EPA meeting summery

Thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting last night, and thanks to Shea, and everyone else from the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Black and Veatch for an informative presentation.
I’d hoped to summarize for those of you who where not able to attend, however, I think it would be easier to post a copy of her bullet point presentation as soon as it’s available.

All in all, the issues and questions posed after the presentation were concerned with neighborhood cleanup-- how it will be accomplished and when. There were also questions pertaining to Dioxin as a probable carcinogen; its effects, and dangers currently present in the soil and ground water. Containment of contamination during the cleanup, and concerns over property values.

Though she couldn't comment on certain issues such as property values, Shea did recommend that no wells for irrigation be dug or used. A representative from Black and Veatch, the firm handling the cleanup, stated that the neighborhood will most likely be cleaned by scraping the contaminated soil (from yards/ ditches etc..) and disposing of it. There is also a pump already in place, sucking out the goop (referred to as DNAPLs) that’s in the groundwater at the ACW site.
The timeline for completion (after further studies, discussions, planning and other rigmarole) is sometime in… 2012!

Somewhat sad, seeing as the EPA designated ACW a Superfund site in 1982, hey that’s only 30 years! But I digress….
The good news is-- at least now the ball seems to be rolling, and with involvement from our local and state representatives, hopefully the momentum can continue, possibly even increase.

For information on the city's proposed plans for the ACW site once it's cleaned click here
For more info on the ACW click here