Here are some informal notes taken at the Consent Decree Parties 
Information Meeting of May 14, 1996, by Mitch Rice of Copa

The purpose of the meeting was to keep the public informed of happenings
in regards to the schedule developed by the Consent Decree Parties as per
the instructions of Judge Dillon.


The first presentation was by John Langley of the City of Bloomington.
He presented an overview of the situation at Winston-Thomas, where
the most recent escapes of pcbs occured.  He told of the abandoned
pipes that rusted and broke, releasing the contaminated water into
a corridor below grade.  Nearly 88,000 gallons have be pumped out
and treated with sand and carbon filtering.  There is a 4 foot
lateral crack in one of the digester tanks, though no immediate danger
is forseen from this crack.  There has been some failure in the berm
surrounding the lagoon, there is now monthly inspection of the berm.


Dan Hopkins presented the Schedule as filed with the Court. He noted
the overlapping timelines of the work on the various sites, and stated 
two sites now being investigated are Winston Thomas and Lemon Lane.

John Langley went over the land use scenerios for both Winston Thomas
and Lemon Lane.  The most likely future land use for the two sites are as
business parks, and in the case of Winston Thomas, possibly a commercial
shopping area. Mr. Langley was quick to point out that no zoning or
executive decisions had been made towards this end.


Dan Hopkins presented information about Winston Thomas and Lemon Lane.
As to Winston Thomas he stated that a sampling plan was needed to detirmine
what remediations are necessary. A risk asessment is needed, and so ground
water and well water need to be studied.  At Lemon Lane extensive well
water tests have been done that indicate little seepage into the 
wells near Lemon Lane.  The problem seems to be concentrated at the Illinois
Central Springs, where in high flow periods, large amounts of PCBs are
flushed from the system, and drain into Clear Creek. The catchment area
around the IC Springs needs study so that a way to reduce the peaks of
flow during heavy rainfall can be investigated, making the job of treating
this water feasable.  Hot spot remediation and capping is the only method 
of dealing with the landfill material currently being considered.

Dottie Alkie from Wesinghouse talked about how the screening of possible
alternative methods is to be accomplished.  First she listed all the
possiblities for remediation.  These were:

No Action
On site consolidation and containment
Ground and surface water treatment
Offsite Landfilling
Insitu Bioremediation
Thermal Techniques
Chemical Techniques
Combination of Technologies


Of these, the No Action, Bioremdiation, Thermal and Chemical Alternatives
were eliminated for both sites.  This leaves as possibilities Consolidation,
water treatment, and offsite landfilling.  Most likely a combination
of these three will be used on both sites.  What is the best technology
for any situation will depend on the site characterization being carried
out. Lemon Lane may require more, extended capping, and a water treatment
plant at the Illinois Central Spring.

She presented the steps involved in screening alternatives to be used in the
remediation of Lemon Lane and Winston Thomas.

A. Effectiveness- 
	1. Technical Feasability
	2. Proven at full scale on a similar or the same matrix

B. Economic Feasability/Cost

C. Administrative Considerations
	1. Governmental Review, Federal, State and local
	2. Public Comment
	3. Judicial Review
		a. Consent Decree may have to be amended on a site by 
		site basis

The meeting ended with a question and answer period.  Charlotte Zietlow
asked that the EPA show good faith and perform an RIFS, and Mike Baker
of COPA presented a letter formally asking the EPA for an RIFS. Bill
Hayden of the Sierra Club asked that something be done about the continuing
leakage to the environment at the IC Springs.