IH7786_20240314_Request for Information

March 14, 2024

Mr. Jeff Blankenship
Ingles Markets, Inc.
2913 US Highway 70W
Black Mountain, NC 28711

RE: Notice of Information Request
Former K Mart Store #4112 – K Mart & Penske Auto Center
1001 Patton Avenue
Asheville, Buncombe County, NC

EPA ID # NCD986229995
UST Incident # AS-590

Mr. Blankenship:

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, (DEQ), Division of Waste Management
(Division), Inactive Hazardous Site Branch (IHSB), is notifying Ingles Markets, Inc. (Ingles), that the
subject site could be the source of chlorinated compounds in groundwater observed at the IHSB
Site Carolina Tire #2936 (IHSB No. NONCD0001451) at 990 Patton Avenue in Asheville, NC. This
letter is to solicit your cooperation to ensure any immediate exposure to contaminants is
identified and addressed and to provide you with information on regulatory requirements for
cleanup and our voluntary site cleanup program. Therefore, we are requesting any reporting of
environmental assessment E.g., Phase I or II Environmental Assessments) commonly completed
as part of real estate transaction due diligence.

Background
In 1991, a 1,000-gallon waste oil underground storage tank, installed in 1965, was removed from
the Site near the former K Mart automotive center up gradient of Carolina Tire #2936. Following
excavation and removal of the UST, soil samples were collected and submitted for analysis of
total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), oil and grease. One sample was also submitted for toxicity
characteristics leaching procedure (TCPL) for volatile organic compounds (VOC);
trichloroethylene (TCE) was detected at an estimated concentration of 5 micrograms per liter
(µg/L).

K Mart and Penske Auto Center (EPA ID NCD986229995) listed lead (waste code D008), benzene
(waste code D018) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) (waste Code D039) on their EPA Notification of
Regulated Waste Activity, Form 8700-12, dated December 16, 1992, and December 4, 1995,
respectively. These are the earlies EPA reporting documents in our files.

Although the concentration is estimated, and relatively low, the detection could indicate the
presence in soil at the subject site. The most northern, upgradient, groundwater monitoring wells
(MW) at Carolina Tire #2936, MW-5, MW-7, and vertical delineation well VDW-9, contained
concentrations of chlorinated compounds PCE, TCE, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, and their degradation
products.

Regulatory Framework
Carolina Tire #2936 is an Inactive Hazardous Site due to the chlorinated compounds detected in
groundwater. Therefore, the Inactive Hazardous Sites Response Act (IHSRA), codified under
North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) §130A-310 et seq, applies to the subject Site, and initial
immediate actions may be required under 15A NCAC 2L, Groundwater Classifications and
Standards. Existing groundwater data indicates that there could be an upgradient source and the
potential source should be determined to exist or not due to the potential health risk.

Depending on the degree of hazards present, immediate response actions (by responsible
parties, property owners, or by the State, when no financially viable responsible parties exist)
may be necessary to investigate and/or abate current exposure to contamination. Note that
pursuant to 15A NCAC 2L .0106(b), any person conducting or controlling an activity which results
in the discharge of a waste or hazardous substance to the groundwaters of the State, or in
proximity thereto, is required to take immediate action to terminate and control the discharge
and mitigate any hazards resulting from exposure to the pollutants including eliminating the
source or sources of contamination.

If you know or suspect that groundwater is contaminated with volatile hazardous substances, a
structural vapor intrusion evaluation of all occupied structures located within 100 ft of the
contamination is necessary to identify health risks to building occupants. For more information,
you can find the Division’s vapor intrusion guidance documents on our web page at
http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/waste-management-permit-
guidance/inactive-hazardous-sites-guidance-documents.

To assist the Branch in identifying any immediate exposure risks, a Site Conditions Questionnaire,
available on our website noted at the end of this letter, should be completed, and returned to
this office. It is important that the information you provide is complete and accurate. The
Questionnaire will be reviewed by Branch staff in consideration of real or perceived risk to
neighboring properties, surface waters, human health, or the environment.

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 130A-310.1(f)(1) & (2), the Division has the authority to require that “any
person” furnish to the Division “any information, document, or record in that person’s possession
or under that person’s control that relates to:
(1) The identification, nature, and quantity of material that has been or is generated,
treated, stored, or disposed of at an inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site
or that is transported to an inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site.
(2) The nature and extent of a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance or

hazardous waste at or from an inactive hazardous substance or waste disposal site.”
Under the authority of N.C.G.S. § 130A-310.1(f)(1) we are asking that Ingles provide to the
Division for our knowledge of the remedial action history and current site conditions:
• a copy of all information, documents, and records in your possession or under your
control regarding the generation, treatment, use, storage, disposal, or releases of
hazardous substances, on your property.
• all information regarding the use, storage, disposal, or releases of hazardous substances
on your property by you and, if known, by any other individual or company that leased or
occupied the property since it was acquired by you.

The Site Conditions Questionnaire should be sent to my attention. In your response, please
indicate your plans for conducting a voluntary site assessment and/or cleanup. Information
regarding the Inactive Hazardous Sites Program can be found at
http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/superfund-section/inactive-hazardous-
sites-program.

Please submit this information to me, within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter, at the
following address, or email below:
NC Division of Waste Management
2090 U.S. Highway 70
Swannanoa, NC 28778
If you have any questions, please contact me at [phone] or [e-mail].
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Brett Engard, P.G.
Hydrogeologist
Inactive Hazardous Sites Branch

c.c.: Mr. Walter Williams, Director of Risk Management, Ingles