Environmental Projects | City of Pensacola, Florida Official Website

EPA and Florida DEP Projects

American Creosote Works

The 18-acre American Creosote Works site is located on Government Street in Pensacola, Florida. It includes the area where a wood-treating facility operated from 1902 to 1981. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983 because of contaminated soil and ground water resulting from facility operations. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have investigated site conditions and taken steps to clean up the site in order to protect people and the environment from contamination. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living and working near the site. Both residents and businesses use the public water system for drinking water; private wells are for irrigation purposes only. By undertaking Five-Year Reviews, EPA and FDEP continue to protect people and the environment from site contamination.

Site investigations and cleanup activities have focused on three areas, which EPA refers to as operable units or OUs. These areas include OU-1: surface and below-ground soil and sediment; OU-2: ground water; and OU-3: off-site dioxin-impacted soil. The OU-1 cleanup is not yet complete. EPA has undertaken interim cleanup activities at the site. In 2003, EPA moved contaminated soils from surrounding residential areas onto the site and covered the soil with a temporary cap. However, EPA has not installed a final, permanent sitewide cap. For OU-2, Phase I of the two-phase DNAPL removal system has been installed. The Mobile District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently operates the DNAPL system. EPA also installed groundwater monitoring wells at 10 locations in 2007 to begin monitoring and preparation for Phase II cleanup activities. Deeper extraction wells installed in 2009 increased the rate of DNAPL recovery to about double the previous rate. The system has recovered over 185,000 gallons of creosote to date. EPA created OU-3 in 2006 based on new risk-based FDEP regulations for dioxin. OU-3 includes all off-site dioxin contamination. The Agency issued a focused FS in July 2010. EPA is currently incorporating FDEP’s input on the study into the final Focused FS Report. EPA is using the information to complete the sitewide Proposed Plan and ROD for all three OUs. An institutional control preventing the drilling of any wells on or near the site is in place and fencing around the facility prevents access to contaminated soil.

EPA is finalizing a sediment removal work plan to address contaminated sediments in the offsite Pensacola Yacht Club (PYC) ditch, leading to Pensacola Bay. The recent relocation of the City’s stormwater conveyance system in this area allows removal of contaminated sediments in the PYC ditch, which formerly served as a storm water conveyance. The sediment removal is one of the offsite interim remedial actions specified in the May 1999 Amended Record of Decision and is authorized through the Superfund State Contract between EPA and DEP.