Granville Solvents: growth and remediation of a chemical recycling facility in a small Ohio town

Abstract

Granville Solvents Inc. (GSI) operated for years on the Raccoon Creek flood plain in the central Ohio town of Granville, handling bulk quantities of fuels and solvents. The site is adjacent to Granville’s public water supply. The water wells of the village draw from a substantial buried-valley aquifer, which is vulnerable to surface influences and contaminants. GSI received a 3-year Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part A permit without any siting evaluation because of its grandfather status, and was able to expand its operations greatly. During the expansion, continued negotiations involving permit applications and modifications were conducted; with continued disregard for site contamination. Although a Part B permit was never granted, GSI operated for 6 years under RCRA. Today the site is a Superfund operation and more than five million dollars have been spent on cleanup and maintenance of contaminated soil and groundwater. After 15 years of cleanup, the active remediation has been suspended for the present; however, management of the site for the protection of the adjacent well field is likely to continue well into the future.