Background & History
The former Tronox/Kerr-McGee Wood Treating Facility (the Site), also known as the former Moss American Inc. Rail Tie Creosoting Plant, consists of two parcels near the intersection of Hamilton Road and Green Street in Bossier City, Louisiana. The main portion of the Site comprises ±26 acres east of Hamilton Road (Main Property or East Property). Another ±6 acres of the Site are located west of Hamilton Road (West Property).
From 1930 to 1987, Kerr-McGee Chemical LLC and its predecessors (collectively, Kerr-McGee) treated railroad ties with a mixture of creosote and fuel oil on the Main Property. The West Property was used primarily for wood storage and other activities.
During wood treatment operations, creosote-contaminated process wastewater was discharged to open, unlined stormwater ditches. Until the 1960s, process wastewater flowed off-Site onto property that is currently owned by the Housing Authority of the City of Bossier City (HABC) and was developed into public housing. From the HABC property, the ditch carried stormwater and process wastewater into a culvert under the railroad tracks that ran parallel to the Site’s eastern boundary and into another open ditch.
In the 1960s, the ditch flowing onto the HABC property was redirected into the railroad culvert. In 1969, Kerr-McGee began gravity-separating creosote from the process wastewater prior to discharging the wastewater to the ditch. In 1974, a holding pond was installed to provide additional wastewater treatment.
Later, during development and construction, the area was regraded and stormwater ditches eliminated, leaving most of the contamination below the ground surface.
Wood treating operations ceased in 1987, and the Site was decommissioned in 1988. While installing a sewer line in 1992, the City of Bossier City found visible creosote in the soil at about 5 feet below ground surface between the railroad and Shaver Street east of the Site.
The following year, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found contaminated soil near the former process area and drainage ditches along the southern and eastern boundaries of the Main Property. In 1999, LDEQ assumed lead responsibility for the Site.
Kerr-McGee conducted some Site investigations but did not complete any environmental cleanup activities.
This figure shows the former Tronox/Kerr-McGee Wood Treating Facility (the Site) — outlined in yellow — in relation to two Superfund sites in Bossier City.
The Multistate Trust’s Involvement
In the mid-2000s, Kerr-McGee transferred the Site to Tronox LLC, a company newly formed by Kerr-McGee. Tronox filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.
In 2011, as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement, Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust (the Multistate Trustee), trustee of the Multistate Environmental Response Trust (the Multistate Trust), was appointed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to own, investigate, clean up, and facilitate the safe, beneficial reuse of the Site in Bossier City, along with hundreds of other contaminated sites across the United States.
The Multistate Trust is a private, independent environmental response trust with the purpose of protecting human health and the environment. For more information, visit the Multistate Trust website.
In Bossier City, the Multistate Trust performs its work under the oversight of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), as the Lead Agency for the Site. The beneficiaries of the Multistate Trust include the State of Louisiana, represented by LDEQ, and the United States.
Timeline of the Bossier City Site
Timeline
1930
Wood treating operations were started by T.J. Moss Tie Company.
1963
Kerr-McGee acquired T.J. Moss Tie Company.
1965
T.J. Moss Tie Company merged with American Creosoting Corporation (another Kerr-McGee subsidiary) and then changed its name to Moss-American Inc.
1980
Kerr-McGee bought the Site.
1987 - 1988
Kerr-McGee shut down operations in 1987. The Site was decommissioned the following year.
1992
Creosote-impacted soil was found during a Bossier City sewer line installation.
1999
LDEQ assumed lead responsibility for the Site.
2005–2006
Kerr-McGee created Tronox Incorporated (now known as Tronox Limited) and transferred the Site in Bossier City and other contaminated properties to Tronox.
2009
Tronox filed for bankruptcy mostly due to financial issues associated with Kerr-McGee’s past environmental liabilities.
2011
As part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement, the Multistate Trust was established by a federal bankruptcy court to take ownership of the Site and hundreds of other former Kerr-McGee properties with funding provided by Tronox.
2011–2014
The Multistate Trust maintained the Site by mowing the grass and maintaining access controls (chain link fence) and reviewed available Site documents. The last documents/evaluations initiated by Tronox/Kerr-McGee were reviewed by the Multistate Trust, and work began to finalize a Site investigation report prepared by Tronox/Kerr-McGee’s previous contractors.
2015–2016
Additional funds received from litigation associated with Tronox’s bankruptcy allowed the Multistate Trust to complete the previously initiated Site investigation report and begin actively conducting Site investigations to better understand the extent and risk of soil and groundwater contamination documented in earlier investigations.
2017–2019
The Multistate Trust sampled on-Site and off-Site soil and groundwater to confirm and update previously collected data, including gathering updated surface soil background samples and installing additional groundwater monitoring wells at off-Site locations, including at the HABC and on City of Bossier City property.
2019
The Multistate Trust completed a remedial alternatives analysis for areas of investigation (AOIs) where contamination exceeds risk-based standards set by LDEQ. Upon LDEQ approval, the Multistate Trust began preparing an Interim Action Work Plan to focus remediation on off-Site surface soil in residential and other nearby areas. A long-term groundwater monitoring program was also initiated. For the first year (2019), samples were collected every three months to establish a baseline for groundwater conditions.
2020–2022
The Multistate Trust finalized the Interim Action Work Plan for removal of off-Site surface soil in residential and other nearby areas. Upon LDEQ approval, the Multistate Trust prepared specifications and drawings to lay out the work.
In late 2022, the Multistate Trust and its contractors completed excavating and removing off-Site surface soil to address nearby Site-related contamination in residential and other nearby areas.
2023
The Multistate Trust finished soil excavation work at Scott-Dickerson Homes and nearby residential properties. The parking lot at Scott-Dickerson Homes was replaced to remove contaminated soil underneath the pavement. The Multistate Trust collected additional soil samples in certain residential yards near the Site.
The Multistate Trust has been working on excavation projects around the Site to remove contaminated surface soil in residential areas. Indoor air samples were taken at some residential properties to confirm that contaminants were not present at harmful levels. The Multistate Trust continues with groundwater sampling twice per year, under LDEQ oversight.
2024
Funds for the Bossier City Site
Cleanup funds were provided by the companies responsible for Site contamination—not by the U.S. government or by tax dollars. Funding came from the Tronox bankruptcy settlement and included proceeds from a settlement of fraud claims against Kerr-McGee and related subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
In 2011, when the Multistate Trust was created, initial funding was provided to maintain basic activities.
The receipt of additional funds from the Anadarko litigation in 2015 and 2016 allowed the Multistate Trust to begin proactively investigating and planning remedial actions at the Site.
The Multistate Trust can use Site-specific funds only for environmental actions, such as Site investigations, studies, designs, cleanup actions, operations, and maintenance.
Site-specific funds cannot be used for other purposes, including the actual redevelopment of the Site, or compensating people for health effects or property damage associated with the Site. For more information, visit the Multistate Trust website.
Tronox Tort Claims Trust
not part of the investigation, remediation, and redevelopment planning of the Site.
As a result of the Tronox bankruptcy proceedings, the Multistate Trust was created to perform investigation, cleanup, and redevelopment planning activities at the Site in Bossier City.
A separate Trust – the Tronox Tort Claims Trust – was established to pay personal injury claims (medical or health) and property damage claims associated with Kerr-McGee’s prior operations.
Visit the Tronox Tort Claims Trust website or contact the Tronox Trust by email at tronoxtorttrust@epiqglobal.com or phone at (800) 753-2480.
The Multistate Trust cannot pay personal injury or property damage claims. The Multistate Trust and LDEQ have no involvement in the Tronox Tort Claims Trust.
In July 2022, the Tronox Tort Trust sent the Multistate Trust a letter in response to the Multistate Trust’s requests that Tronox Tort Trust representatives participate in community meetings, meet with affected residents, and provide information about the claims process in a format that is accessible to residents.