City of Hastings, Courtesy
HASTINGS — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to begin a thermal soil remediation project at the Second Street Subsite Operable Unit 12 (OU12), part of the Hastings Groundwater Superfund Site, near the former Hastings Police Department station. The project is being funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
EPA’s remediation contractor, EA Engineering, Science and Technology, Inc. PBC and thermal remediation subcontractor TerraTherm will begin the project this fall to install 180 thermal wells that will clean soil and groundwater at the Second Street Subsite OU12.
The Subsite lies on the eastern edge of the downtown Hastings business area and is bounded by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) right-of-way to the south, the former Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) to the east, Second Street to the north, and Minnesota Avenue to the west.
Installation of the thermal wells is anticipated to take six months to complete, with the remaining system construction taking an estimated two months to complete.
Operation of the thermal wells is set to begin in May 2024 and remain in operation for approximately 240 days. The site will be one of Hastings Utilities’ largest electrical customers during operation, using 5 megawatts per hour of power.
As with any active construction site, the public is encouraged to use caution around the site and be mindful of large construction equipment and system components. The project is not expected to affect the environmental quality in the surrounding area.
Noise will emanate from the project site while the thermal system is in operation. The entire site will be fenced off from the public during operation and marked with appropriate warning signage. EPA and the EPA contractor representatives will be in Hastings during operation of the project.
The thermal wells will go down 140 feet. The first 20 feet will not be heated; the next 100 feet will be heated with electrical power; and the bottom 20 feet will use steam injection. The thermal wells will heat the ground to 100-300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) depending on the specific treatment depth. There will be aboveground piping that will transport contaminated vapors and groundwater for treatment on Site for removal of the pollutants.
Thermal treatment systems such as this are safely being used on hundreds of sites worldwide.
Soil source area remediation for the Subsite is anticipated to be complete at the conclusion of the project. The site will remain part of the Hastings Groundwater Superfund Site as a final ROD addressing remaining groundwater contamination for the Subsite will need to be done.
Background
The Hastings Ground Water Contamination Site is located in and around Hastings, Nebraska. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1986. The Site consists of 7 Subsites with 21 operable units (OUs). Contamination from a vapor degreasing operation, former landfills, a coal gas plant, an industrial park, and a grain elevator have contaminated public and private water supplies. Some subsites and residential properties have been cleaned up. However, environmental risks remain, and long-term cleanup is ongoing. Operation and maintenance activities and monitoring are ongoing.
The Second Street Subsite contains soil and groundwater contamination from a coal gas plant which operated from 1894 to 1931. Historical investigations identified benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX), styrene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Subsite soils and groundwater.
