Letter from Mike Baker, COPA,
to Judge Foster
February 20, 1998
U.S. District Court
Rm. 277 U.S. Courthouse
46 E. Ohio Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Magistrate Judge Kennard Foster
Re: Case IP 83-9-C-D/F
Dear Judge Foster,
As I stated in earlier correspondence to you, the Bloomington community
is very concerned about some of the remedial options being explored for
dealing with the PCBs dumped here by Westinghouse.
It is our understanding there are four primary options being explored.
All of them involve extensive removal of contaminated material from the
dumps, and we agree that this is essential. The alternatives being considered
for disposal of the excavated material are:
1) use existing, permitted landfills in Indiana and/or out of state
2) construct a new TSCA/RCRA landfill on Bottom Road
3) construct a new TSCA/RCRA landfill at the Neal's Landfill site
4) dump the material on top of the existing contaminated material and
Neal's Landfill and cap the entire site.
Option 1, disposal at existing landfills, is the only acceptable option.
We are very strongly opposed to the use of the Bottom Road or Neal's Landfill
sites for the reasons set forth below.
The Bottom Road site is in the flood plain of the Bean Blossom Creek,
and it rests on karst. Karst is notorious for being one of the worst geological
settings for landfills because it is porous, unstable, and the flow of water
through it is rapid and nearly impossible to monitor or control. The entire
Bloomington area rests on karst. The assertions by Westinghouse (a.k.a.
CBS) that the Bottom Road site is somehow on an island of competent bedrock
in a sea of karst is absurd. The assertions that the landfill will be above
the flood plain is not credible, and does not address the fact that the
access roads and the base of the landfill will be frequently flooded.
The Neal's Landfill site also rests on karst. The existing PCB dump at
Neal's Landfill has springs coming out the bottom and PCBs are migrating
freely into bedrock and groundwater. The water treatment system is designed
to only capture and treat low flows - the PCBs pass through untreated during
rainfall events.
Common sense should have eliminated these sites from further consideration.
But since it has not, we have asked several of our technical advisors -
consultants in karst geology, engineering and risk assessment - to advise
us on the suitability of these sites for PCB disposal. They are unanimous
in their opposition, and we will send you reports prepared by them under
separate cover. One letter is enclosed from SENES Oak Ridge, one of the
most highly respected risk assessment firms in the country. I think their
evaluation of PCBs and the Bloomington situation should be considered.
COPA believes that as much of the PCB contaminated material as possible
must be removed from the existing sites in order to protect human health
and the environment. We support your demand that remediation be completed
as soon as possible. However, we urge you to bear in mind that any disposal
facility selected must be designed to contain the waste for as long as the
waste will remain a threat. The PCB-contaminated waste will remain a threat
indefinitely. A landfill built on karst terrain, in a flood plain, near
sensitive environments, and in a community already burdened with extensive
environmental contamination, is totally unacceptable and we will not tolerate
it.
It is unfortunate that you have not seen or experienced how Westinghouse
has treated their employees and this community during the last fifteen years.
The only reason most of us have sacrificed our personal time and money to
become involved in this issue is because we have seen or experienced how
truly deceitful they have been. All for the love of money!
Westinghouse should have to be responsible for ridding this community
of as much of the contamination as physically possible. They should also
have to reimburse the community for the natural resource damages to our
streams and land. This damage is irreversible.
I appreciate your consideration and continued interest in how the community
feels concerning options before the court. At some point when plans have
been cast and legal negotiation completed, I would like to be present at
the parties meetings to hear how the communities interest are being handled
by our elected officials.
Sincerely,
Mike Baker
COPA |
