Chisman Creek sits in York County, Virginia, where three abandoned sand and gravel pits received more than 500,000 tons of coal combustion residuals between 1957 and 1974. Those residuals came from the Yorktown Power Generating Station and included fly ash, bottom ash, and petroleum coke. Heavy metal contamination spread to groundwater, ponds, a freshwater tributary, and the Chisman Creek estuary. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List on September 8, 1983.
Seven contaminants of concern have been identified in groundwater at the site: arsenic, beryllium, chromium, copper, nickel, selenium, and vanadium. Surface water in the creek also showed vanadium, nickel, and sulfate. Drinking contaminated groundwater posed a risk to nearby residents, and the estuary faced threats from site runoff.
Virginia Power, now known as Dominion, agreed through a 1987 consent decree to carry out the cleanup. Work at the three disposal pits included extending public water lines to homes with contaminated wells, installing caps over the pits, and collecting and treating contaminated groundwater. Over 23 million gallons were treated on-site, and 64 million gallons were sent to a public treatment facility. Caps over the buried materials now prevent direct contact with residuals. Drainage modifications and water quality monitoring programs addressed the estuary and surface water. Long-term groundwater response actions began in April 1989 and continue today. A new feasibility study for the landfill and groundwater operable unit is underway, with a record of decision amendment estimated for completion between September and November 2028.
The site has been redeveloped into a 31-acre recreational complex with two parks, soccer fields, softball fields, ponds, marinas, and a County Memorial Tree Grove, all built into the protective caps. The complex opened in 1991. York County maintains the site under an agreement with Dominion. EPA's 2021 five-year review concluded that the cleanup is currently protective of human health and the environment. Human exposure is under control, and groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Institutional controls, including deed restrictions and zoning limits, remain in place. The next five-year review is scheduled between December 2026 and February 2027.
Community members can follow site progress through Community Update Factsheets, which EPA has released regularly through January 2024. Public notices about cleanup changes appear in The Virginian-Pilot. Administrative records are available at the York County Public Library in Yorktown, Virginia, and at the EPA Region 3 office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with advance scheduling required at both locations.
