Notice of public meeting and Information repository for a Clean Ohio Assistance Fund
Grant
The Coshocton Port is applying for a grant from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund for a Phase II
Environmental Assessment of the former GE Electro Materials Property located at 1350 South
Second Street, Coshocton, Ohio. The application is available for review at the Coshocton Public
Library, located at 655 Main Street, Coshocton, Ohio until May 5, 2010. A public meeting to
discuss and solicit comments to the grant application will be held on May 4, 2010 at the Kno-HoCo building located at located at 120 N. 4th Street Street, Coshocton, Ohio at 6:00pm. Any
questions may be referred to Mr. TJ Justice, Executive Director of the Coshocton Port Authority
at 740-622-7005.
I. History of the Project Property
The Former GE ElectroMaterials Property at 1350 South Second Street, Coshocton, Ohio 43812 (Subject
Property) consists of approximately 80 acres and was developed as the former GE ElectroMaterials main
plant and support buildings in 1946. Prior to GE’s purchase and use of the Subject Property, it was used
for agricultural purposes.
Starting in 1946 the Subject Property was used for the manufacture of decorate plastic laminates,
refrigerator door liners and laminated sheets, rods and tubes for the electric industry. In 1955, the plant
became a primary producer of plastic- and copper-clad fiberglass laminates for printed circuit boards. At
that time, buildings under roof totaled over 550,000 square feet.
SABIC IP purchased the business from GE in 2004 and discontinued manufacturing operations in July
2004. Decommissioning and demolition of the facility were completed by SABIC IP in 2007, leaving the
Property vacant. In April of 2009, only one building remained on the property: a garage previously used
by GE for the storage of automobiles used in facility operations.
II. Current Use(s)/Business(es) of the Project Property
According to documentation provided by Mr. John Wood, representative with SABIC IP, SABIC IP US, LLC
has been the owner since August 2007. The Property has been vacant since 2007 except for use of the
existing garage for the storage of equipment and supplies related to the long term monitoring (LTM)
program for groundwater on the southern portion of the Subject Property.
III. Surrounding Properties
The properties to the north of the Subject Property include the Coshocton Elevators, Inc., Swiss Valley
Oil/Marathon Oil, Coshocton Senior Center, Windsorwood Place Retirement Home, and Victory Baptist
Church. According to Mr. Wood of SABIC IP, a subsurface investigation completed in 2002 concluded that a
TCE plume originated off-Property. The investigation was not provided for review during the VAP Phase I
investigation.
The Kraft food processing plant is located to the south of the Subject Property. A 2.048 acre portion of the
Subject Property’s southwestern corner provides ingress/egress for Kraft delivery trucks to/from the Kraft
facility under a 99-year access agreement signed by SABIC IP and Kraft in 2007.
The Ohio Central Railroad traverses the eastern property boundary. Mixed commercial and residential
development is located beyond the Ohio Central Railroad to the east.
The Subject Property is bordered to the west by South Second Street, followed by the Muskingum River. A
mix of undeveloped woodlands and farmland are located west of the Muskingum River.
IV. On-site Buildings and Condition
At present, the Subject Property contains one building. The building is approximately 2,400 square feet
in size and is constructed of concrete-block with a steel framed exterior and solid concrete floor. Six
garage doors are located along the north side of the building and are constructed of wood with glass
window inserts. One aluminum access door is located on the west side of the building.
V. Previous Sampling Activities
Based on the review of previous investigations of the Subject Property as part of the Phase I Site
Assessment by Hull and Associates completed in April of 2009, a total of twelve (12) underground
storage tanks (USTs) have been present on Tract A of the Subject Property. Three (3) of the USTs were
removed in 1991 including one (1) 2,000 gallon diesel fuel UST, one (1) 550 gallon diesel fuel UST, and
one 550 gallon gasoline UST. The excavation of each of the three (3) USTs was filled with “clean,
washed sand” and a No Further Action letter was issued from the Bureau of Underground Storage Tank
Regulations (BUSTR). Three (3) acetone USTs may still be buried on the property in the approximate
location of the former maintenance building.
Six (6) 30,000 gallon oil UST were removed and/or
decommissioned prior to 2001. The status of the three (3) acetone USTs and six (6) 30,000 gallon oil
USTs is unknown and lack previous investigations.
Additionally, six (6) RCRA solid waste management units (SWMUs) were identified during a RCRA
Facility Investigation completed by Dames & Moore in 1991. The SMWUs include:
Unit A – Container (Drum) Storage Area: These include the solid hazardous waste storage area, the
liquid hazardous waste storage building, the laboratory spill containment system and other hazardous
waste storage and/or satellite areas on the Property. Ohio EPA has approved the RCRA closure of each
of these SWMUs, however the soils were only investigated in limited fashion and groundwater was not
evaluated.
Unit B – Cupric Chloride Etchant Storage Tank: This SWMU was issued a letter of closure by the Ohio
EPA in 1997. However, the closure report indicated releases of this material to surrounding soils have
occurred. Additionally, groundwater was not investigated as part of the closure.
Unit C – Copper Scrap Storage Area: Scrap copper foil generated during manufacturing activities on
the Subject Property was stored within the SWMU, formerly located in the eastern portion of the Property
north of the closed landfill. A closure of this area was approved and included confirmatory soil sampling
and waste relocation to the now closed landfill. Groundwater was not investigated within this area.
Unit D – Closed Landfill: According to various documents, the landfill operated from 1946 to 1968.
Waste collected within the landfill, located in the southeastern corner of the Property (Tract D) consisted
primarily of organic wastes, inert industrial solids, Roto-Clone sludge and office waste and papers.
Between 1954 and 1968, only Roto-Clone sludge was placed into the landfill. No waste was placed into
the landfill after 1968. According to the approved construction completion report, approximately 20,000
cubic yards of waste was placed into the landfill over the 22 years it was in existence. After waste was
relocated from SWMUs C, E and F to the landfill, the cover system was placed on the landfill to complete
the closure.
Unit E – Closed Wastewater Lagoon: According to the Dames and Moore RFI, the closed lagoon
received phenol-bearing wastewaters from resin manufacturing between 1957 and 1977. The lagoon
was designed to let wastewater seep through soils, which would theoretically biologically degrade the
phenols. During this period, approximately six million gallons of wastewater was generated at the facility
and discharged into the lagoon. For closure, similar steps were followed as in Unit C, which included
waste relocation and confirmatory sampling. However, according to the closure completion report, soil
was only sampled to a certain depth. Phenols and other potential COCs may have leached to greater
depths and impacted groundwater in the area of Unit E.
Several monitoring wells are on the Subject Property and adjacent to the west, south and east of the
Property. According to documentation, these wells were installed between 1975 and 2007 as part of the
long term monitoring (LTM) program for the closed landfill and closed waste water lagoon. LTM will be in
place until at least 2020. The landfill and lagoon cover systems are not eligible for the VAP as long as
they are subject to the post-closure-care provisions of the RCRA permit; however areas outside of the
cover boundary where monitoring wells are located are eligible for the VAP.
Unit F – Incinerator Cage Areas: According to the RFI, the incinerators were used to burn office trash,
scrap paper, cloth-based phenolic laminates and resin-impregnated cloth. A layer of ash extending from
the mouth of the former incinerator location to the south was encountered during waste relocation
activities.
Additionally, confirmatory samples were collected during closure, but no groundwater
monitoring was conducted.
As part of the recent Phase I Property Assessment (Hull, Inc. April 2009) numerous previous
investigations of the Subject Property were reviewed, some of which provided information material to
Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) and Identified Areas (IAs). A summary of Hull’s review of
the supplied documents is presented on Table 1 of the Phase I Property Assessment (Attachment 13).
VI. Redevelopment Potential
In an effort to make redevelopment of the Former GE ElectroMaterials site a success, the Coshocton
Port Authority (CPA) is currently contemplating acquisition of part or all of this property to help prompt
site redevelopment. The CPA will leverage grant funding from the Schooler Family Foundation
Investment in Jobs and Economic Development in Coshocton County to purchase the Subject Property
from SABIC IP. Once a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and any necessary remediation is
complete, if necessary, the CPA intends to market the property for industrial re-use.
Attributes of the property, which lend well to redevelopment, include close proximity to the Ohio
Central Railroad, State Routes 16 and 83, and Interstate Highways 70 and 77. Utilities, including city
water and sewer, natural gas and electrical services are available near the property perimeter. Flood
control measures, including thirteen (13) upstream reservoirs on the Tuscarawas and Walhonding
Rivers, are in place to minimize potential flooding. The property is also located near to downtown
Coshocton which contains various other active industrial and Brownfield sites.
The community has a strong and capable workforce and is ready to partner with new businesses looking
for a place to call home. Coshocton County has been listed by the Ohio Department of Development as
a Priority Investment Area and Distressed County. Further, all townships, villages and the City of
Coshocton are located within the boundaries of an Enterprise Zone designated by the ODOD. The CPA is
the administrator for the Enterprise Zone program and intends to utilize the program allowances to
negotiate tax abatements and incentives for new businesses interested in developing at the Former GE
ElectroMaterials Site.