Castle Air Force Base

Description and History

The Castle Air Force Base (CAFB) site comprises 2,777 acres and is located in Atwater, California. The installation originally was used as an aircrew training facility by the Army in 1941. The Strategic Air Command assumed responsibility for the base in 1946. Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners. Base activities also have generated lesser amounts of paints and plating wastes. The Air Force disposed bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges in pits at landfills around the base until 1977. Fuel and waste oils were incinerated by the Air Force during fire training exercises. The Air Force ceased disposal of hazardous waste on site in 1977, and the base was officially closed in 1995. Investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) spill areas.

In September 2006, the USEPA published the Preliminary Closeout Report (PCOR) for the Former Castle Air Force Base. This report marked "construction completion", which is a major milestone in the Superfund Cleanup Process. Construction completion, as defined in USEPA guidance, means that the all of the physical construction for the remedies is complete and all major cleanup decisions have been made in Records of Decision.


The Revitalization of the Former Castle Air Force Base

In the December 2006, the final deeds were signed and the Former Castle Air Force Base has now been completely transferred, meaning the Air Force no longer owns property at the site. In the final round of land transfers, the County of Merced received over 1,900 acres of land including the airfield. Other recipients of the land include: the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Bureau of Prisons, the City of Atwater, and Castle Gardens Redevelopment.

Through the efforts of the County of Merced, with the assistance of the FAA and the State, Castle Airport has undergone significant renovations. As a result, the airport has been fully converted from a military facility to a certified commercial airport. In addition, the county has purchased/installed the equipment to reactivate the airport control tower and hired a tower operator company to manage flight operations. The FAA approved the airport for commerical use in 2006, and it became fully operational January 30, 2007. The county has also been awarded a grant to build a passenger terminal for future flight operations.

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Contaminants and Risks

Groundwater in the shallow and subshallow aquifers in the Main Base and the North, East, and West Flightline areas is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and benzene. Additionally, groundwater underlying a residential housing area located adjacent to the southwest portion of the Base is contaminated with cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE). Soils in the Main Base, the East Sector, and the West Flightline Sectors are contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including TCE, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene. Future workers and residents could be exposed to contaminants by accidentally ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated soil. Because groundwater is used by local farmers to irrigate crops, area residents also could be exposed to airborne concentrations of TCE in dusts, and contaminants bioaccumulated in area produce.

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Who is Involved

The US Air Force is the lead agency for this site, with the U. S. EPA and the State of California providing oversight. The FFA for this site was signed in 1990.

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Investigation and Cleanup Activities

The groundwater contamination at the site is being addressed in five stages: immediate actions, one interim action concerning the shallow aquifer, and three long-term remedial phases focusing on cleanup of: 1) Disposal Area-4 and Wallace Road; 2) the off-base groundwater and sub-shallow aquifers; and 3) the entire base. The site was originally divided in to three operable units, two groundwater OUs (OU1 and OU2) and one soil OU. The soil OU is referred to as the Source Control Operable Unit (SCOU). The two groundwater OUs were later combined into one groundwater OU in the Comprehensive Basewide ROD - Part 1.

Initial Actions

The Air Force installed two deep wells in 1988 to replace TCE contaminated water supplies: one for the City of Atwater and one to meet on-base needs. In 1989, the Air Force also built a granular activated carbon filtration system to treat TCE contaminated groundwater. Prior to the installation of these filters, the Air Force supplied area residents with bottled water.

Site Studies

In 1989, a study was initiated to evaluate the nature and extent of soil contamination at over 200 sites that comprise the Source Control Operable Unit (SCOU) and to determine the most effective methods for addressing the contamination. Investigation of the sites continued under an RI from 1993 to 1997 to define the nature and extent of contamination at each site. The SCOU Remedial Investigation /Feasibility Study (RI/FS) report was released in 1997. In order to address data daps in the original RI, a follow up SCOU Data Gap Investigation was published in 1999.

The Comprehensive Basewide RI/FS- Part 1 was published in 1996. The field work for this document used data from previous studies including the earlier SCOU investigations in order to scope out the potential areas of groundwater contamination. The reason the SCOU sites are linked to groundwater is because contaminated soil can serve as a source for contamination to the groundwater. As rain water travels to the groundwater aquifer, it can carry with it contaminants within the soil.

The Remedial Investigation for Comprehensive Basewide ROD- Part 2, dated December 2002, centered on integrating the data from both the SCOU RI and CB-Part 1 RI in order to create a comprehensive RI report. This integration of data demonstrated a relatively direct relationship between soil contamination (SCOU RI) and groundwater contamination (CB-Part 1 RI). The organic contaminants of potential concern that were found in both the soil and groundwater included TCE, cis-1, 2 DCE, PCE and benzene. The majority of organic contaminants of concern that were found exclusively in the soil include PAHs, pesticides, and PCBs. The inorganic contaminants of concern for both soil and groundwater were primarily metals.

Remedies Selected

As of 2006, all final remedies at CAFB have been selected.

The Former Castle Air Force Base now has five final Records of Decision (RODs):

1) SCOU ROD- Part 1: This ROD was finalized in 2002 and addressed 169 of the 233 SCOU Sites. This ROD selected no further action for 137 of the 169 sites. In addition, 32 sites were selected for no further action under CERCLA because they were petroleum-only sites, which are not regulated under CERCLA. The State of California oversees the petroleum-only sites.

2) SCOU ROD - Part 2: This ROD was finalized in 2003 and covers 53 of the 233 SCOU sites at CAFB. This ROD documented 12 additional sites that were exempt from CERCLA due to petroleum-only contamination. In addition, 14 more sites were selected for no further action. The ROD also selected Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) as the remedy for 21 sites with VOCs and fuel hydrocarbons. (These sites were not exempt from CERCLA because the fuel hydrocarbons were commingled with VOCs.) The final six sites addressed under this ROD were waste oil tank and oil/water separator (OWS) tank sites. These sites were contaminated with fuel hydrocarbons, semi-volatile organic compounds and metals. The tank sites were all selected for excavation and disposal of both the tanks and the associated contaminated soil.

3) SCOU ROD - Part 3: This ROD addressed the remaining 11 out of 233 SCOU sites. The ROD selected cap maintenance and monitoring as well as institutional controls for the Landfills 4 and 5 and their associated sites (6 sites total.) In addition, ecological monitoring was selected for Landfill 5. Also, no further action was decided for Disposal Pit 9. As for two former skeet shooting ranges ETC-8 and ETC-10, the ROD selected excavation and disposal for ETC-8, and institutional controls and ecological monitoring for ETC-10. The ROD also selected SVE, cap maintenance and monitoring, institutional controls, ecological monitoring and excavation and disposal for the former Fire Training Area (FTA-1). Finally, landfill 3 and ETC-12 were selected for ecological monitoring. The institutional controls outlined in this ROD prevent tampering with the caps that are protecting the public and ecological receptors from waste left in place at the landfills.

4) Comprehensive Basewide (CB) ROD- Part 1: This ROD, finalized in 1997, combined the two groundwater operable units (OUs), OU1 and OU 2. This ROD supersedes the interim ROD for OU1 and the ROD for OU2. A three phase pump and treat system was selected for the Main Base Plume with the goal of treating TCE and other contaminants until they reached the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). As for the East Bay Plume, the selected remedy involved the sealing and abandonment of wells to protect against further cross-contamination of hydrostratigraphic zones. (The groundwater underneath CAFB is divided into discrete layers, known as hydrostratigraphic zones, which normally don't mix much; however, wells can act as conduits allowing contaminated water to more easily move vertically from one discrete layer to another discrete layer of groundwater.) The selected remedy for Castle Vista Plume was a pump-and - treat system to capture the contaminated plume and treat groundwater to maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). By treating groundwater to MCLs, the groundwater could be restored to a beneficial use. This ROD also decided that the North Base, Landfill 1 and Landfill 4 Plumes did not require active remediation. The selected remedy for these plumes was long term monitoring of the groundwater and institutional controls to prevent the installation of groundwater supply wells.

5) Comprehensive Basewide (CB) ROD - Part 2: This ROD, signed in 2006, selected the final remedies for CAFB. The ROD added institutional controls for the existing groundwater plumes. These institutional controls are designed to prevent the use of the groundwater while the groundwater still exceeds MCLs. In addition, the same institutional controls were added for the public and private wells with groundwater plumes that still exceed MCLs. The CB ROD- Part 2 also selected local treatment to reduce groundwater contamination where plume capture with the existing pump-and-treat system was impractical.

Cleanup Ongoing

Current remedial actions at Castle Airport include two large groundwater pump and treat systems, four smaller point-source pump and treat systems, one operating soil vapor extraction system, and two permanent landfill caps.

The groundwater program includes monitoring of 289 groundwater monitoring wells, at various scheduled intervals, and the operation of the Operable Unit (OU) 2 and the Phase 3 groundwater treatment plants, as well as the four smaller groundwater treatment systems. The OU2 treatment system pumps approximately 460 gallons per minute from five extraction wells, treats the water through one pair of carbon vessels to remove trichloroethene, and reinjects it into the local aquifer via four injection wells. The Phase 3 groundwater treatment system pumps approximately 860 gallons per minute from seven extraction wells, which is pretreated with an air stripper and treated through one pair of carbon vessels to remove trichloroethene. The water is reinjected through nine injection wells.

The four current point-source extraction systems are located at monitoring well (MW) 824/MW1037, MW951, and MW1009, which treat groundwater for trichloroethene, and MW003, which removes cis-1,2-dichloroethene. Flow rates at these systems vary from 7 gallons per minute to approximately 60 gallons per minute when the units are operating. Process water is treated through granular activated carbon beds, and reinjected into wells located near each system. At the moment, the MW824/MW1037 system is off-line due to local groundwater conditions, and the MW003 system is shut down temporarily to conduct a rebound study of contaminants in the area.

The one soil vapor extraction system that is currently running at Castle is located at the former Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants (POL) Fuel Farm Area (PFFA). The system extracts soil vapor from shallow wells at a flow rate of approximately 450 standard cubic feet per minute, and removes contaminants in a natural gas-powered thermo-catalytic oxidation unit. Influent and effluent soil vapor concentrations are monitored monthly to assure that air discharge standards are met.

The two permanent and closed landfills maintained at Castle are Landfill 4 and Landfill 5. Both were closed and capped with impermeable liners in 1999, and are equipped with settlement monuments, gas migration probes, and landfill gas vents. The landfills are inspected and monitored for methane gas migration quarterly. Institutional controls are in place on the landfill parcels, limiting use of the property, preventing contact with the waste or gases, protecting the integrity of the remedial systems, and minimizing the possible migrations of the contents to the vadose zone.

A third impermeable cap exists at the former Fire Training Area 1 site, which was originally put in place to maximize effectiveness of a soil vapor extraction system at that location, and has been monitored and maintained in roughly the same fashion as the landfill caps, although the site is not a landfill.

Cleanup Complete

Landfills: The Air Force has completed remediation of the Base's seven landfills under removal action authority. Landfill 2 and Castle Vista Landfills A and B were excavated during Fall 1997 through Summer 1998; Landfills 1 and 3 were excavated during Summer and Fall 1999. The excavated wastes were determined to be non-hazardous and were disposed in on-site consolidation Landfills 4 and 5. Landfills 4 and 5 have been capped and will be monitored by the Air Force for a minimum of 30 years. The monitoring will involve periodically testing groundwater in wells adjacent to the landfills to ensure that contaminants are not leaching from the disposed wastes into the groundwater and checking the integrity of the landfill caps to ensure that water is not infiltrating.

Removal actions: Removal actions have been conducted on approximately sixteen sites with soil contamination to expedite cleanup and property reuse. Firing Range, Skeet Shooting Range (ETC-10), and PCB Sites: The Air Force excavated lead contaminated soils from the former firing range in 1999; lead contaminated soils from the former skeet shooting range in 1997; and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated soils from PCB site 9 in 1998. Wastes containing lead at concentrations exceeding cleanup levels were transported for offsite disposal at an approved facility. All other wastes were disposed onsite at Landfills 4 and 5.

Groundwater Plumes: Well abandonment and sealing for the East Base Plume has been complete. Also, the monitoring of the plume at Landfill 1 is complete (plume is no longer present in excess of cleanup levels.)

SVE: With the exception of the Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants Fuel Farm Area , all SVE remedies have been completed.

Castle Airport is participating in the Installation Restoration Program, a specially funded program established by the Department of Defense (DOD) in 1978 to identify, investigate, and control the migration of hazardous contaminants at military and other DOD facilities. The base was placed on the Base Closure List in 1993, and officially closed in 1995. The majority of parcels of base property have already been transferred or leased for reuse. Approximately one-third of the base property has been transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is currently constructing a medium security penitentiary.

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Cleanup Results to Date

Technical Assistance Grant: In February 1998, EPA awarded a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) to the non-profit group, Castle Now and Beyond (CNB). The grant is being used to help the affected community become involved in the Superfund cleanup process and in the selection of a final cleanup remedy. Castle Now and Beyond hired Kleinfelder as an independent technical expert in 1998 to review and explain technical documents about the site, and to undertake community outreach efforts.

Five-Year Review: The third five-year review for CAFB was finalized in 2009. Five-year reviews are required as long as contamination remains on the site to ensure that the selected cleanup remedies remain protective of human health and the environment.

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Potentially Responsible Parties

Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) refers to companies that are potentially responsible for generating, transporting, or disposing of the hazardous waste found at the site.

Online information about the PRPs for the site is not yet available.

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Documents and Reports

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Community Involvement

Public Meetings: No public meetings are anticipated in the near future for this site.

The Castle Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) was adjourned in January 2007. Thank you to all RAB and community members committed to be involved in the cleanup of the site.

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Public Information Repositories

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Additional Links

For Air Force updates for Castle Air Force Base, please click here.
(https://afrpaar.lackland.af.mil/ar/docsearch.aspx)

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Contacts

	Name	Phone Number	Email	Address
EPA Site Manager	Sarah Kloss	415-972-3156	kloss.sarah@epa.gov	US EPA Region 9 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105
EPA Community Involvement Coordinator	Viola Cooper	415-972-3243 or toll free at 1-800-231-3075	cooper.viola@epa.gov	US EPA Region 9 75 Hawthorne St. SFD-6-3 San Francisco, CA 94105
EPA Public Information Center		(415) 947-8701	r9.info@epamail.epa.gov
State Contact	Carolyn Tatoian-Cain	(916) 255-3771
PRP Contact	Philip Mook	(916) 643-0830 x 209
Community Contact
Other Contacts
After Hours (Emergency Response)	US EPA	(800) 424-8802

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