Managing an Aging Pump-and-Treat Groundwater Remediation System at the Fernald Preserve - 19557

The Fernald Preserve, Ohio, Site underwent restoration and remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). With the exception of the Great Miami Aquifer, the CERCLA remediation was declared physically complete on October 29, 2006, and the site was turned over to the US Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management for long-term care and maintenance. The Record of Decision under CERCLA specifies a concentration-based cleanup that requires the extraction and treatment of Great Miami Aquifer groundwater above Final Remediation Levels (FRLs) until the full, beneficial use potential of the aquifer is achieved, including use as a drinking water source. The area of the aquifer targeted for remediation is 126.5 hectares (312.70 acres). The groundwater pumping remediation was designed by modeling cleanup with the Variable Saturated Analysis Model in 3 Dimensions (VAM-3D) modeling code, developed by Hydrogeologic Inc. The original design called for 23 extraction wells operating at 379 liters per minute (lpm) (100 gallons per minute [gpm]) to 1135 lpm (300 gpm) each for a system total of 18,073 lpm (4775 gpm). In 2014, the system was optimized down to 20 extraction wells operating at 379 to 1893 lpm each for a system total of 19,180 lpm (5075 gpm). To date, pumping has been an effective remediation technology for the aquifer. At the end of 2017, the area of the aquifer remaining above FRLs was down to 38.2 hectares (94.4 acres). From August 1993 through December 2017 (24 years), 6235 kilograms (kg) (13,733 pounds) of uranium were removed from the aquifer by the pumping of 1.74 x 10¹¹ liters (46.2 billion gallons) of water. Since 2010, treatment of groundwater to achieve regulatory discharge limits at the Great Miami River has not been needed on a routine basis. The ongoing remediation is now essentially a pumping operation, and this water does not require treatment. Metrics reported in the annual Site Environmental Report for the groundwater remediation indicate that, based on the model-predicted estimate of the mass of uranium that needs to be removed from the aquifer to achieve a concentration-based cleanup, the cleanup is approximately 86% - 87% complete. Current model predictions indicate that pumping will need to continue an additional 16 years (until 2035) in some of the wells. During the additional 16 years, it is estimated that approximately 1012 kg (2231 pounds) of uranium will be removed from the aquifer. System pumping rates are designed to decrease over the course of the remaining 16 years, dropping down to a system total of 11,638 lpm (3075 gpm) in 2022 and a system total of 4163 lpm (1100 gpm) in 2033. Even with the designed decreases in pumping rates, it is estimated that approximately 1 x 10¹¹ liters (26.6 billion gallons) of water will be pumped from the aquifer to remove 1012 kg (2231 pounds) of uranium. This indicates that the remaining 16 years of operation will be much less efficient than the first 24 years. Decreasing efficiency is common for pumping operations. The worst-case scenario is that decreasing concentration trends stabilize above the cleanup FRLs and remediation goals are never achieved. Performance assessments of the pumping remedy will need to be routinely conducted to determine if pumping should be discontinued, if it should be continued but optimized, or if the pumping technology can be supplemented with a different technology that will improve the outcome of the remediation and make the operation more efficient and successful. (authors)