwater over the years of investigation has been interpreted as shown in Figure 1.1 (2001-2002 data), Figure 1.2 (2006 data), Figure 1.3 (2008 data), and Figure 1.4 (2009 data). The pattern of groundwater flow and inferred contaminant migration has consistently been to the north-northwest from the former CCC/USDA facility toward the Nigh property, and then west-southwest from the Nigh property (e.g., Figure 1.5 [2008 data] and Figure 1.6 [2009 data]). Both the monitoring data for carbon tetrachloride and the low groundwater flow rates estimated for the Everest aquifer unit (Argonne 2003, 2006a,b, 2008) indicate slow contaminant migration. On the basis of the accumulated findings, in March 2009 the CCC/USDA developed a plan for annual monitoring of the groundwater and surface water. This current monitoring plan (Appendix A in the report …