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IRP Site 1114 – 41 Area Arroyo Site
IRP Site 1114 is located approximately one mile south of Las Flores Creek and one-half mile east of the Pacific Ocean, adjacent to former IRP Site 9, the Former Waste Stabilization Pond in the 41 Area. Following the issuance of an Explanation of Significant Differences, the single monitoring well at former IRP Site 9, where remedial action objectives had not been met was designated as IRP Site 1114.
A preliminary assessment and site inspection were conducted from 2004 through 2009, followed by a remedial investigation in 2011. The investigation found detections of volatile organic compounds and petroleum related volatile organic compounds in soil gas, and high concentrations of the volatile organic compound tetrachlorethylene in groundwater. The source of contamination in groundwater is thought to be from a localized, undocumented surface release.
A removal action was conducted at IRP Site 1114 in 2013 to reduce the tetrachlorethylene concentration groundwater, thereby reducing potential human health risk. Excavation of trenches, for the installation of extraction wells, extraction of impacted groundwater, in situ treatment of groundwater, and off-site disposal of extracted groundwater and excavated soil were completed. Concentrations of tetrachlorethylene have remained stable over seven sampling events but are still above remediation goals.
A record of decision for IRP Site 1114 was published in August 2020 documenting the final remedy for the site, which consists of establishing land use controls to prevent use of contaminated water and implementing a monitored natural attenuation program. The site will continue to be monitored and evaluated through 5-year reviews while contaminant concentrations in groundwater continue to exceed remedial goals.
IRP Site 1116 – 14 Area Groundwater
IRP Site 1116 was added to the IRP in 2007 in response to contaminants detected during investigations of nine underground storage tank (UST) subsites in 14 Area. The contaminants of concern at IRP Site 1116 are volatile organic compounds, primarily trichloroethylene, and fuel-related compounds at subsites identified as 1491, 14008, and 14112. The extent of IRP Site 1116 contaminated groundwater plume around subsites 1491 and 14008 stretches from north of Building 14010, south to the surface drainage near the intersection of 15th and E Street and approximating 2,000 feet northeast along the drainage to the northeast side of 16th Street. The extent of IRP Site 1116 contaminated groundwater plume around subsite 14112 is located approximately 1,600 feet northwest of Site 1116, along the east side of Vandegrift Boulevard north of 17th Street.
A site inspection was completed in 2010 and six of the nine subsites were found to not warrant further action under the IRP. In 2014, an IRP site investigation was conducted to characterize the extent of volatile organic compounds in groundwater at UST subsites 14112, 1491, and 140008. A 2014 removal action addressed volatile organic compounds and fuel-related compounds in soil and groundwater at these three subsites to reduce potential risks to human health and the environment.
A site inspection was initiated in 2014 to delineate the extent of volatile organic compounds in groundwater and trends in trichloroethylene concentrations at the three IRP Site 1116 subsites following the removal actions. Performance monitoring followed removal action activities in 2014 and 2015 and an additional investigation was conducted in 2016 and 2017 to optimize treatment choices for the site. The Navy added indoor air monitoring at barracks near the plume to determine if there was a risk to residents. No volatile organic compounds were detected in indoor air.
A 2018 action memorandum was approved outlining a removal action for groundwater at IRP Site 1116 to protect residents from any potential contamination. The action, implemented from 2018 into 2020, includes enhanced in situ bioremediation to treat the groundwater contaminant plume by substrate injections, groundwater sampling, indoor air sampling, and additional monitoring well installation. This action and prior removal actions have included the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil and the injection of over 85,000 gallons of substrate into 183 groundwater injection wells located along the length of the volatile organic compound contaminant plume.
During the removal action, the groundwater plume was traced upgradient to an outside storage area located immediately north of Building 1132, a maintenance garage in 11 Area that currently used by the U.S. Marine Corps in support of grounds maintenance. An IRP site inspection was completed in February 2020 around Building 1132 to evaluate soil contamination and determine if the area could potentially be a continuing source of contamination to groundwater and vapor intrusion into the building. No threat to groundwater or indoor air was found at Building 1132.
A proposed plan for Site 1116 was prepared outlining the Navy’s preferred remedial alternatives of monitored natural attenuation with long-term groundwater monitoring, land use controls, and groundwater treatment via enhanced in situ bioremediation as needed. A record of decision is currently under development. In the interim, the Navy continues to monitor groundwater and indoor air on a semiannual basis, reporting to the regulatory agencies annually.
IRP Site 1118 – 21/26 Area Groundwater
IRP Site 1118 includes subsites 21565, 2664, and 520400. The subsites were former underground storage tank sites previously classified and investigated as petroleum sites that are in 21 Area, 26 Area, and 52 Area, respectively. Elevated concentrations of chlorinated, non-petroleum-related volatile organic compounds have also been reported historically in groundwater at these sites. As a result, IRP Site 1118 was established in 2007 under the CERCLA process to further investigate these organic compounds.
Subsite 2664 was part of an underground storage tank (UST) program investigation in the 1990s. Volatile organic compounds were reported at relatively low concentrations throughout the site. A 2010 site inspection and a 2013 extended site inspection were conducted. Risk assessment results for soil, soil gas, and groundwater supported a no further action recommendation for Subsite 2664, and the site was closed.
Subsite 21565 consisted of one 1,500-gallon reinforced concrete tank with a direct fill pipe and 56 feet of product and return piping that were removed in 1997. A 1998 UST program site assessment was completed at Subsite 21565 and diesel was detected in soil and groundwater. In 2004 and 2005, 85 tons of soil were removed prior to the construction of Building 210568 on the site of former Building 21565. Diesel was still present in groundwater but below project screening level but multiple volatile organic compound detections above their project screening levels in soil, soil vapor, and groundwater were reported in a 2014 extended site inspection report.
Additional investigation was performed at Subsite 21565 in 2017 to refine the nature and extent of potential contamination, and a data gap study was published in May 2019. A soil removal action and additional investigation was recommended. Two pilot studies were completed in 2017 and 2018. A soil vapor extraction system removed approximately 2 kilograms of trichloroethylene from the subsurface, and chemical amendments were injected in three areas during two events. A 2019 work plan for the collection of additional subsurface data and to delineate contamination and prepare a remedial investigation and feasibility study report has been finalized in advance of the planned fieldwork.
Subsite 520400 consisted of a former gas station in operation from 1965 to 1994 that contained two 10,000-gallon tanks with piping. The subsite was characterized under the UST program in 1998 and 2000. Approximately 563 cubic yards of soil impacted with fuel-related volatile organic compounds were removed from the source zone and disposed of off-site. Monitoring wells were installed, natural attenuation was selected as the remedy, and the site was closed under the underground storage tank program in 2005. Various volatile organic compounds including non-fuel related constituents were later detected in groundwater, resulting in the site’s transfer to the CERCLA program as part of IRP Site 1118 in 2007. A 2010 site inspection and a 2013 extended site inspection detected various non-fuel related volatile organic compounds above project screening levels in groundwater and soil gas as well as fuel-related volatile organic compounds in soil gas.
Additional investigation was performed at Subsite 520400 in 2017 to refine the nature and extent of potential contamination, and a data gap study was published in May 2019. A vapor intrusion/indoor air risk evaluation was completed in 2021 and concluded that site contaminant did not pose a risk to building occupants. Both Subsite 520400 and 21565 are currently being evaluated in the remedial investigation report/feasibility study.
IRP Site 1119 – 26 Area Groundwater
IRP Site 1119 was created to investigate the source or sources of chlorinated solvents in the 26 Area. It is defined as a plume of the volatile organic compound trichloroethylene in groundwater approximately 30 acres in areal extent, located near the southern boundary of the base, north of Vandegrift Boulevard. Facilities within this area of the base include various industrial operations, office buildings, and undeveloped land. Trichloroethylene was discovered at two of the wells that were scheduled to be production wells and further investigation was needed to delineate the extent of contamination and to locate the source.
No previous investigations or remedial actions were documented at this site before a 2014 remedial investigation report and feasibility study summarizing investigations conducted between 2008 and 2013. A 2016 design study, which incorporated sampling of 36 wells within the sub-basin, helped define the nature and extent of the IR Site 1119 plume to an area near Buildings 2611 and 2622.
The record of decision for IRP Site 1119 was published in 2015, and the selected remedy includes land use controls and long-term monitoring, in situ enhanced bioremediation, and installation and operation of a reactive barrier designed to destroy contaminants in groundwater. The permeable reactive barrier was completed and documented in a January 2020 completion report, and implementation of the remainder of the remedy is underway. The site is monitored and reported on annually to the regulatory agencies.
IRP Site 1120 – Stuart Mesa Pesticide Maintenance Areas
IRP Site 1120 was created in 2012 to address contamination caused by unauthorized releases from agricultural maintenance activities. The site consists of fifteen subsites located within the 664 acres of property known as the Stuart Mesa Agricultural Fields, which was leased for row crop farming from the 1940s to 2011. Twelve were identified as areas of concern during 2011 environmental assessment activities at the site in support of real estate agreement closure, and three were later added because of a 2012 risk assessment.
The former lessee at IR Site 1120 completed a removal action in 2012 that included excavations at six locations within four subsites. Approximately 941 tons of soil with elevated potential contaminant of concern concentrations of pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum hydrocarbons were removed from targeted source areas based on analytical results from the 2011 environmental assessment activities. Confirmation soil sampling was performed at the excavation areas as part of the remedial investigation fieldwork performed in 2014 and 2015. Results showed that impacted soil at five of six locations remained at concentrations above cleanup goals.
The remedial investigation identified soil as the only media with unacceptable risk due to contaminants of concern. Contamination in soil was most likely due to unauthorized releases of pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum hydrocarbons to the surface soil via leaks and spills during chemical storage and mixing; equipment and vehicle washing, maintenance, and storage; fuel storage and filling; and produce processing.
The remedial investigation report and feasibility study finalized in 2020 supported the finding that exposure to contaminated soil was a potential threat to human health and ecological receptors. A 2019 removal action was conducted to address pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum contamination in soil at each of the subsites. Following excavation of the planned areas, confirmation sampling continues to indicate exceedances of the remedial goals.
The Navy is currently in discussions with the agencies and installation on how to address the heterogeneity of the site. Concurrently, the Navy is investigating the impacts on sediment in Cockleburr Creek from stormwater runoff from the Maintenance Facility Compound on the eastern side of IRP Site 1120. The investigation concluded that runoff did not adversely affect sediment or downstream ecological receptors and was concurred with by the regulatory agencies.
IRP Site 1121 – IRP Site 1D Groundwater
IRP Site 1121 was created in 2012 to address groundwater beneath former IRP Site 1D. The site consists of a groundwater plume with elevated concentrations of volatile organic compounds, metals, and pesticides in the 20 Area, at the intersection of Vandegrift Boulevard and Stuart Mesa Road.
A remedial action was conducted in 2007 and 2008 to remove contaminated soils from former IRP Site 1D. Following the remedial action, groundwater was found to be impacted, and IRP Site 1121 was created to investigate the groundwater contamination.
A data gap analysis investigation was performed in 2012 to delineate the nature and extent of volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and arsenic in groundwater at IRP Site 1121 because of a release from former leaking drums unearthed during the 2008 remedial action. Following the data gap analysis investigation, a remedial investigation was conducted.
Soil vapor results indicated that the trichloroethylene concentration in deep soil vapor was consistently higher than in shallow soil vapor. The current soil vapor data indicates a potential risk to future potential indoor air receptors. A variety of volatile organic compounds and arsenic and aluminum were detected in groundwater and exceeded their respective maximum contaminant level, although most of the contaminants were at concentrations below regulatory criteria.
The remedial investigation was completed in 2017 and an initial pilot study was completed from 2019 to 2021. The pilot study evaluated if enhanced in situ bioremediation (EISB) and in situ chemical reduction (ISCR) were effective alternatives for site remediation. The report concluded that additional EISB/ISCR injections be conducted to continue reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in groundwater and VOC volatilization from groundwater into soil gas. In addition, the initial pilot study recommended a follow on pilot study to evaluate soil vapor extraction technology in reducing VOC concentrations in soil vapor and groundwater and a bench scale arsenic treatability study to evaluate potential remedial alternatives to address high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater. The follow on pilot study is currently underway.
IRP Site 1122 – San Clemente Skeet Range
IR Site 1122 is the former Elks Lodge Skeet Range located on the northern border of MCB Camp Pendleton bordering the City of San Clemente. The former range had two shooting stations located in the City of San Clemente. The direction of fire was to the east onto land leased by the Base to the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. The range, which was in operation until 2010, was never used or operated by the Marine Corps.
The shotfall zone associated with the skeet range is in a small east-west oriented valley that contains a non-perennial stream running to the east through MCB Camp Pendleton property towards the San Mateo Creek valley. The terrain is heavily vegetated with steep to moderate slopes along each side of the valley.
An initial site assessment was completed in 2012, and included a limited number of soil, sediment, and surface water samples. A formal site assessment was conducted at the site in 2014 to further characterize the nature and extent of contamination. The site was split into four areas of concern (AOC) described as the clay target fall zone, the shotfall zone, the concentrated shotfall zone, and the non-perennial stream.
Currently, the Navy is performing the fieldwork for the remedial investigation. The primary intent of this remedial investigation is to further define nature and extent of the chemicals of potential concern at each AOC and evaluate risk to potential human and ecological receptors.
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