Significant Developments and Activities Report

LAND AND CHEMICALS DIVISION
Weekly Significant Developments and Activities Report
December 19, 2008

Michigan Stakeholder Meeting to Discuss New Lead Renovation Rules

On December 15, 2008 in Lansing, the Michigan Dept. of Community Health (MDCH) convened the second in a series of public stakeholder meetings to help plan and develop a new lead (Pb) renovation program for that state. MDCH has submitted a letter of intent to USEPA declaring that it will seek full state authorization under the EPA's new Pb Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program Rule, adopted April 22, 2008. Early steps in this process involve acquiring new legislative and regulatory authority, and MDCH is using these stakeholder forums as a means of obtaining public input. The December 12th meeting was attended by approximately 75 people, and the regulated community (i.e., primarily the skilled construction trades) were well represented.

Various subcommittees of volunteers, who had been working for months to scope the necessary and appropriate program elements, presented their recommendations to the group, and took both questions and comments. Several proposed elements were actually more stringent than the comparable federal standards, but for the most part, were well received. Phil King gave a short presentation outlining the USEPA's implementation schedule for the new federal program and discussed how this would likely interact with the state's authorization efforts. Maria Doa, Director of the OPPT, National Program Chemicals Division, also attended the meeting. MDCH has announced plans to hold at least one more stakeholder's meeting, probably in March 2009, before drafting and introducing proposed state regulations. It is hoped that consensus can be reached through this process to expedite the adoption of these standards, and thereby pave the way for the state's obtaining full program authorization from EPA by 2010.
Contact: Phillip King, 312-353-9062

CMB and Region 2 Participates in National Teleconference with ASHTO to Discuss Fish Contamination and Fish Consumption Advisories

On December 16, Edward Master of CMB and Maureen O’Neill, Senior Policy Advisor, Region 2, participated as speakers on a national teleconference with Association of State and Tribal Health Officials (ASHTO) representatives to discuss fish contamination and fish consumption advisories. Maureen O’Neill shared information on contamination in fish and the EPA/FDA joint advisory, and Edward addressed resources for health care providers to learn more about the issue. Edward also discussed the Prenatal Partnership, an effort initiated by EPA in 2006 to increase networking between representatives of government, non-government organizations, universities, and health care provider organizations on issues related to environmental health during pregnancy. ASTHO representatives were invited to join the Prenatal Partnership and share their interests and concerns regarding environmental health and pregnancy.
Contact: Edward Master, 312-353-5830

MMB Hosted Bioreactor RDD Conference Call

On December 15th, 2008, staff from the Materials Management Branch hosted their biannual conference call on bioreactor Research, Development and Demonstration (RDD) projects. Participants on the call included, HQ OSW, ORD, Regions 5 and 7, states from the aforementioned regions, and representatives from ASTSWMO. The call serves as a means of informal information sharing between states, regions, ORD, and HQ in regards to specific RDD projects and related concerns. In addition, it facilitates data sharing between states and HQ, in an effort to allow HQ rulemaking on the RDD rule to move forward as efficiently as possible. The discussions from the call succeeded in updating participants on the progress of bioreactor sites throughout the country, as well as, identifying common questions and concerns associated with these sites from a national perspective. The next conference call will be held in June.
Contacts: Rebecca Geyer, 312-353-8314; Susan Mooney, 312-886-3585

MMB Hosted Initial Region 5 Stakeholder Meeting on Drywall Recycling

On December 10th, 2008, MMB hosted an initial discussion on drywall recycling among 24 regional stakeholders, including representatives from all Region 5 states, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Waste-to-Profit Network, the US Green Building Council Chicago Chapter, the Construction Materials Recycling Association, the Gypsum Association, and four drywall manufacturers that produce products in the region. Drywall is a major component of the construction and demolition waste stream that is not readily recyclable due to the lack of well-developed markets for the material. There is interest in diverting drywall from landfills due to overall recycling efforts, the green building movement, and hydrogen sulfide gas generation that occurs when drywall and similar materials are exposed to certain conditions that can exist in a landfill environment.

Participants discussed regional market conditions, several logistical issues with regards to drywall-to-drywall recycling, the status of state drywall recycling market development efforts, and the need to update the existing information resource on the internet on drywall recycling. Stakeholders will evaluate feasible next steps for developing markets in the region and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Contact: Julie Gevrenov, 312-886-6832

Public Meeting Held on the RCRA Corrective Action Project at the Radio Materials Corporation Facility, Attica, Indiana

A community informational meeting was held regarding the RCRA corrective action project at the Radio Materials Corporation facility in Attica, Indiana on December 16, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to update the community about the subslab soil gas and indoor air sample results, and also to discuss the proposed short-term and long-term corrective measures. Based on the soil gas evaluation, over 100 residents were invited to the meeting by Kraft Foods Inc, the company that is taking responsibility for cleaning up the contamination of TCE and PCE in the groundwater. An indoor air purification device is being offered to the homeowners as a short-term remedial system to treat the indoor air contaminated with PCE and TCE. A number of residents raised questions about the operation and maintenance cost of the device, and about the declining trend in property values. Health questions were raised as well.

Dr. Michelle Watters of ATSDR answered the health questions. She explained that occupational exposures to workers often involve higher indoor air concentrations than the concentrations that are present in the homes in Attica. She also described the health effects associated with these chemicals. At the end of the meeting, 17 residents took the access agreement form from Kraft with the intention of having the device installed in their homes. After the indoor air purifiers have been installed and tested, EPA will host an availability session type of public meeting in early spring to update the residents about the actual effectiveness of the remedy in this situation.
Contact: Bhooma Sundar, 312-886-1660

Restoration Advisory Board Meeting at Badger Army Ammunition Plant

Badger Army Ammunition Plant held a Restoration Advisory Board meeting on December 15. Board membership consists of local residents, local government representatives, regulators and the Army. The purpose of the Board is to present the latest information regarding remediation and land reuse issues to the community and promote public involvement in the process. Approximately 25 people attended. This meeting focused on the ecological risk assessment for one area at the 7200 acre facility, recent monitoring results, and the transfer of land to the Wisconsin DOT for a highway reconstruction project. Some local residents expressed continuing concerns about DNT degradation products in groundwater and contamination in residential wells. Action items for the next meeting include Army progress on response to regulatory comments on the eco risk assessment, providing results from new monitoring wells, and siting of additional wells off-site. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January, 2009. The community surrounding Badger has been actively involved in environmental issues at the facility for more than 15 years.
Contact: Robert Egan, 312-886-6212

RCRA Roundtable Waste Water Treatment Unit Exemption

On Monday, December 15, 2008 RCRA Branch held an inspector roundtable to discuss the waste water treatment unit exemption. Attendees included various inspectors from Compliance Section 1 and 2, as well as, Tamara Carnovsky of ORC. The purpose of the roundtable was to initiate discussion related to applicability of RCRA regulations versus Clean Water Act regulations for complex situations. Issues discussed included zero-discharge facilities, evaporators, NPDES permits, Centralized Waste Treaters (CWTs), Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), RCRA Subpart J regulations, treated effluent and waste generation.
Contact: Graciela Scambiatterra, 312-353-5103

Region 5 Incorporates Children’s Environmental Health Outreach Into Chicago Public Schools “Principal for a Day” Program

As part of an effort by Chicago Public Schools to interact with community assets, Maryann Suero was “Principal for a Day” at Nia Middle and Foundations Elementary Schools, 2040 W. Adams Street, Chicago, IL, on Wednesday, December 10. Through this opportunity she was not only able to present on children’s environmental health to the assembled faculty, she was also able to speak with students about children’s environmental health, including EPA’s new campaign aimed at Middle and High School students, “Create a New Climate for Action, Do Your Part for Climate Change and Children’s Health,” http://www.epa.gov/climateforaction.

Each teacher received age-appropriate resources to share with their students and parents, such as lead poisoning prevention materials, including "Charlie Goes to Town," for the primary grades and “Live, Learn, Play — Tune Into Your Health and Environment,” http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/youthbook.htm , for the older students.
Contact: Maryann Suero, 312-886-9077

Update on Progress at Countywide Landfill Site

Work continues at the Countywide Landfill in East Sparta, Ohio on implementation of a Settlement Agreement with Republic Waste Services of Ohio II, LLC. To date, 39 additional acres of 60 mil HDPE temporary liner has been placed over an area of the landfill experiencing an underground reaction/fire involving 600,000 tons of aluminum dross. The purpose of the liner is to keep oxygen and precipitation out while containing odors and potentially harmful gas emissions. In addition, five real-time, continuous air monitors have been put into operation around the perimeter of the affected unit. In September, elevated temperatures detected in buried probes revealed that the reaction/fire was moving into a previously unaffected portion of the landfill. In response, the excavation of approximately 400,000 tons of waste began on December 8 to create an isolation break, which will effectively contain the reaction/fire within the originally impacted 88 acre landfill area. Both operational and odor control methods are being employed to limit impact on the community. EPA and/or START contractors are onsite full time to oversee the excavation, which is expected to continue until late Spring.
Contact: Paul Ruesch, 312-886-7898

U.S. Steel Public Meeting, Gary, Indiana

On Thursday, December 11, there was local TV coverage of a regularly scheduled quarterly public meeting on the RCRA corrective action and closure work at the U.S. Steel facility in Gary, Indiana. Two main issues are currently of concern at the site--first, there is a plume of benzene contamination in the groundwater that appears to be migrating toward Lake Michigan. U.S. Steel plans to construct an interim measure to protect the Lake during the spring or summer of 2009. The second issue is that U.S. Steel has submitted a new closure plan to IDEM for a lagoon that contains pickle liquor sludge contaminated with lead, chromium and other metals. The original closure plan called for the sludge to be excavated and placed in the existing on-site CAMU that was constructed for the 2002 dredging project, but further sampling has now shown that the sludge is deeper than previously believed, and extends laterally beyond the boundaries of the lagoon. In addition, PCBs have recently been found in the sludge. U.S. Steel's new plan leaves some or all of the sludge in place.
Contact: Tamara Ohl, 312-886-0991

Meeting with Eli Lilly & Company

On December 10, Don Heller and David Petrovski joined, by conference call and internet presentation, a meeting at IDEM Headquarters between State permitting and corrective action staff and representatives of the Eli Lilly & Co. Tippecanoe Laboratories. The Agencies and Lilly discussed the Federal and State concerns over the stability of on-site ground water contamination at the facility and approaches for corrective action, as previously expressed in Region 5's letter on November 4. Lilly asserts that its contaminant plume is stable and does not want to restart an array of extraction wells which have operated for several years. Region 5 had previously allowed Lilly to temporarily shut down the wells in order to conduct an empirical study of contaminant mobility. Region 5 and IDEM conclude that the contaminant mass is not stable, and want the extraction wells in the most contaminated areas restarted.

During the meeting, the Agencies and Lilly discussed the evidence. Lilly will submit its proposals for contaminant mass control by the end of January 2009. Lilly has agreed to present a work plan for a monitored natural attenuation study, which the Agencies have wanted, along with alternative proposals. Although Lilly has not favored the idea, one of the proposed alternatives will be a plan for restarting extraction wells in the most critical locations.
Contact: Donald Heller, 312-353-1248

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