The Marty Asbestos and Waste Site includes a) three structurally unsound buildings (St. Joseph, St. Katherine and White Frame) at an active boarding school in Marty, South Dakota, and b) a large unregulated dumping location 3 miles northeast of town.

   The Site is on the Tribal lands of the Yankton Sioux. The Tribe's Dakota name is Ihaƞktoƞwaƞ Dakota Oyate, meaning "People of the End Village" which comes from the period when the Tribe lived at the end of Spirit Lake just north of Mille Lacs Lake.

   The boarding school buildings contain asbestos and lead based paint. School officials have attempted to restrict access to the buildings, but school employees, students and trespassers may be exposed.

   The unregulated dumping location is used dozens of times each day by people and businesses from as far away as Nebraska and often catches fire.

EPA is conducting a CERCLA Time Critical Removal Action to:

1. Demolish and remove the structurally compromised school buildings which contain asbestos.
2. Create a repository at the unregulated dumping location for both debris from the demolished buildings and waste which has been abandoned at the dump location.
3. Remediate the dump location to support future use by the Tribe as a transfer station.

Individuals near the school buildings and particularly trespassers entering the structures are at risk for building collapses and exposure to asbestos and potentially lead based paint, mercury switches and PCB ballasts. Individuals using the dump are at risk for exposure to chemical hazards, smoldering waste piles, and vermin which could spread disease.

UPDATE: The school buildings have been removed and hazards at the dump have been largely addressed. However, both locations are still active construction zones characterized by physical hazards and moving heavy equipment. 

  The Objectives for this Operational Period at the Marty School:

1. Mobilize equipment and resources.
2. Establish Command Post.
3. Secure buildings and prevent unauthorized entry.
4. Establish Support, Contamination Reduction and Exclusion Zones.
   o Utilize fencing covered with poly sheeting for exclusion zone.
   o Create decontamination area(s) for equipment and personnel.
5. Remove mercury switches and PCB ballasts from buildings.
6. Cut pipes from shared wall between St. Katherine building and steam plant.
7. Remove stairway on St Joseph building.
8. Use engineer to develop final plans to separate St. Katherine building from steam plant.
   o Include bracing for walls and first floor structure if possible and useful.
   o Include plywood sheathing for steam plant roof
9. Develop contingency plans for potential damage to steam plant.

The Objectives for this Operational Period at the Marty Dump:

1. Mobilize equipment and resources.
2. Secure location and create temporary dump spot.
3. Crush debris and waste.
4. Remove and stage chemical hazards if discovered.
5. Segregate refrigerators and tires.
6. Begin excavation of pit and stage clean fill material.
7. Maintain dust control.

1.  All anticipated heavy equipment needed for the Site has been delivered (See Weekly Work Order for Details).

2.  An ERRS Office and the EPA Mobile Command Post have been set up at the Marty Indian School.

3.  Site fencing has been established at both locations of the Site (Dump and School) with controls in-place for properly limiting entry and egress.

4.  A Decontamination Trailer at the School Site is in-place, along with poly sheeted fencing, and marked CRZ corridors.

5.  Both the St. Joe and St. Katherine Buildings have been cleared of mercury and PCB containing devices (e.g. switches, lighting ballast).

6. All piping and electrical conduit running between the Steam Plant and the St. Katherine Building have been severed on both sides of the shared wall.  The wail running through the Steam Plant into the St. Katherine Building has been cut on both sides of the shared wall as well.

7. The external stairway on the St. Joe Building has been removed.

8.  The Site Structural Engineer reviewed and approved the planned shoring work, as well as the efforts to structural disconnect the Steam Plant from the St. Katherine Building.  

9.  The YST has retained the services of a local architect to develop a contingency plan for potential damage to the Steam Plant Building that might occur from the demolition of the St. Katherine Building.

10.  Debris at the dump Site has been consolidated into two piles, and crushing and sizing activities begun.

11.  The repository location has been marked and excavation has begun.

12.  Anticipated clean soil has been sorted, staged, and sampled for potential use as back-fill and cover material.

13.  Tires and refrigerators  have been segregated from the other debris and staged for further processing.  The tires will be sent off-site for disposal. The refrigerators will have the freon drained and switches removed prior to being crushed and placed in the repository.

14.  Dust control operations are underway at both Site locations.

For the Operational Period of May 23-29 the following activities are planned:

1.  Complete the construction of the Repository.

2.  Begin placing the crushed and consolidated waste at the Dump Site into the repository.

3.  Secure a subcontract for tire disposal.

4.  Complete the demolition of the White Frame Building (adjacent to St. Katherine Building) and the St. Joe Building.

5. Prep and size demolition waste for loading and hauling.

6.  Begin the demolition of the St. Katherine Building.

7.  Maintain dust control operations at both Site locations.

The Objectives for this Operational Period at the Marty School and Dump Sites were to:

1.  Continue construction of the Repository.

2.  Segregate, crush and consolidate waste at the Dump Site for placement into the repository.

3.  Identify disposal options for tires collected at the Dump Site.

4.  Complete the demolition of the White Frame Building (adjacent to St. Katherine Building) and the St. Joseph Building.

5.  Prep and size demolition waste for loading and hauling to the repository.

6.  Begin the demolition of the St. Katherine Building.

7.  Maintain dust control operations at both Site locations.

1.  Construction of the repository cell is approximately 45% complete.  Operations have been slowed by the discovery of several large pockets of previously buried trash and debris during excavation.  Because of the clays present at this location, the pockets have been inundated with infiltrate.  The ERRS crew has taken steps to collect the accumulated water for treatment and discharge.

2.  Waste originally found at the repository location has been consolidated, crushed, and imbedded into clay.  It has been staged and is awaiting placement upon the completion of the repository.

3.  A disposal location for the approximately 2500 tires collected at the Dump Site has been selected.  Arrangements for transportation are underway.

4.  Demolition of the St. Joseph Building was completed on May 26, 2022.  Demolition of the White Frame Building was completed on May 28, 2022.

5.  Debris from both St. Joseph and the White Frame Buildings has been sized and prepped for loading.

6.  Demolition of the St. Katherine Building began on May 27, 2022.

7.  Dust suppression activities are in-place and operational at both locations.

The following activities are planned for the Operational Period of May 30 - June 5:

• Maintain Support, Contamination Reduction and Exclusion Zones.
• Secure work areas and prevent unauthorized entry.
• Maintain temporary structures to protect steam plant.
• Complete the demolition of the St. Katherine Building.
• Prepare the repository to receive waste.
• Complete the preparation and sizing of building demolition waste for loading and hauling.
• Begin placing the consolidated trash into the repository.
• Begin hauling building debris to the repository.
• Maintain dust suppression at both locations.

1. Complete demolition of St. Katherine building.
2. Complete excavation of repository.
3. Begin hauling demolition debris to repository.
4. Continue managing abandoned waste at the dump location.
5. Maintain dust suppression.

1. Demolition of the St. Katherine building was completed on May 31, 2022. The structure was carefully separated from the adjoining Pacelli building which provides employee housing, school utilities and recreation areas.
2. Excavation of the repository was completed. Soil in the area has high clay content which will limit future water infiltration. Additional capacity may be created if needed.
3. Demolition debris is being hauled 3-miles to the repository on dirt roads using semi trucks with covered end-dump trailers. Debris from the white structure was hauled to the repository on June 1-2, 2022. Debris from the St. Joseph and St. Katherine buildings began moving to the repository on June 3. To date, the response team have hauled approximately 1,590 cubic yards of demolition debris.
4. Demolition debris is being dumped and pushed into the repository and covered with soil using dozers. The On-Scene Coordinator has determined that wrapping the debris in plastic is not practical due to the nature of the dozer work. Members of the community continue to dump waste at the repository location and crews are managing it with the rest of the abandoned waste for ultimate disposal in the repository.
5. The Response Team continues to use water to suppress dust emissions. Continuous air monitoring at the Site during construction activities have not detected any levels of concern.

• Continue hauling demolition debris to the repository.
• Continue managing abandoned waste at the repository.
• Coordinate with Tribal officials regarding construction of a permanent transfer station.

1. Finish hauling demolition debris to the repository.
2. Begin backfilling the three building foundations.
3. Move waste abandoned at the dump into the repository.
4. Maintain dust suppression.

1. The last load of demolition debris was hauled to the repository on June 11, 2022. An estimated 4,770 cubic yards and 159 truckloads of debris was removed and hauled to the repository between June 1-11, 2022. On June 9, 2022, a time capsule was discovered in the 1926 corner stone of the St. Katherine building. The intact capsule was moved outside the work zone and surrendered to the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO). THPO has been on-site during demolition of the buildings and the removal of debris.
2. All the waste which was previously abandoned at the dump was placed on top of the building debris at the repository and compacted. A cap of soil will be installed on top of the waste and the area will be revegetated.
3. Soil from an clean area near the dump site began being used to backfill the foundations of the demolished buildings on June 10.
4. Water was used to limit dust emissions while the building debris was removed and hauled to the repository. Real-time air monitors were used to verify the effectiveness of this activity. No levels of concern were detected and the air monitors have now been taken down.

EPA is now moving to a two-week Operational Period as it begins to focus its efforts on creating a temporary transfer station for operation by the Tribe. The next Ops Period is June 13-26, 2022 and the activities that are planned during this timeframe include:

• Complete backfilling the foundations of the demolished buildings and restore disturbed areas at the school.
• Coordinate with Tribal officials regarding repairs to the wall that connected the St. Katherine building to the Paccelli building before St. Katherine was demolished.
• Begin construction of a transfer station at the dump and coordinate with Tribal officials regarding its future operation.

The Objectives for the Operational Period of June 13-26, 2022 were:

1.  Complete the placement of backfill into the basement areas of the three demolished buildings and complete Site restoration activities, to include:

•   Complete final grading.
•   Repair or Remove damaged sidewalks and other infrastructure as needed.
•   Seed backfilled areas.
•   Demobilize all equipment from the Site.

2.  Coordinate with Tribal Officials the restoration of the shared wall between the Pacelli Building and the now demolished St. Katherine Building.

3.  Complete the final cover over the waste repository.

4.  Begin construction of the Transfer Station, and coordinate with Tribal Officials regarding its future operation.

1.  The placement of backfill at the Marty School location was completed on June 21, 2022.  There was one non-injury incident that occurred during  the back fill operations of the St. Katherine Building.  On Friday, June 17, 2022, a 30 cubic yard  end-dump was delivering backfill to the Site.  While the truck was unloading clean back fill, the concrete underneath the truck trailers' rear tires collapsed as the dump was a full extension.  This resulted in the trailer assembly tipping over onto its side.  (additional photographs here).  The truck cab remained upright and the driver unhurt.  The ERRS crew was able to detach the cab from the trailer, and it was driven off-site. 

The dump trailer assembly was removed from the work area and staged on-site.  Normal operations were resumed within an hour of the incident.  It appeared that a small void (3' diameter, 2' deep) existed underneath the concrete (it was a pre-existing slab) and that the concrete was unsupported where it collapsed.  The void was filled, and the remaining backfill deliveries were done using an articulated haul truck.

2.   All disturbed areas were graded and seeded by June 22, 2022.Arrangements were made for the concrete contractor performing repairs to utility tunnels adjacent to the St. Katherine Building on behalf of the Yankton Sioux Tribe (YST) to include the repair of the damaged sidewalks to their scope. This contractor was already doing sidewalk repair as part of their scope with the YST and their areas of operation overlapped with EPA's. This allowed for both projects to move forward in the most efficient manner. All equipment has been staged for demobilization.

3.  The YST has hired a structural engineer and a suitable mason to repair and/or restore the damaged Pacelli Building wall. EPA will cost share with the YST for this work.

4.  The final cover of the waste repository is in place. Final adjustments to the cover drainage, and seeding the cover is still needed.

5.  Construction of the Transfer Station is underway. A perimeter earthen berm is approximately 60% complete. A rock and gravel base is being installed (10% complete).Six roll-off boxes have been staged and are being used for incoming waste. Separate temporary collection areas for tires, white goods, brush and limbs, HHW, refuse, and recyclable metals (steel, copper, iron, aluminum) have been established. A conceptual design and operational approach have been agreed to with the YST. The YST is making arrangements to hire a Transfer Station Operator, who will work with EPA in running the transfer operations to facilitate a better transition to full YST operation. July 31, 2022, is the target date for YST to take over long-term operations.

For the Operational Period of June 27 -July 10, 2022 the following operations are planned:

• Complete construction of gravel transfer station pads and entry/exit.
• Construct concrete sorting pads.
  • Identify price and subcontractor.
  • Schedule subcontractor.
  • Construct the pad.
• Install jersey/block barriers.
  • Identify price and vendor.
  • Schedule delivery.
  • Install barriers.
• Complete berms.
• Identify and implement drainage layout.
• Rent wood-chipper for brush and limbs.
• Re-seed and water disturbed areas.
• Maintain dust control.
• Operate temporary transfer station.
• Develop Ops Plan for permanent Transfer Station