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CALL (812) 333-8888 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR E-MAIL info@copa.org | |||||||||||||||
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Meetings: CIC | |||||||||||||||
Citizens Information CommitteeMinutes of Public MeetingJuly 22, 1996 Summary Winston-Thomas The final work plan for the sludge drying beds and digesters has been submitted, and the governmental bodies are now reviewing it. Last Monday the EPA sponsored a public meeting to take comments on the amendment to the Consent Decree, which would govern this first phase of the Winston-Thomas Cleanup. The meeting was attended by a Department of Justice lawyer. DOJ is required by RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs covenants such as the Consent Decree,) to take public comment before any changes are made in the Consent Decree. Written comments (which were due on July 25) will be reviewed, and significant comments will be included in the brief to the court. The public meeting was not within the official comment period, and was not required by RCRA, but it did allow citizens to air concerns directly to the DOJ. The meeting was attended by about 25-30 citizens, most of whom were very familiar with the issues, and they expressed an extensive list of concerns. The most common complaint was that this amendment weakens the Consent Decree, allowing Westinghouse to leave behind a much higher amount of contamination (50ppm) than specified in Consent Decree. Of course the perennial complaint that the original Consent Decree was illegal (no public comment was taken until after the Decree was signed, and no Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RIFS) were done) was raised as well. If Judge Dillon (Federal District Court) approves the amendment, work could begin late in August. Phase two of the Winston-Thomas cleanup will include the majority of the PCB contamination, but there is disagreement about the cleanup levels. The levels are to be determined using Health Based Cleanup Goals, which allows for input from the parties and the public. (The EPA's spill policy is set at 25ppm for commercial, and 10ppm for residential sites, and is not flexible as are the HBCG.) The governmental bodies (City of Bloomington, Monroe County, State of Indiana, and the EPA) all agree that a 15 ppm average with a 25ppm not to exceed value is protective of health and the environment. Westinghouse has proposed a 50ppm not to exceed value, and talks stalled on this point. At the last principals' meeting the governmental bodies asked Westinghouse to sign the agreement by the end of July. If they do, then all should procede on schedule next year. If not...? West Side of Clear Creek Agreement is near on cleanup of the West Side of Clear Creek (which is not covered by the Consent Decree.) The EPA has issued a draft administrative order on consent, meaning that Westinghouse will cooperate With the EPA to clean up this area. The most highly contaminated material (above 25ppm) will be dug up and shipped out, while the less contaminated dirt will be scraped up and dumped in the hole created by the removal. This contaminated dirt (less than 25ppm) will then be covered with 18 inches of clean dirt. The Mayor has asked for a public meeting to discuss the cleanup plan, but agreement is so near that such a meeting may not be productive. (There would be no time to adjust the plan, even if significant comments were received.) Lemon Lane Perimeter sampling is to be done around Lemon Lane by Westinghouse, who will test exclusively for PCBs. As it is known that dioxins and furans are contaminants of PCB oil, and that burning PCBs, as was done at the dump, produces dioxin, the EPA will do testing for dioxin, di-benzofurans, and heavy metals. Some dioxin testing has been done at the site, but more testing is needed to pinpoint locations and levels of contamination. No significant amount of dioxin has been found in the streams coming from the ICC Spring complex, but testing has yet to be done on fish from Clear Creek, who would bioaccumulate dioxin in their bodies if it was coming out of the Springs. This testing will be done in August. If the tests show little dioxin, the EPA will then consider the option of leaving the dioxin in the site, as long as it is dry, and can be kept from migrating. At the ICC Springs there is a continuing release of PCBs, and these releases can be quite extensive during heavy rains. All the parties have recognized that a water treatment plant must be built at the site to treat the water before it leaves the spring area to become Clear Creek. The EPA has been considering Westinghouse's plans to divert water from entering the ICC Springs system at the present rates so that flow can be reduced, and consequently the smallest effective water treatment plant could be built. But Dan Hopkins of the EPA is now looking at the flow rates that exist now, and is considering sizing the plant to present flow rates. This issue is very pressing, and these ongoing releases will continue many decades into the future. Even if Lemon Lane were to be cleaned up to the 1958 level (when PCBs were first dumped at Lemon Lane) as specified by the Consent Decree, PCBs would continue to leak from sinkholes on which the dump was sited for many years to come. So a treatment plant must be built - the questions are how soon will it be built, and how large the plant will be? |
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