Delatte Metals was a lead battery processing and smelting operation in Tangipahoa Parish, about 2.5 miles southeast of Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The facility processed spent lead-acid batteries and smelted lead plates into ingots. Poor waste disposal practices spread lead contamination into soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater. About 645 residents live within one mile of the site. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in January 1999 after an initial assessment in 1986.
Lead is the primary contaminant of concern. It was found in soil and sediment in the main cleanup area, known as Operable Unit 01. EPA identifies contaminants of concern by looking at who and what could be exposed, measuring what is present, and assessing the health and environmental risks from contact with those substances.
Cleanup happened in several stages. Removal actions from 1998 to 1999 addressed immediate threats by clearing contaminated materials from residential properties and on-site structures. Workers removed crushed battery casings, slag piles, settling basin solids, smelter equipment, lead-contaminated oil, scrap metal, and sulfuric acid. Between 2002 and 2003, the main remedial action included excavating and solidifying contaminated soil, installing a permeable reactive barrier to raise groundwater pH, demolishing and decontaminating buildings, fencing the site, and setting up institutional controls. A second remedial action phase ran from March 2014 to June 2015.
Today the site is in the operation and maintenance phase. EPA removed it from the National Priorities List in August 2005. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has been maintaining the site and monitoring groundwater regularly since September 2004. Human exposure is currently under control, with no unacceptable pathways for people to contact harmful contamination. Groundwater is stabilized and not discharging to surface water in unacceptable amounts. All cleanup goals have been met for current and anticipated future uses, and land-use restrictions are in place. The site achieved ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in December 2006 and currently hosts two businesses employing six people. EPA has conducted five-year reviews in 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022, with the next review estimated between September and November 2027.
Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. For state-level questions, contact the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
