LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 1 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

Current Status

Camp Minden was listed to the National Priorities List of Hazardous Waste Sites in March of 1989

based on contamination to surface soil and groundwater related to management and disposal of

explosives.

The control of contamination sources and monitoring of groundwater contamination were

conducted as part of the CERLCA Record of Decision (ROD) long-term remediation signed in

August 2007. Control included the installation of a groundwater monitoring system and routine

monitoring of onsite pollution controls.

From 2009 to 2010, the US Army, under the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP),

conducted a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study of areas where explosives and munitions

could present a concern and possibly require additional remediation.

Based on a thorough investigation at the site, Camp Minden Construction completion was signed

in September 2010. It was determined that no further action was required, other than continuing

Operational and Maintenance (O&M) activities that include maintaining land use controls (LUCs)

for this site. The site has reached the construction completion/remedy in place stage.

(Construction Completion No. 1098)

Under federal law, Five-Year Reviews are required to ensure long-term remediation controls are

effective. The intent of these reviews are to evaluate how the remedy is working and is it still

protective of human health and the environment.

o In June 2006, a Five-Year review was performed and it was determined that the remedy

was protective of human health and the environment. .

o The US Army conducted a site inspection on June 23, 2010, as part of a Five-Year

review that was completed on July 15, 2011.

o The US Army also completed the biannual groundwater sampling and the final report was

issued September 2013.

o In 2014, It was determined that some onsite monitoring wells were no longer needed

could be closed.

o In 2014, the Army National Guard awarded a contract for future groundwater monitoring,

additional Five-Year reviews, and further investigations of MMRP sites.

o Field work for additional investigations of new MMRP sites is anticipated for late 2015. Background

The former Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP), renamed Camp Minden, is located near Doyline, Louisiana in Webster and Bossier Parishes. The plant is bounded by US Highway 80 to the north, US Highway 164 to the south, Dorcheat Bayou to the east and by Clarke Bayou to the west. The cities of Shreveport and Bossier City are located approximately 22 miles west of the installation and the towns of Dixie Inn and Minden are located just to the northeast. LAAP was a military installation comprising approximately 14,949 acres of land.

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT WEBSTER PARISH LOUISIANA (Decommissioned and renamed Camp

Minden in January 2005) EPA ID# LA0213820533

Site ID: 0600770

EPA REGION 6 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 04

Contact:

Bart Cañellas 214-665-6662

Updated: February, 2015

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 2 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

In 1941, the U.S. government acquired ownership of the site. LAAP was a U.S. Army Armament, Munitions, and Chemical Command (AMCCOM) installation that was used to load, assemble, and pack ammunition items. Operations began in 1942 with eight ammunition lines and one ammonium nitrate graining plant. Ammunition production ceased in August 1945 at the close of World War II and the facility was placed in a standby status. It was reactivated in February 1951 to support the Korean conflict and all ammunitions loading lines were operational including a metals forging and machining plant area known as the Y-Line Chromic Acid Etching Facility. The Y-Line was used to manufacture 155-mm projectiles. In February 1958, the installation was again placed in standby status. In September 1962, the plant was reactivated in support of the Vietnam War with four production areas used for classified ammunition items. The LAAP installation continued ammunition production for the U. S. military until 1994. In October 1997, the Y-Line facility was leased to Valentech Corporation. The 16 one-acre pink water lagoons known as Area P Lagoons were in active use between 1940 and 1981. During this time, untreated explosives-laden wastewater from industrial operations was collected in concrete sumps at each of the various load line areas, hauled by tanker trucks to Area P, and emptied into the lagoons. After numerous investigations and assessments, it was determined that the nitroaromatic contamination in soils and sediments from the Area P lagoons was a major contributor to the groundwater nitroaromatic contamination. To protect the shallow groundwater below the Area P Lagoons (Operable Unit (OU) 1) from leaching through nitroaromatic contaminated soil into the groundwater, an Interim Remedial Action (IRA) was conducted in 1987 through 1990. Actions at Area P included draining and treating lagoon wastewater, soil excavation, and soil treatment by incineration. Soil in the lagoons and surrounding area was excavated. The IRA resulted in the incineration of 101,929 tons of soil and the treatment of 53,604,490 gallons of wastewater and rain water. The Area P Lagoons and surrounding area, were then backfilled with the incinerated soil, covered with a minimum 2-foot thick cap of compacted clay, and re-vegetated with Bermuda grass. A four-strand barbed wire fence, 4-feet in height, was installed around the cap and is posted with warning signs. In September 1996 following completion of the IRA, a ROD was prepared. The ROD for OU1 determined that no potential human health or ecological risks were associated with the soils and therefore, No Further Action (NFA) was required. The NFA also applied to six other study areas which included LAAP OU2 through 7 (LAAP OU2 Burning Ground No. 5, LAAP OU3 M-4 Waste Water Lagoon, LAAP OU4 Burning Ground No. 8 Landfill, LAAP OU5 Landfill No. 3, LAAP OU6 Oily Waste Landfarm, and LAAP OU7 Burning Ground No. 8 Pink Water Lagoons). These study areas were identified by the USEPA as the Soil/Source OU. The ROD for LAAP OU8, Y-Line Chromic Acid Etching Facility (Y-Line) determined that no remedial action was necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment under an industrial use scenario. As of January 2005, the facility was transferred to the State of Louisiana (now called Camp Minden) and the use of former LAAP areas remain as military/industrial as specified in the RODs, and therefore meet the NFA recommendation. The area surrounding the former LAAP (now Camp Minden) is primarily rural with several small towns located in the near vicinity. Based on the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, the town of Minden, approximately 2 miles northeast of the installation has an estimated population of 13, 281 while the closest town, south and immediately adjacent to the facility, is the village of Doyline with a population of approximately 832 people.

Camp Minden and Explo Sytems, Inc.

__________________________________________

LAAP was transferred to the State of Louisiana through a transfer agreement known as the Finding of

Suitability for Early Transfer (FOSET) and renamed Camp Minden in January 2005.

The FOSET established a Military Training area of 13,711 acres and a Commercial Property of 1,284

acres were to be used for commercial/industrial purposes.

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 3 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

The LAAP Commercial Property as described in the FOSET is occupied by several tenants that lease the

area for office space and storage, warehouse facilities, shop areas, ammunitions storages igloos

(inspected as closed in 1994), a prison (Bayou Dorcheat Corrections Center) and facilities used by the

Camp Minden Youth Challenge Program 1083rd.

According to records, Explo Systems, Incorporated, leased an area in the former E-Line for TNT

recapture and the recycling of outdated propellants.

The US Army Environmental Condition of Property Report of 2009 described Explo as a tenant at Area E,

Area L-2, Area L-3, Area S, and Area W. Explo systems, Incorporated was a RCRA-Conditionally

Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) since August 31, 2004. The plant’s USEPA ID number was

LAR000032607. Waste generated from the company include K045 – spent carbon from treatment of

wastewater containing explosives.

Explo Systems, Inc. failed to successfully recycle the materials pursuant to its contract. In 2012, an

explosion occurred at the Explo Systems, Incorporated operations within Camp Minden. The Louisiana

State Police, the primary emergency response authority in Louisiana, responded and discovered large

quantities of explosive and propellant materials improperly stored at Camp Minden. The Louisiana State

Police immediately ordered Explo Systems, Incorporated to store materials providing protection from the

weather (heat, rain, cold) conditions. Weather conditions have a direct impact on the stabilizer used in

explosives and propellants, and cause the stabilizer to deteriorate.

After completing the relocation of materials into enclosed structures (buildings and bunkers) within Camp

Minden, Explo Systems, Incorporated filed bankruptcy and abandoned the materials in August 2013.

The state of Louisiana National Guard (Louisiana Military Department) took ownership of the abandoned

materials located on their property (Camp Minden). For more information about efforts to address these

materials, please visit the Camp Minden website at www.epa.gov/region6/camp-minden.

Benefits

The incineration of wastes and contaminated soils at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant site reduced

the potential for exposure to hazardous substances for site workers and future reuse of the property. The

Army conducted further investigations, which led to further reductions in contaminants, thereby further

protecting the public health and the environment.

Continue Five-Year remedy reviews, implementation of the Institutional Controls, and the biannual ground

water monitoring of the former LAAP areas that were investigated and remediated, ensures the

protectiveness of the implemented remedies.

National Priorities Listing (NPL) History

Proposed Date: October 15, 1984 Final Date: March 31, 1989 Construction Completion Date September 30, 2010 Location: South of Interstate Highway 20 in Bossier and Webster Parishes, 22 miles east of

Shreveport.

Population: Approximately 10,250 people live in this predominantly agricultural area, within 2 miles of

the site.

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 4 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

Setting: The closest drinking water well is a distance of 1,968 feet from the site boundaries.

The initial Hazard Ranking System ranking was based on 16 one-acre pink water lagoons

known as Area P. The total installation was listed on the National Priorities List and

covers 14,974 acres of level to slightly rolling forest land near the towns of Minden and

Doyline.

Site Map

Map of LAAP areas of concern investigated under Superfund _____________

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 5 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

Principal Pollutants:

The shallow ground water was contaminated by explosive wastes including the explosives,

cyclotrimethylenenitramine (RDX) up to 27,000 parts per billion (ppb) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) up

to 25,000 ppb. The biannual ground water sampling events are used to demonstrate the

reduction of these concentrations through a natural attenuation process.

The Army incinerated 150,000 tons of explosive contaminated soils and sludges from Area P

lagoons. These lagoons were in active use from 1950 to 1981. The remedial action was

completed in 1990.

o Wastewater was removed from the lagoons and treated.

o Remaining sediments and sludges were removed and treated by incineration.

o Resulting incineration ashes were placed in the excavation areas of the former lagoons,

the area was backfilled, capped, graded, seeded and fence.

o These remediated areas continue to be monitor through the Five-Year Review

inspections.

Contaminated soils from other operable units have been addressed in the Feasibility Study for the

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 6 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

first 7 study areas, the Y-line, at other load lines, test areas, MMRP sites. The most likely

potential contaminants included volatiles, explosive compounds and metals.

Groundwater was investigated as a separate operable unit for the same contaminants of concern.

Health Considerations Shallow contaminated aquifer is hydraulically connected with the deep Wilcox aquifer used by the facility

as a potable water supply.

Shallow contamination continues to be monitored by semiannual groundwater events that show

reductions on the level of contamination and demonstrate contaminant plumes continue to reduce in size.

No contamination has been detected in the deep aquifers that are used as a drinking water supply by the

facility or the nearby towns of Doyline or Minden.

Record of Decision (ROD)

Signed: Interim Response Action - 01/31/89, Area P only. Approved

with signatures on Federal Facility Agreement (FFA)

ROD-OU2

Signed: March 4, 1997, Soil/Source Operable Unit of Seven Study

Areas only.

ROD-OU3

Signed: May 19, 2000, Y-Line Facility Soils

ROD-OU4

Signed: July 7, 2006, LAAP-009 Soil Sites

ROD-OU5

Signed: September 20, 2007, LAAP-010 Installation-wide Groundwater

ROD-OU6

Signed: September 20, 2010, Military Munitions Response Areas

Remedies:

Incineration of site wastes at Area P (responsibility of the U.S. Army).

No further action for the seven-soil/source study areas.

No further action for the Y-Line Facility soils.

No further action for the LAAP-009 Soil Sites.

Monitored Natural Attenuation / Long Term Monitoring at the Installation-wide units of concern.

No further action for munitions response sites, other than continue implementation of land use

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT 7 EPA Publication Date: February 20, 2015

controls (LUCs) as established in the 2005 transfer agreement.

Site Contacts EPA Remedial Project Manager: Bartolome J. Cañellas 214-665-6662

EPA Site Attorney: George Malone 214-665-8030

EPA Regional Public Liaison: Donn R. Walters 214-665-6483

EPA Toll Free Number: 1-800-533-3508

LDEQ State Contact: Mike Miller 225-219-3038

(Team Leader, Underground Storage

Tank &Remediation Division

Army National Guard LTC Jason B. Kendal 318-382-4183

(Contact for CERCLA work at Camp Minden, LA)

Management of new contract and responsibilities for monitoring, five year reviews, etc.

Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

USACE, Fort Worth Texas, on behalf of the Army National Guard (ARNG) headquarters and

LA Army National Guard.

Contract awarded to URS Group (URS) September 2014