Mountain Creek Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
Welcome to the homepage for the Mountain Creek Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR). This website is a portal for the public to learn more about the NRDAR process at Mountain Creek Lake, the Mountain Creek Lake Natural Resource Trustees (hereinafter Trustees), and public participation opportunities.
What Happened?
The U.S. Department of the Navy (Navy) formerly owned and operated the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP) and the Naval Air Station (NAS) Dallas (collectively, the Facility). Releases of petroleum products, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals from the Facility occurred from various industrial and aircraft support operations, production buildings, solid waste management units, and storage areas. Releases began in the 1940s. Response action plans have been developed to remedy groundwater, soil, and sediment contamination at the Facility. These hazardous substance releases affected and continue to affect Mountain Creek Lake and nearshore area natural resources and services, including surface waters, groundwater, sediments, birds, fish, other animals, and human/recreational uses such as fishing.
Location
The Facility is located along the northwest shore of Mountain Creek Lake, in the City of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas.
Trustees
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and Texas General Land Office
Case Status
The Trustees have completed the Preassessment Phase and have started the Assessment Plan Phase.
Preassessment
The Trustees issued the Preassessment Screen and Determination, Mountain Creek Lake: Dallas Naval Air Station and Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (Preassessment Screen and Determination) and a Notice of Intent (NOI) to perform a NRDAR. To develop the Preassessment Screen and Determination, the Trustees evaluated existing information and data from the remediation process and U.S. Geologic Survey. Based on this evaluation, the Trustees confirmed that natural resources were exposed to hazardous substances including petroleum products, VOCs, PCBs, and metals from the Facility and determined that it is reasonable to proceed with a NRDAR.
Assessment Plan
The Trustees are seeking feedback on an Amended Draft Mountain Creek Lake: Naval Air Station Dallas and Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan (Amended Draft Assessment Plan).
On May 7, 2021, the Trustees released a Draft Mountain Creek Lake: Naval Air Station Dallas and Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan (Draft Assessment Plan) for public review. The trustees received comments from a single party within the 30-day comment period. No modifications were made to the Draft Assessment Plan in response to the public comments.
Since the Trustees issued the Draft Assessment Plan, the EPA designated two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), effective July 8, 2024 (89 Federal Register 39124). As a result of this regulatory change, the Trustees are amending the Draft Assessment Plan to add PFOA and PFOS to the list of chemicals of concern in Appendix C and providing another opportunity for public comment due to the change. No other substantive changes were made.
The public comment period for this Amended Draft Assessment Plan will be 30 days starting December 13, 2024. All public comments must be in writing and submitted within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice in the Texas Register. The deadline for submitting written comments on the Amended Draft Assessment Plan is therefore January 12, 2025. These comments will be considered to help the Trustees plan and conduct an assessment that is scientifically valid and cost effective, and that incorporates a broad array of perspectives. To that end, the Trustees request that you carefully consider this Amended Draft Assessment Plan and provide any comments you may have in writing to:
Kimberly Biba
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Team
1502 FM 517 Road East
Dickinson, TX 77539
Kimberly.biba@TPWD.texas.gov
Phone: (281) 534-0133
The Trustees will consider all timely public comments on the Amended Draft Assessment Plan and will prepare a responsiveness summary on the comments. Based on the public’s comments or other information, the Trustees may again amend this Amended Draft Assessment Plan. Any substantive modifications will be made available for public review.
Available Documents
Post Assessment
After the assessment phase is complete, more information will be posted here.