Puerto Rico Land Authority (OU2)

Administrative Order for Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study for Operable Unit Two (“OU2 Order”), provides for the performance of an RI/FS to address groundwater contamination at the Pesticide Warehouse I Superfund Site, located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, along with payment of EPA’s oversight costs. The Site occupies approximately one acre of land in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and includes a main warehouse building, a smaller secondary warehouse in the rear of the property, and a small storage shed. The pesticides found at the Site are hazardous substances under Section 101(14) of CERCLA 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14), and are listed at 40 C.F.R. § 302.4. During the SI, a number of metals were also detected in on-site soils at concentrations that were at least three times greater than background concentrations. These metals are hazardous substances under CERCLA and included arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, thallium, and zinc. EPA placed the Site on the National Priorities List on September 26, 2006. Thereafter, because of the complexity of the karst terrain hydrogeology at the Site, EPA determined that the Site investigation and remediation should be addressed in two Operable Units. On August 18, 2006, EPA issued a notice letter to the Respondents.