NCD980602163_19981214_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Henry Lancaster letter to Rep. Eva Clayton-OCR

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JAMES 8. HUNT JR0
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GovE:RNOR
WAYNE MCDEVITT
SECRETARY
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
The Honorable Eva Clayton
U.S. House of Representatives
244 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC, 20515
Dear Congresswoman Clayton:
December 14, 1998
I am writing to enlist your support and assistance in the state's effort to
detoxify the PCB landfill in Warren County. The Governor, in this year's
capital budget proposal to the North Carolina General Assembly requested $15
million to detoxify the landfill. That proposal was made in keeping with his
October 20, 1982 commitment to the residents of Warren County that "the state
will push as hard as it can for detoxification of the landfill when and if the
appropriate and feasible technology is developed." The Joint State/Warren
County PCB Landfill Working Group, organized in 1993 by former DEHNR
Secretary Jonathan Howes to assess the site and recommend a detoxification
technology, identified an appropriate and feasible detoxification technology -
Base Catalyzed Decomposition (BCD).
The BCD process utilizes non-incineration chemical reactions to detoxify
the PCBs and dioxins/furans in the contaminated materials. Chlorine atoms are
chemically removed from the PCB and dioxin/furan molecules, and replaced
with hydrogen; thus, rendering them non-hazardous. The resulting non-
hazardous oil can be recycled off-site. Detoxified soils will be replaced onsite,
covered and revegetated.
The preliminary conceptual design of the full scale detoxification project
is divided into two components. The first component provides written
conceptual designs for site preparation, excavation, treatment,
confirmation/verification sampling, stormwater management, security, site
reclamation, decontamination and demobilization. These aspects of the project
have been conceptually designed to provide the basis for a detailed cost estimate
for detoxification.
The second component presents those aspects of the project which will
be completed during the final design portion. The final design items include
emergency response plan, permitting plan, performance demonstration plan, air
monitoring plan, quality assurance plan, health and safety plan, construction
quality assurance plan and technical specifications.
P.O. Box 27687, RALEIGH NC 27611-7687 / 512 NORTH SALISBURY STREET, RALEIGH NC 27604
PHONE [phone] FAX [phone] WWW.EHNR.STATE.NC.US/EH NR/
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/ AF.FIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER -50% RECYCLED/1 0 o/o POST-CONSUMER PAPER
Congresswoman Clayton
December 14, 1998
Page 2
To assist in the overall project oversight, a Citizens Advisory Board
(CAB) will be established as a committee of the Working Group and will
include an independent science advisor(s). The design/build detoxification
contractor will include Program Management, working in conjunction with the
state to ensure that the local community has a strong role in the detoxification
project's implementation. The design/build detoxification contractor will also
include a Coordinator to ensure maximum economic benefit to local/minority
businesses and the local economy. Direct local economic impact is estimated in
the range of $3 million to $5 million. That includes hiring of local individuals
and utilization of local businesses for supplies, materials and services to support
the detoxification project. A detailed cost estimate to perform the project
utilizing the BCD process has been prepared. The total estimate is $23,975,000
which includes a $2,079,000 contingency.
Additionally, as you may recall, PCBs were sprayed along the roadsides
of 14 counties. Properties within the jurisdiction of Fort Bragg were included.
In 1982, the state entered into an agreement with the Department of Defense
(DOD) to accept PCB contaminated soil from Fort Bragg for disposal in the
Warren County PCB Landfill. The amount of Fort Bragg PCB Wastes in 7,211
truckloads constituted about 10 percent of the total PCB wastes landfilled in
Warren County. The Army paid about $200,000 for landfill construction and
maintenance costs. It is our intention to pursue a pro rata contribution from
DOD for detoxification of the landfill.
The North Carolina General Assembly in the 1998 legislative session
appropriated $2 million to begin detoxification of the landfill and specified BCD
as the detoxification technology. We are seeking your assistance in meeting the
detoxification goal. We are in need of approximately $9 million from federal
sources to complete the project. The pro rata share from DOD equals $2.4
million. How can we enlist EPA and the Congressional appropriation process to
aid us in acquiring the balance of our needs?
Sincerely,
~ '11cda
cc: Wayne McDevitt, Secretary
Eva Clayton, U.S. Congress
Dollie Burwell, Co-Chair,
Henry M. Lancaster, II
Deputy Secretary
Joint State/Warren Co. PCB Landfill Working Group
Frank Ballance, NC State Senate
Mike Kelley, Waste Management