Investigators looking at whether blasts at Rogers facility led to loss of water

Effect of Quarry Operations at Neal's Landfill Site (Viacom, Oct 24, 2001)

Deb McCarver, spokeswoman for Rogers Group, said the blasting on Sept. 11 was unlikely to have caused well problems because it was high in the quarry, not near the water table. She said the blasts may have seemed stronger than they were because of their location and the time of day.

Mark Basch, a geologist with the water rights section of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said his agency began investigating after learning about the problems Sept. 21, and has been comparing well records to learn how much the water table dropped and whether the change can be attributed to actions by the quarry.

Neighbors also mentioned the concern that the blasting may have affected groundwater at Neal's Landfill, which is within a mile of the quarry. The EPA has been monitoring wells and springs in and around the landfill as part of the Neal's Landfill remediation, as there is concern the PCBs are moving out of the landfill through the springs that rise there.

Tom Alcamo, remedial project manager for the U.S. EPA, said: "The springs at Neal's along with the water levels in the wells have not changed based upon measurements since Sept 11th. We are concerned and are going to be in contact with the Rogers Quarry to discuss our concerns and remind them if they change the flow, they could be considered a responsible party. I am not going to speculate what happened at the Quarry until the DNR investigation is completed. In conjunction with the DNR, we plan to do some additional sampling of wells in the area along with doing additional investigations."

Written by Mitch Rice, information from HT article of 10-01-01 by Steve Hennifeld, and email from Tom Alcamo of the EPA.