CIC Meeting
May 13, 2003
Summary
Tues Aug 5, 2003, 6:30 pm
Monroe County Puplic Library
EPA Presentation HTML
EPA Presentation (PDF-2.3 Megs)
ABB Plant Site
EPA expects a plan from Viacom for additional sampling in the building and soil delineation for contamination under the floor of building. ABB can not sell the site until the PCBs are cleaned up, or it can demonastrate that the site is not a risk to groundwater. (It would be interstate commerce of PCBs, which is illegal, if ABB were to sell to another company.)
ABB is bankrupt, but Viacom is holding discussions about liability with ABB. The ABB plant is outside the Consent Decree and so it will probably require an Administrative Order on Consent to be negotiated with Viacom and ABB. Additional sampling around and under the building needs to be done. The EPA is studying two concepts: (1) Does the contamination under the building need to be removed? (2) If it is not removed, will it be a hazard to groundwater?
Storm sampling of Detmer 2 spring was done during the storm event of May 6, 2003. This testing is related to the cleanup done around the plant, not to the plant and land underneath it.
Winston Thomas
EPA performed a reconnaissance on May 7, 2003 in Clear Creek for springs after the 2.14" rain event on May 6, 2003, and one spring sampled was flowing at 10 gpm.
To help visualize the spring water data, EPA has created graphs of the lab results for Abandoned Lagoon Spring, MW-3S, MW-3I, and MW-7 over the last few years.
Bennett’s Dump
Viacom will soon submit a report summarizing recent investigations, which have focused on water levels in the nearby quarries, and how that relates to the spring flows at Bennett's. It is hoped that lowering the water level at the quarries will help to dry up the springs. Otherwise, there may be a need to pump the groundwater, which is contaminated with PCB oil. Viacom will be submitting recommendations for additional work, including pumping of the quarries and dye trace studies. Viacom has conducted storm event sampling on May 6, which will help determine if there is a PCB flushing effect during storms, as there is at Neal's Landfill and Lemon Lane.
EPA has presented charts of the PCB data for samples taken at Stout's Creek West Branch, Middle Spring, Mound Spring, Mid-North Spring, Monitoring Well MW-6D, Monitoring Well MW-6I, and Stout's Creek Downstream.
Neal’s Landfill
Viacom conducted storm flow sampling during the storm of May 6, 2003, which had a double peak of 6,470 gpm (add 500 gpm for the collection system) and 3,434 (add 500 gpm).
The government parties have just received Viacom's Fish Sampling Plan for Conard’s Branch and Richland Creek, and they are reviewing it. If it is approved, the sampling will be done at the end of May. Sampling is scheduled at stations 1, 2 and 3, the PCB congener analysis method will be used for fish tissue and crayfish.
EPA is waiting for the data validation report for the last fish sampling event in November 2002.
They will do a trend analysis on fish tissue using pre-source control and post source control data.
Ecological and human health risk analysis discussions continue, with Viacom experts having made several commments that were incorporated into the EPA's assessment. For ecological risk assessment, EPA developed toxicity reference values for mink and kingfisher, which has been peer reviewed and will be used in the assessment. Viacom and EPA are trying to work through differences, with Viacom contending that racoon or opossum should be used rather than mink.
Using preliminary numbers from the risk assessment, kingfisher would need to have the fish be at or below 0.5ppm. Fish in Richland Creek are as high as 17ppm.
In early June there will be a meeting to scope the upcoming sediment sampling (1ppm action level) in Conard’s Branch and Richland Creek. GIS will be used to locate sampling locations.
Neal's Landfill Basin Delineation Investigation
EPA conducted dye trace studies in the basin, to see if water could be diverted around sinkholes upstream of Neal's Landfill, thus reducing flow and/or PCB concentrations coming to the Northwest System Springs. Five successful tracer tests have been done to date. Four tracers went to the Northwest Spring System and one trace went to Richland Spring. This topographic map of the Neal's Landfill area shows ground water tracing results (blue), and a possible outline of the Northwest Spring System ground water basin (red).
Charts of PCB Levels from South Spring, North Spring, Branam Spring, and Taylor Spring, 1999-2002
Lemon Lane Landfill
Fish Sampling is scheduled for late May in Clear Creek. PCB analysis will be done by the congener method, which is more sensitive, but also more expensive. Trend analysis is under development using pre and post source control data. The Long-Term Groundwater Monitoring Plan was recently approved.
The Groundwater Investigation Plan is still under development, and it has to do with the Conduit Study.
EPA has started ecological and human health risk assessment activities at Lemon Lane. They are scoping sediment sampling in Clear Creek in early June. GIS will be used locate sampling methods. There will be additional sediment sampling sometime in summer 2003.
PZ-E Pump Test, April 1, 2003
The purpose of the test is to evaluate this hotspot well as a PCB source location.
PZ-E is adjacent to LF-6, but is at a higher water level.
The well was pumped for 240 minutes @0.4 gpm, with a result of 0.72 feet drawdown.
There was only partial recovery of the water level on cessation of pumping. PCBs were found at levels of 410 to 4,000 ug/l. There was no response in water levels at LF-6, meaning the two are probably not connected. It could be concluded that this is a relatively isolated pocket of PCBs.
March 15, 2003 Low Flow Tracer Test (Martin Sink/OO370)
This test had two goals:
- Confirm previous 10/22/02 tracer test from OO370 which detected at very high concentration (20,000 ug/l) at MW-18 – but not at ICS.
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Determine if a previous epikarst injection at Martin Sink would pass through east side of Lemon Lane Landfill
Lemon Lane Conduit Investigation Update
Viacom covened an investigation update for the parties on March 12, 2003.
The presentation consisted of 6 parts:
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Geology/stratigraphy
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Hydrology/pumping tests
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Tracer Testing
Water Levels
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Temperature
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Future Actions
Major Questions of Karst (Conduit) Study
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What is the source of PCBs that impact ICS?
- It is now conjectured that there are DNAPL sumps, probably in the epikarst, not in the phreatic (water-bearing) zone, as it was thought before. (Dense NonAqueous Phase Liquids, or DNAPLs, are heavier than water and sink, as compared to oils, which float. PCBs are sinkers.)
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Where is the PCB source?
- Southeast corner of landfill
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How are the PCBs mobilized?
- Pulses during storms, more mass during wetter periods
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What are specific pathways taken?
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What can be done to prevent the movement, or deplete the source?
Karst Study Future Actions
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Epikarst Investigations (PCB Sources)
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New wells from geophysics (southeast part of landfill)
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PCB well sampling
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Tracer testing during storms (PCB travel time)
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Pump testing (reservoir size and potential for removal)
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Phreatic Investigation
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Enhanced geophysics (brine injection)
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Drill pathways
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PCB sampling and pump tests
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Feasibility Testing
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Pumping to control ICS PCBs
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Source removal
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Source isolation
Illinois Central Spring
Earth Tech is developing water treatment plant capture/flow predictions, and they are developing a report on plant expansion for operable unit 2, probably additional storage will be needed.
Numbers from May 1-12, 2003.
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Rainfall – 4.13 inches
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Total Processed – 9,735,061 gallons
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Tank Overflow – 3,145,619 gallons
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Bypass from sump – 10,545 gallons (due to power failure).
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Total Processed from startup – 368,505,375 gallons
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Percent water treated to date is 81%
To help determine the effects of sediment settling during the water's passage through the storage tanks during overflow events, 11 influent and 14 overflow samples were taken from tanks starting at midnight May 5 through mid-morning May 7. The flow rate peaked at 3,050 gpm. Plant effluent samples were taken in April for PCB analysis using high resolution PCB Congenor Method 1668. Both low flow and storm samples were taken. 1.1 ppt were found in the effluent. IDEM is looking at getting a power conditioner to reduce the power spikes, which is what caused the sump bypass in May by causing the PCL control system to freeze.
Miscellaneous
EPA has filed a motion for Summary Judgment in the Frey case using CERCLA Section 113 (h). They are waiting on a ruling from Judge Young. EPA has resolved the access issues for Lemon Lane, and it is now fully fenced, but other issues need to be resolved. A global settlement meeting took place on April 9, 2003. Issues were identified (such as payment for and operation of ICS treatment plant, natural resource damages, and Viacom's suit against the state for blocking the incinerator), and serious negotiations should occur sometime in the late summer or early fall.
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