JEA Kennedy Generation Station Site - Corrective Measures Study

JEA’s KGS is located at 4215 Talleyrand Avenue. The site is an electric power generating facility located adjacent to the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.

The KGS consists of two parcels located north and south of an east-west intersecting drainage ditch and totaling about 53 acres. JEA acquired the southern parcel in 1977 to operate an electrical substation and wastewater facilities associated with the generating station. The past and present JEA operations and activities on this site did not cause the contamination that is the focus of the Corrective Measures Study (CMS) and subsequent remediation efforts; however, as the owner of the property, JEA is leading the effort to clean up the site.
 

The previous owners of the southern parcel operated a creosote wood treatment and distribution facility on the site for almost 60 years (1909 to 1966). These creosote related operations ceased on the site more than 10 years before JEA owned the property. In addition to these historical activities, a creosote pipeline was located on neighboring properties, which operated between 1966 and 1992.

Operation of the wood treatment facility and the pipeline resulted in releases of wood treating preservatives and other petroleum based compounds on to the southern parcel. These releases affected soil, groundwater, and river sediments
 

The KGS site is currently regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program. JEA is working cooperatively with the FDEP to responsibly remediate the releases created by the former owners.

Over the past years, JEA has been diligent in investigating the distribution of the affected soil and groundwater, as well as sediments in the St. Johns River. JEA constructed a Groundwater Recovery System along the KGS shoreline of the St. Johns River in 2012 as an interim measure to prevent affected groundwater from migrating into the river. The Groundwater Recovery System began operations in January 2013 and continues operation today.
 

JEA completed a draft CMS in June 2013 to develop, evaluate, and recommend corrective measures alternatives that address the environmental concerns in a manner that is technically feasible and cost effective. It is important to select alternatives that represent the best use of public funds for the protection of human health and the environment at KGS. The CMS outlines remedial action goals for all contaminated soil, groundwater, and sediments. These goals will be used to measure and evaluate the performance of the proposed remedy.

Working closely with FDEP and the adjacent property owners, JEA revised and updated the CMS in August 2014. The proposed remedies for the affected soils, groundwater, and sediments are summarized in this fact sheet. The proposed remedies for both soil and groundwater will restrict the future land use of the KGS and the adjacent properties to commercial or industrial use and prohibit the use of shallow groundwater in the area. Engineering controls are also proposed to limit human exposure to contaminated soils and restrict the migration of contaminated groundwater into the St. Johns River.

Soil Proposed Remedies:
• Capping identified areas with an asphalt layer; and
• Removing and disposing of surface soils from the property adjacent to the KGS.
 

Groundwater Proposed Remedies:
• Continuing operation of the existing groundwater recovery system; and
• Field testing (and potential use of) a subsurface extraction method to remove creosote-like fluids from the groundwater beneath the southeastern part of the site.

Sediments Proposed Remedies:
• Removing high concentration areas of creosote contaminated sediments and replacing removed sediments with clean fill dirt;
• Placing the removed sediments inside a designated dredge area prior to burying and capping sediments with asphalt onsite; and
• Monitored natural recovery of the remaining sediments, which will be remediated by natural physical, chemical, and biological processes until remedial goals are attained. 
 

To date, JEA has performed investigations; coordinated activities with adjacent property owners; installed and operated a Groundwater Recovery System; and performed assessment, monitoring, inspection, and site maintenance activities. The estimated cost for the proposed site remediation and continued monitoring is approximately $13 million. It is estimated that it will take approximately 3 to 4 years to complete design, contracting, and construction of the proposed remedy. Ongoing groundwater monitoring is expected to continue indefinitely. Monitored natural recovery of sediments is projected to continue over a 20-year time period..

A repository of relevant documents has been established in the JEA offices at 21 W. Church St., 8th floor in Jacksonville, Florida. These documents may be reviewed by contacting one of the following JEA representatives at the phone numbers provided:

Matt McClure – (904) 665-6253
Jaclyn Taricska – (904) 665-4243