EPA RCRA ID: MDD003093499
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
Note: EPA is leading the cleanups for this site.
The Facility was the subject of several historical investigations that were conducted between 1984 and 2004. A Site Characterization was conducted starting in 2009. A Supplemental Site Characterization and additional supplemental investigations were conducted between 2014 and 2019.
The Facility was acquired by current owner TRP-MCB 5601 Eastern, LLC (MCB) from PEMCO Holding Corporation in 2014. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) received an application from TRP-MCB 5601 Eastern LLC for its Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) on September 29, 2014. MDE accepted the Facility into the VCP on August 12, 2015. The Facility has recently undergone redevelopment consistent with the remedy elements described in the MDE-approved Response Action Plan (RAP). The RAP detailed the remedy elements to address impacted soil, soil vapor, and groundwater contamination within the Facility boundaries in conjunction with the Facility redevelopment. Portions of the Facility have been redeveloped into residential, retail, and commercial uses.
In March 2018, TRP-MCB 5601 Eastern, LLC began demolition of existing buildings and construction activities at the Facility. Construction and capping activities (including placement of buildings, hardscaped areas, landscaped areas, and vapor intrusion controls in buildings) have been substantially completed.
In November 2018, PCB-contaminated soil and concrete were excavated and placed in roll-off dumpsters for off-site disposal. Approximately 164 tons of material were disposed of at an off-site disposal facility. During redevelopment activities throughout 2018 to 2023, petroleum-impacts were discovered in certain areas of the Facility. The petroleum-impacted soils were excavated and disposed off-site. In 2018, three 8,000‐gallon diesel Underground Storage Tanks (USTs), two 500‐gallon heating oil USTs, and a 550‐gallon heating oil UST were removed from the site. A total of approximately 717 tons of petroleum impacted soil was removed during all excavation activities described above.
On June 13, 2024, EPA Region 3 issued a proposed remedy (Statement of Basis ) for Corrective Action at Yard 56 (Formerly PEMCO Corporation). EPA’s proposed remedy consists of the implementation of engineering controls, monitored natural attenuation of groundwater, land and groundwater use restrictions implemented through enforceable Institutional Controls such as an order and/or an Environmental Covenant to control exposure to contaminated soil and groundwater, and long-term groundwater monitoring. The public notice for the proposed remedy was published for a 30-day comment period beginning on June 13, 2024, and ended on July 13, 2024. During the public comment period, the EPA received comments from MCB, that provided clarifying information on the Facility background, ownership, and relationship to the EPA’s September 2020 FDRTC for Lots 27C and 28. The Final Decision and Response to Comments was published on September 24, 2024.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Facility comprises 20.02 acres of land located south of Eastern Avenue and east of South Umbra Street, in the eastern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland.
Historically, the Porcelain Enamel Manufacturing Corporation (PEMCO) began operating at the Facility in the early 20th Century. Prior to PEMCO’s operation, the Facility property was vacant. PEMCO produced specialty glass (frit), ceramic, enamels, and inorganic pigments until operations ceased in September 2007. The PEMCO manufacturing plant was decommissioned in December 2007. The main manufacturing building housed smelting furnaces, where raw materials were heated until molten and then cooled and broken into small pieces (the frit). Weighing and mixing of raw materials occurred in a color and mixing building, and raw materials were received at the Facility via truck and rail car. Finished product was stored in an on-site warehouse building or at an off-site leased warehouse prior to shipment. A control laboratory monitored production quality, and a separate research laboratory provided technical assistance. Two railroad spurs historically served the Facility but have since been removed.
In addition to regulated materials used in the manufacturing and maintenance processes, the Facility historically generated waste in the form of off-specification product, recovered dust, and material settled from process discharge water and surface runoff. Until approximately 1979, off-specification product, smelter refractories, packaging materials, and general facility trash were placed in an approximately six-acre industrial landfill (known as Crystal Hill) on the southern and western portions of the Facility. The landfill was capped with 6 to 8 feet of clay loam and closed in 1979.
The contaminants of concern are primarily Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the soils.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The EPA’s final remedy includes land and groundwater use restrictions and notifications to protect human health and the integrity of the remedy.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | |||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.