On September 19, 2012, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a signed agreement that requires the General Electric Company to manage the maintenance and possible replacement of treatment equipment on wells in the Cayuga County Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in New York. 

According to Judith A. Enck, the EPA Regional Administrator, “This agreement allows EPA to continue the important work of address toxic contamination at this site without having tax payers foot the bill.”

The drinking water was initially contaminated when volatile organic compounds ran off into ground water from a facility in Auburn, New York.  A company called Powerex, Inc. and GE both manufactured semiconductors at the facility on Genessee Street.  The EPA detected contamination on 55 properties in 2000 and proceeded to install treatment systems on the wells.  Since then, the EPA only maintained a total of four treatment systems because the other properties had been connected to public water supplies. 

Even though the EPA has handed over maintenance responsibilities to GE, the EPA is still working on a long-term cleanup strategy.

A proposed cleanup strategy reported on August 2, 2012 involves dividing the contaminated area into three different sections.  The first section is directly south of the formerly used facility, and the EPA will use a term called bioremediation.  The process introduces chemicals and “biological enhancements” to breakdown the volatile organic compounds.

The EPA will rely on natural processes for the other two sections.  The EPA believes the right conditions exist underground in the two sections that can work to eliminate the compounds quickly.  Routine collection and analysis of the ground water will continue. 

The contaminated site was added to the Superfund list in 2002.  Since its creation by Congress in 1980, the Superfund investigates and cleans up the most hazardous sites in the United States.    The only time taxpayers feel the impacts of the Superfund is when those responsible for the pollution cannot be located or provide financially incapable of such cleanup efforts. 

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

On September 19, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency called for communities to apply for sustainable growth assistance in their area.  In order to qualify for the assistance, the communities must show how they increased economic opportunity while protecting the health and environment in the past.

If the community is selected, the EPA will offer assistance through the Building Block for Sustainable Communities program.  This specific program offers tools with applications in rural, suburban, and urban areas.  Some of the available tools and strategies include:

·         strong growth and economic development to receive better results from public and private investments

·         “green street strategies” to manage storm water

·         land strategies for water quality protection

·         parking audits for parking in current and planned areas of land

·         community design for elderly populations to help residents live at home longer

·         “bikeshare system planning” to develop new commuting ideas

·         green building toolkits

·         small city and rural development to promote “community characteristics”

Application must be submitted to the EPA between September 26 and October 26.  The EPA is hosting a webinar about the program and application process on September 21 between 1:00 and 2:30 Eastern time.

The EPA is selecting a total amount of 44 communities in the current round of assistance.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation will make selections, and the EPA states the collaboration will manage “federal investments in infrastructure, facilities, and services to get better results for communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently.”

If a community is selected, the EPA will send experts to the community for a two-day workshop that explains policies and practices.  The community can also learn about smart growth development during the workshops.

The Building Blocks program began in 2010 and the EPA has received requests from over 600 communities in the last two years.  The EPA has provided assistance to 140 communities in just two years.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

On September 19, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency stated that a $10 million cleanup initiative of contaminated soil will begin mid to late September at the Superfund site called Solvent Savers.  The site is a chemical waste recovery facility located in Chenango County. 

According to the EPA, the soil and ground water is polluted with volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs.  These chemical can cause serious damage to a person’s health.

Solvent Savers, Inc. maintained a chemical waste recovery program at the contaminated site on Union Valley Road from 1967 to 1974.  During this time, industrial solvents and other harmful chemicals were reprocessed and disposed.  Many of the chemicals—in liquid, solid, and sludge form—were buried in drums on the site. 

The EPA has removed about 160 drums and parts that were buried on the site, and much of the soil around the drums was also removed. 

The EPA has already used a “soil vapor extraction treatment system” that aims to reduce and eliminate volatile organic compounds within the soil.  The EPA estimates this process reduced the volume of contaminated soil from 135,000 cubic yards to only 6,500 cubic yards.  The rest of soil is located in two “hot spots” with PCB contamination as well. 

The soil contaminated with both volatile organic compounds and PCBS will be cleared out from the site and placed in EPA-approved areas.  Soil with high levels of PCBs will undergo a process that cements and binds the contaminants before disposal. 

About 15,000 cubic yards will be removed from the site.  The areas will be filled with clean soil and planted vegetation.  The EPA is overseeing the operation, and the following companies are paying for contamination and cleanup: General Electric Company, Inc., American Locker Group, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Pass & Symour Corporation, and the United States Air Force.    

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

On September 20, 2012, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that the RI Public Transit Authority was the recipient of the Clean Air Excellence Award along with 11 other organizations across the nation. 

The Free Zoo and Trolley Too! Under the RI Public Transit Authority was the recognized project in Rhode Island.  The program under the RIPTA allowed residents to ride free to the Roger Williams Park Zoo by running hybrid and diesel trolleys to the zoo on the first Saturday of every month.  The new transportation is much cleaner for the air, reduces noise pollution, and is estimated to reduce fuel costs by about 20 percent. 

The program encourages residents in the city of Providence to leave their cars at home and take the new form of transportation.  The state reported that the number of riders doubled on the first day of promotion. 

Cristy Raposo, the marketing coordinator for RIPTA, stated: “While our primary mission is to provide safe and efficient transportation to our riders, we recognize and value the importance of preserving and protecting our environment.  Through programs like this, we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to improving air quality for all Rhode Islanders.”

Other recipients of the award include the following:

· ReNew Air Scrubber Technology, Diversey Incorporated in Racine, Wisconsin for clean air technology

· Frazier Courtyard Homes, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity in Dallas, Texas for community action

· Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Pilot Project in the city and county of Greenville, South Carolina for community action

· Conservation and Clime Change Challenge in Broward County, Florida for education outreach

· InnerTribal Bear, Spokane Tribal Air Quality Program and KYRS Community Radio in Spokane, Washington for education outreach

· Rapid Response Notification System, Maricopa County Air Quality Department for regulation/policy innovations

· GHG Emissions Reduction Projects, Frito-Lay, Incorporated in Beloit, Wisconsin

· Leadership in Reducing Ocean-going vessel Emissions, Maersk Line/Maersk Agency USA in Charlotte, North Carolina for transportation efficiency innovations

· Climate Initiatives Program, Metropolitan Transportation Commission of San Francisco Bay Area for transportation efficiency innovations

· SC John Global Sustainability Program in Racine, Wisconsin for the Gregg Cooke Visionary Program Award

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

On September 14, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding the Riverside Industrial Park to the Superfund list.  The industrial park is located on the Passaic River in Newark, NJ. 

An oil spill occurred in 2009 from the industrial park.  The EPA found that chemicals like benzene, mercury, chromium and arsenic were all being stored improperly on the site and took immediate action to stop the chemicals from entering the river system.  The chemicals are extremely toxic and, apart from causing cancer, can damage the immune, reproductive, and nervous systems.  PCBs and volatile organic compounds are believed to have contaminated the soil and ground water around the park. 

Judith A. Enck, the EPA Regional Administrator, stated, “We have kept people out of immediate danger from this contaminated industrial park and can now develop long-term solutions to protect the community.” 

In its first attempts to stop contamination, the EPA capped several discharge pipes from surrounding buildings and two tanks that contain the contamination.  Additionally, the EPA found between 12,000 and 15,000 abandoned underground storage takes that still contain hazardous waste.  There is also a large amount of aboveground storage tanks containing harmful chemicals. 

The EPA has proposed to add the site to the Superfund list but needs to respond to public comment before making the final decision.  The EPA created the Superfund to take the burden off of taxpayers and find the parties responsible for the contamination.  The search for responsible parties at the Riverside Industrial Park is still going on. 

If you want to submit comments, you have several options.  You can submit comments online at the following link: https://www.regulations.gov.  You can email comments to superfund.docket@epa.gov, or you can mail comments to the following address:

Docket Coordinator, Headquarters

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

CERCLA Docket Office

1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20460

Make sure to identify your comments with the following docket number: EPHA-HQ-SFUND-2012-0603

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

On September 26, 2012, the EPA announced the finalized plan for the Evor Phillips Leasing Company Superfund site on the six-acre site in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey.  Industrial activity in the past released volatile organic compounds into groundwater. 

The Evor Phillips site was used from the 1970s until 1986 for industrial waste treatment and operations for metal recovery.  The liquid waste was treated on the site in two different waste disposal areas that neutralized acidic water.  Additionally, the site operated 19 small-scale furnaces that melted photographic film and circuit boards in order to recover silver and other metals. 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stopped the liquid waste treatment in 1975 after it failed to meet state requirements, and all operation were shutdown in 1986. 

The site was added to the EPA Superfund list in 1983, but the cleanup process required three different phases.  The first phase required the removal of about 40 buried drums of industrial waste.  Also, the New Jersey DEP ordered several companies that were responsible for the contamination to construct a water treatment system that prevent contaminated ground water from exiting the site. 

The EPA will begin the second phase of the cleanup this fall which requires the removal of contaminated soil.  After the soil is removed, the EPA will begin the newly approved third phase.  The final phase requires the contaminated ground water to go through a process called chemical oxidation.  The process uses certain chemicals to break down the harmful chemicals in the soil and ground—only leaving behind water and carbon dioxide.  The ground water will be monitored for several years before the EPA declares decontamination. 

The EPA Regional Administrator, Judith A. Enck, stated, “The chemical in the ground water at the Evor Phillips Superfund site pose health risks.  Removing and treating them is the best way to protect the health of people who live and work in the area.”

Source: Environmental Protection Agency