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Remedial Action Decision
January 30, 2020
March 2, 2020




PUBLIC NOTICE
PROPOSED REMEDIAL ACTION DECISION
FORMER AMFIRST BANK BRANCH

Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Land Management Division
Remediation Section

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-15, 185.01 that the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is proposing approval of the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) at the former AmFirst Bank Branch, 602 West B Street, McCook, Nebraska. The former AmFirst Bank Branch is located in the NE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 30, Township 3 North, Range 29 West, Red Willow County, Nebraska.

The groundwater at this site has been contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE) from an unknown offsite source to the north or northeast. The NDEE has assigned the groundwater pollution event at this site a Remedial Action Class 2 (RAC-2). RAC numbers are used to prioritize the groundwater pollution events with one (1) being the highest priority and three (3) being the lowest priority. The NDEE is proposing the following remedial action: Development of a Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA)-compliant environmental covenant for the Site. The covenant will prevent future consumption of contaminated groundwater and will serve as a preemptive measure to protect against vapor intrusion if environmental conditions change at the site by preventing permanent residential occupancy or occupancy by any business serving sensitive populations (e.g., child or elderly care).

Any person may receive additional information, submit written comments regarding the proposed actions, or request a public hearing, in writing, on or before March 2, 2020. A request for hearing must state the nature of the issues to be raised and all arguments and factual grounds supporting such position. If the Director grants a public hearing, the hearing will be advertised by public notice at least 30 days prior to its occurrence. Comments and requests should be mailed to:
Mr. David Haldeman
Land Management Division
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
PO Box 98922
Lincoln, NE 68509-8922

The proposed RAP and supporting documents are available for inspection at the office of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, 1200 N Street, Suite 400, The Atrium, Lincoln, NE. These materials may also be viewed online at http://deq.ne.gov/ by selecting “Public Notices” at the bottom of the page, or by accessing the Enterprise Content Management Portal at https://ecmp.nebraska.gov/publicaccess/viewer.aspx?&MyQueryID=340, using Facility Number “111097.” Individuals requiring special accommodations or alternate formats of materials should notify the Department by February 14, 2020 by calling (402) 471-2186. TDD users should call (800) 833-7352 and ask the relay operator to call the Department at (402) 471-2186. Further information may be obtained from Mike Felix, Remediation Section, (402) 471-4210.




FACT SHEET
Proposed Remedial Action Decision
Former AmFirst Bank Branch

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is providing public notice of its intent to approve a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) at the former AmFirst Bank Branch conducted under NDEE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) by Tower Rock Investments. This fact sheet provides background information on the site, a summary of the groundwater contamination, a description of the proposed remedial action, a description of the public participation procedures, and the NDEE contact person.

Site Location and Background: The former AmFirst Bank Branch is located at 602 West B Street in McCook, in the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 30, Township 3 North, Range 29 West, Red Willow County, Nebraska. According to Sanborn™ fire insurance maps, the northwest corner of the site once served as a filling station from as early as 1929 to at least 1955, and a service station (Westside Standard and Lou’s Champlain) was listed at the site in the city directories from the 1960s and 1970s. Additionally, the 1929 Sanborn™ map depicted the Nebraska Department of Public Works warehouse on the southern portion of the property, and the City of McCook Water Department repair shop was observed on the 1949 and 1955 Sanborn™ maps. The property was developed as the AmFirst Bank in 1982. In 2017, it was purchased by Pinnacle Bank and Bank of Colorado and continues to serve as a banking facility. An environmental investigation leading to the discovery of groundwater contamination was completed as due diligence associated with transfer of the property ownership.

Nature and Extent of Contamination:

The groundwater at this site has been contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE) from an unknown offsite source to the north or northeast. PCE is a chlorinated solvent commonly used in historic dry cleaning operations and by repair and manufacturing industries as a cleaner and degreaser. The NDEE compared contaminant concentrations detected in the groundwater to the NDEE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program Remediation Goals and maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) to determine the significance of the contamination.

The PCE in groundwater was detected underlying the southeast parking lot at a concentration of 5.8 micrograms per liter (µg/L). This concentration is slightly above the NDEE drinking water MCL of 5.0 µg/L. A second investigation was completed to determine if the PCE was migrating onsite from an offsite source or is the result of historic activities that occurred on the property. This second investigation revealed PCE in groundwater at 27 µg/L in the West 5th Street right-of-way adjoining the eastern property boundary and in the up-gradient groundwater flow direction. PCE was not observed in any of the remaining groundwater samples, suggesting the former AmFirst Bank Branch property is not the source of the PCE, and the contaminated groundwater is migrating onsite from an unknown upgradient source.

There is no surface water or groundwater production well on the property, and concentrations detected in groundwater are too low to present a vapor intrusion risk; therefore, the exposure pathway is limited to ingestion of groundwater underlying the property from a future, hypothetical drinking water well installed on the property.

Groundwater Remedial Action Class: The NDEE assigns a Remedial Action Class (RAC) to a groundwater contamination event to determine the importance of remedial action based, in part, on the use of the groundwater in the area (Title 118, Appendix A, Step 8). Groundwater that is being used as a public drinking water supply is assigned the highest remedial action class of RAC-1. The Department typically requires extensive cleanup of groundwater that is classified as RAC-1. When the use of groundwater in the area is more limited, the groundwater is assigned a remedial action class of RAC-2 or RAC-3. Generally, groundwater cleanup will be less extensive for these classifications.

The pollution event for this site has been classified as a RAC-2, due to the fact that the groundwater is not being used for a public or private drinking water supply.

Remedial Action Objectives: Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) are statements that define qualitative and quantitative goals that are to be achieved for the contaminants identified at the site. RAOs provide the framework from which potential remedial actions are evaluated to achieve the objectives. RAOs for the former AmFirst Bank Branch site include:
· Prevent future consumption of contaminated groundwater underlying the property
· Prevent permanent residential occupancy or occupancy by any business serving sensitive populations (e.g., child or elderly care). This serves as a preemptive measure to protect against vapor intrusion if concentrations in groundwater and environmental conditions change at the site.

Proposed Remedial Actions: NDEE is proposing the following remedial action:
· Development of a Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA)-compliant environmental covenant for the Site.

Activity and Use limitations placed on the property via the environmental covenant will include prohibiting the installation of any groundwater well used for domestic purposes and limiting use of the property to commercial or industrial businesses that do not serve sensitive populations.

Public Participation Procedures: You may receive additional information, submit written comments regarding the proposed actions, or request a hearing, in writing, on or before March 2, 2020. If you request a hearing, you must state the nature of the issues to be raised, present your arguments, and facts to support your position in writing to the Department. If the Director grants a public hearing, the hearing will be advertised by public notice at least 30 days prior to its occurrence. Comments and requests should be mailed to David Haldeman, Land Management Division, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, PO Box 98922, Lincoln, NE 68509-8922, phone (402) 471-2186.

Contact Information: The proposed RAP and supporting documents are available for inspection at the office of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, 1200 N Street, Suite 400, The Atrium, P.O. Box 98922, Lincoln, NE 68509-8922. These materials may also be viewed online at http://deq.ne.gov by selecting “Public Notices” at the bottom of the page, or by accessing the Enterprise Content Management Portal at https://ecmp.nebraska.gov/publicaccess/viewer.aspx?&MyQueryID=340, using Facility Number “111097.” Individuals requiring special accommodations or alternate formats of materials should notify the Department by February 14, 2020 by calling (402) 471-2186. TDD users should call (800) 833-7352 and ask the relay operator to call the Department at (402) 471-2186. Further information may be obtained from Mike Felix, Remediation Section, (402) 471-4210.