Clean up at International Paper in Virginia completed

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the clean up at International Paper’s Franklin, Virginia facility has been completed. International Paper utilized the EPA’s Facility Lead Program.

The clean up, completed on the 3,660-acre site, will continue to be monitored by International Paper under the supervision of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

EPA’s final decision prohibits any residential use of the site and prohibits the use of groundwater from the upper level aquifer. It also requires International Paper to implement a water monitoring program and conduct regular inspection and maintenance at the site which has been covered with an impermeable cap.

The site is located on the Blackwater River in Isle of Wight County, eight miles from the North Carolina state line.

The corrective action was undertaken pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. However, instead of issuing a corrective action permit requiring work to be done under a highly restrictive legally mandated structure, EPA invited International Paper to join and perform the clean up under EPA’s Facility Lead Program (FLP). This program invites businesses like International Paper, which meet certain standards of environmental citizenship, cooperation and technical ability, to complete the required clean-up on a more self-directed track, while still under the supervision of EPA.

As part of the corrective action clean up, International Paper conducted a site characterization which included surface and subsurface soil sampling, sediment and surface water sampling and groundwater sampling.

Prior to, and following the samplings, International Paper completed work involving the removal of waste materials from several on-site solid waste management units, including: the removal of 37,422 tons of lime mud and soil; and 9,519 tons of tall oil and solids.