NCD980602163_19950927_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Joint Working Group - Draft September 1995 Meeting Minutes-OCR

Joint Warren County State PCB Landfill Working Group
Draft September 27, 1995 Meeting Minutes
The regular meeting of the Joint Warren County State PCB Landfill Working Group (Working
Group) was called to order at 4:10pm on Wednesday, September 27, 1995 at the Warren County
Courthouse, Grand Jury Room. The meeting was co-chaired by Ms. Dollie Burwell and Mr.
Ken Ferruccio.
AGENDA
Ms. Burwell discussed agenda items as identified in the minutes of the September 11 , 1995
meeting. The following 3 items were identified for discussion:
1. Report on status of George Bains review and recommendations on
hydrology and ground water monitoring expansion on the landfill.
2. Status of Request for Proposals (RFP) for Science Advisors
3. Update of RFP for vendors on BCD technology for detoxification of
landfill
Ms. Burwell welcomed Helen Patterson as a visitor. Mr. Ferruccio introduced Ms . Patterson and
informed the Working Group that she lived in the immediate vicinity of the landfill. Ms .
Burwell encouraged everyone to sign the attendance sheet.
Ms. Burwell announced that there was no executive meeting due to the absence of Henry
Lancaster. Mr. Meyer stated that Mr. Lancaster was unable to attend due to responsibilities
associated with the Blue Ribbon Committee o~ Waste. 0 113 t' l L~'-V ~
READING AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes were reviewed and the following additions or corrections were made. Under
unfinished business and science advisor criteria, Pauline Ewald's name was added to the list of
names provided as candidates for Science Advisor. Under update on RFP's for the Pilot Scale
Study, the ninth sentence was changed to read "However, any questions from the members fur
the vendors (added) must be written and given to Mr. Meyer for him to present." Under New
Business, the fifth paragraph was changed to read, "Ms. Deborah Ferruccio questioned whether
the media should be present at the bidding process or visit to the landfill. After discussion, the
Working Group decided that the media would not be invited to the bid review process or the site
visit. However, Pat Williamson would draft a press release addressing the bid process to be sent
to the media after the conclusion of the site visit." Ms. Daria Holcomb requested that the
minutes not be approved until the Working Group had seen the written changes. A discussion of
this issue followed and Ms. Burwell moved to approve the minutes as changed. Mr. L.C.
Cooper seconded the motion. The motion carried with Ms. Holcomb opposing the motion.
,,
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Meyer reported that Mr. George Bain was called to request a response time for review of the
groundwater monitoring systems. A message was left on Mr. Bain's telephone answering
machine. Ms . Burwell expressed concern with the time frame of responding to this issue and
recommended that this issue be assigned to the Technical Advisory Committee for resolution.
Mr. Jim Warren agreed to contact Mr. Bain and set up an October 3rd conference call with the
Technical Committee to address the concerns of the Working Group on hydrological and
monitoring of the landfill.
Mr. Warren also noted that Ms. Nan Freeland had not received a notice of the past two Working
Group meetings. This lead to a discussion of the need to consider establishing an office to
support the work of the Working Group . Both pros and cons for an office were discussed. Ms.
Burwell made a motion for the Executive Committee to consider establishing an office to
support the efforts of the Working Group. Mr. L.C . Cooper seconded the motion. The motion
carried. Ms . Burwell stated that she would discuss the issue by telephone with Mr. Henry
Lancaster on September 28, 1995 .
SCIENCE ADVISOR RFP STATUS
Mr. Meyer informed the Working Group that Dr. Joel Hirschorn had submitted a response to the
RFP . Mr. Gary R. Chirlin of Chirlin & Associates declined the Request for Proposals. Dr.
Wayland Swain, ECO Logic, declined the RFP due to a potential conflict of interest since his
company may want to bid on the full scale detoxification effort. No response had been received
by Pauline Ewald at the time of the meeting. However, Mr. Meyer agreed to accept a response
by Ms . Ewald. Ms. Burwell stated that the Executive Committee would review applications
from all responses and check out the credentials of applicants and their experience with
community based groups.
Mr. Warren suggested the Working Group established dates for progress on selection of a
Science Advisor. Ms. Burwell stated that the Co-chairs would set up a conference call
Monday, October 2, 1995 to discuss all responses with Mr. Lancaster. On Wednesday, October
3, 1995, the non-responders would be contacted and within the next 5 days all responders'
information would be verified.
Mr. Warren stated that he would contact Bob Glaser to obtain information on an additional
hydrogeologist.
ARTICLE IN THE DAILY DISPATCH
Ms . Burwell expressed strong disagreement with the September 21, 1995 article by William
Woltz in The Daily Dispatch titled State Seeks Proposals for Detox Studies at the Warren PCB
Landfill (article is attached as part of minutes).
Mr. Meyer stated that Mr. Woltz had called him on September 14, 1995 and requested
/ information on the Department's effort on (ogs and asked about the status of the RFP on the
landfill detoxification effort. Mr. Meyer outlined the RFP in response to Mr. Woltz's questions .
Mr. Woltz asked if the press were invited to the bid and landfill visit. Mr. Meyer responded that
the Working Group had specifically requested that the press not attend. The reason for this
request was not to deny access to the press, but the meetings were for vendors and the presence
of the press might interfere with the vendors' efforts to learn as much as possible while on the
site. Mr. Meyer informed Mr. Woltz that the request not to invite the press was not a mandate
but a request by the Working Group. Mr. Woltz requested a copy of the RFP and a copy was
mailed to him on September 21, 1995.
The members of the Working Group present unanimously and strongly condemned the news
article. The Working Group stated that the article was biased, slanted and did not represent the
views of the Working Group. It was the Working Group's perspective that the members should
have been contacted by both the State and the author of the article for input to any potential
media information on the project. The Working Group stated that the State was projecting the
wrong message. The handling of the press was another example (previous example was the
meeting with Sec. Howes after which a Department press meeting was held without the input or
knowledge of the Working Group) of a basis for the Working Group's lack of trust in the State.
Mr. Meyer reiterated that Mr. Woltz had been informed by the State that the Working Group,
including state members, had requested that the press not attend these meetings since it might
interfere with the vendors' efforts on the project. Mr. Meyer stated that the state was not aware
of the intention of the press to attend the site visit or to publish an article on the project. Mr.
Meyer informed the Working Group that members of the Wo~kj ng Group had attended the pre-
bid meeting and Ms . Daria Holcomb had called MS Burwell;~'airected by the Working Group,
to notify her of the time of the site visit. It was stated by Mr. Meyer that it was his
understanding that Ms. Burwell was to notify members of the Working Group of the time of the
site visit to allow members of the Working Group to attend. Ms. Burwell stated that she was out
of state on Wednesday, September 20, 1995 and the state was aware of this fact. Mr. Meyer
reiterated that he thought he had done all he could for notification and was not aware of Ms.
Burwell's out of state trip and he had not anticipated, after requesting the press not to attend, that
the press would participate. Ms. Burwell stated that Mr. Meyer read the RFP to Mr. Woltz and
should have taken the time to notify members of the Working Group. Mr. Meyer stated that this
issue may not have been a major issue if members of the Working Group had attended and
participated in the site visit.
Mr. Warren made a motion that the co-chairs draft a letter of response to the editor of The Daily
Dispatch in regards to the September 21, 1995 article by Mr. Woltz (State seeks proposals for
detox studies at Warren PCB Landfill). Mr. Cooper seconded the motion. The Working Group
reiterated strong opposition to the tone and lack of balance and bias of the article and stated that
it was written so that it appeared that the State could have written it. The motion carried by
unanimous vote of the members of the Working Group present.
Mr. Earl Limer stated that earlier today (September 27, 1995), someone was walking around in
the vicinity of the landfill (CP&L employees) and that something was going on that the Working
Group was not informed. Mr. Meyer stated that it was probably due to the State request for
CP&L to estimate the cost of supplying the electricity needed for the Pilot Scale Study. ETG
had stated, in response to the RFP, that they needed 480 volts, 3 phase, and more than 300 amps
for their pilot scale process. The State had responded by requesting CP&L to estimate the cost.
Mr. Meyer stated that it was the State's intent to consider installing the utilities needed on State
right-of-way available on the landfill across the road. Mr. Limer offered to allow access through
power lines on his property and said that the State should check the deed to make sure there was
deeded access sufficient to put the power lines on State right-of-way. Mr. Meyer agreed to
contact the Department of Administration on this issue.
Ms . Burwell announced that the next meeting of the Working Group was to be on Monday,
October 9, 1995 at 4:00pm with an executive committee meeting at 3 :00pm. The meeting was
then adjourned.
JOINT WARREN COUNTY/STATE PCB LANDFILL
WORKING GROUP
AGENDA Regular Meeting
Warrenton, NC
DATE:
I. Welcome
11. Roll Call/Introductions
Ill. Reading and Approval of Minutes
IV. Report of Committees
V. Unfinished Business
VI. New Business
VII. Other Business
VIII. Adjourn
"
ATTENDANCE AT WARREN COUNTY PCB WORKING GROUP
MEETING
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State seeks proposals for detox studies at Warren PCB landfill By WIUIAM WOLTZ Daily Dispatch Writer AFTON -A group of environ-mental enginecn traipsed through calf-high grass Wednesday to get a good look at the state's PCB landfill, a spot where they may be worbng next spring. . It was the latest step in a process that eventually may lead 10 removal of the totic chemicals stored in the dump, a day that some Warren County citizens have been clamoring for since the site was capped in 1983. State officials arc seeking propos-als from environmental companies willing to do pilot-scale detoxifica-tion studies at the landfill. Up to three companies may be hired to test their treatment processes on small quantities of soil taken from inside the plastic liner that encapsulates the landfill's contents. . . . . All of the companies being consid-ered use ver.;ions of a new technol-ogy called base-<:atalyzed declorina~ tion,orBCD. . • . . "We're confident that .it works,". Loren Martin of ETG Environmen1al said after the lour. 1be clean-up lev~ els of two parts per .jiiµion with •• BCD. would DOJ be a~em. ~ . • • ' f::?,_To,e J)!Obl~_fc,uld~~ the cost, which Martin estimated at S24 million for a full-scale clean-op. "You're talking some major mon-ey," be said. "I don't think taxpayers in the state arc gonna go for it" The tests arc being funded with $ I million taken from the state's high-way fund at the urging of state Sen. Frank Ballance of Warrenton. : In addition to ETG Environmental, a Pennsylvania company, other fi.nn~ represented at the landfill wer, Soiltech All' SYSTEMS of Porter, Ind.; Aquaterra Inc. of Raleigh; and Four Seasons Environmental of Greensboro. ,. Five representatives of the compa-nies walked over the site Wednesday, asking questions about . the acreage and the availability of electrical _pow-er. One snapped photos of the grassy mound with a disposable camera. Another used a Polaroid. Several in the group, used to cleaning up open dumps and aban-doned sites, privately wondered why they were being asked to clean up a scaled landfill. • • The commwtity fears the site is unsafe, explained Bill Meyer, direc-tor of the swe Division of Solid Waste Management • .. ----• • --_j_, )~---·;--Please see LANDFIL.i,.,.Page 9A mq£ ~ .. ·.· .•• :~ ... ;~ ::~ ts •• . J '!l--'... ,.: _. ·1 .J .' _=.:..--=--.... . . Landfill ' "They arc convinced there is detoxification; which they say Gov. dioxin in the monitoring wells-and James B. HUJ!I. Jr. -promised to do as that the landfill is leaking," he said. the technology became feasible. State officials maintain there is no The landfill holds 40,000 cubic evidence of leakage. y_ards of soil scraped from stat~ road-"But we have no credibility and no sides. It was con~mated m. the trust" in the Wancn County commu-1970s when a trucking company ill~-nity. Meyer said. gaily. d_umped used_ transfoi:mer 011 Construction of the landfill met contammg polychlonnated b1phenyls ·th I • • h d -PCBs -a hazardous chemical first wr awsu1ts, then with eate , 1 d • f · • . ,armer y use m manu actunng. protests and numerous arrests m T · I 994 sh d th l983 0 · · fl d -10 ests m owe e presence • pposibon are agam of dioxins, a toxic chemical cousin to years later when the state acknowl-PCB in monitoring wells around the edged that up to a million gallons of site. ' water ma_y be trapped inside_ the land-While landfill opponents see that fill, po~1bly from ~vy rams at the as evidence the site is leaking, state bme of its consbUcbon. officials maintain the findings could For two years a 16-member com-have resulted from contaminated test mittee of state officials and local citi~ equipment or long:icrm use of pesti-z.ens has been meeting to detennine _cidcs by area farmer.;. : • • _-_ future management of the landfill. . : . . Recent applications of BCD indi-Local citizens on the committee cate the tcclmique_ will break down PCBs more safely and effectively than earlier processes. "" •· Once test coinpani~s arc chosen they must optain a research and development permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to carry out the tests, Meyer said. That and other requirements will delay the start of testing until early 1996. The tests will take only a few days, Meyer said. -Meyer also will seek ·proposals from engineering companies to open the landfill and provide the quantities of soil needed for the test, "about a Dumpster-full" according 10 one participant Other details to be determined include how much the _soil must be • ilried for the treatment 10 wort, said Pat Williamson, a spokeswoman for the state. Soils in the bottom of the landfill are saturated with water. adamantly rcjcctl!d state plans to • ·-•• •• .~ .. ;~ .,_ ~;;.·.~11 -~~~-~t.·: ~r---~✓ :Thursday,:September 21; 1995 -:-· pump out the water and treat it, . pressing instead for coniplete ..I ,,,.._ ~