On May 4, 2009, Pall Life Sciences (PLS) submitted a new "Comprehensive Proposal to Modify Cleanup Program" that will drastically increase how much 1,4-dioxane it will leave in the groundwater at the Pall/Gelman contamination site.

The MDEQ (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) has only until June 15, 2009, to respond to the PLS proposal. To comply with the compressed court ordered schedule, the MDEQ established a Public Comment Period (5/11/2009-6/8/2009) to take comments from the public on the PLS proposal. Also, the MDEQ will hold a Public Meeting on May 27, 2009, where the public can ask questions and make comments in person.

Because the far reaching changes in the PLS proposal could result in further damage to area water supplies, CARD decided to host its own meeting where the public can learn about the new PLS plan and how its loosened cleanup criteria could affect area water resources:

CARD (Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane)
Annual Update - Public Meeting
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 7-9 pm

Washtenaw Intermediate School District

Vogel Room, 1819 S Wagner Rd, Ann Arbor

AGENDA
• Introduction to CARD - History, membership, joining
• Brief history of the site and status of cleanup extractions treatment and discharges
• Summary of the PALL’s Comprehensive Proposal to Modify Cleanup Program
• Questions & Answers

Current Concerns:
PLS PROPOSES TO TERMINATE CLEANUP AT HIGHER DIOXANE LEVELS.

• Proposed expanded Well Prohibition Zone for the Evergreen plume would mean cleanup criteria there would change from 85 ppb to 2800 ppb and require deed restrictions for all properties in the Well Prohibition Zone.
  
• Proposed cleanup termination criteria for the Core Area from 85 ppb to 500 ppb would require ongoing deed restrictions for all current and future affected properties.

PLS PROPOSES TO CUT GROUNDWATER SAMPLING ALMOST IN HALF.

• The proposal reduces sampling frequency in most wells and terminates sampling at some wells above the current 85 ppb cleanup standard.
  
• Infrequent sampling could miss slugs of dioxane as they move through the groundwater.
  
• Annual sampling of static water levels would mask seasonal effects needed for effective flow modeling.

PLS PROPOSES TO REDUCE PURGE RATES BY MORE THAN ONE THIRD.

• The proposed reduction from 1300 gpm to 800 gpm, the purge rate that was inadequate to contain the plumes in 2002.
  
• Less purging means more dioxane will escape to spread to new areas.

PLS PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW EVEN MORE DIOXANE TO SPREAD UNREMEDIATED.

• High levels of dioxane may contaminate more water supplies to the north and west as groundwater flow conditions revert back to natural patterns after the purging stops.
• Some of the leftover dioxane may again flow northwest and north to Scio Township residential wells with no access to replacement water.
  
• Some of the leftover dioxane may flow northeast to Barton Pond where Ann Arbor gets 80% of its water.

The Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane (CARD) is a partnership of local governments, citizen groups, and individual citizens that develops policies and strategies to address the problems associated with Pall/Gelman 1,4-dioxane contamination. Members include:

• Washtenaw County
• City of Ann Arbor
• Scio Township
• Ann Arbor Township
• Scio Residents for Safe Water (SRSW)
• Protect Our Neighborhoods!
  

Information Contacts:

• Michael Gebhard, Washtenaw County Environmental Health Division, 734-222-3855, or Email at gebhardm@ewashtenaw.org
• Matt Naud, City of Ann Arbor, Systems Planning, 734-794-6430 x43712 , or Email at MNaud@a2gov.org
• Roger Rayle, Scio Residents for Safe Water, PO Box 97, Dexter, MI 48130, 734-761-8932 or Email at rmrayle@gmail.com
• Sybil Kolon, MDEQ Remediation and Redevelopment Division, 517-780-7937, or Email at kolons@michigan.gov.

Information Links:

• 5-27-2009 WEMU interview with Michael Gebhard about the 5-4-2009 Pall/Gelman Proposal
• CARD (Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane) - Official local government/citizen stakeholder group Pall-Gelman site
• 1,4-Dioxane Wiki Website - collaborative postings about Pall/Gelman Dioxane Site
• SRSW home website - mostly links to more info
• SRSW ning website - recent news, photos, videos, forums, etc.
• SRSW Google Group website - most recent Powerpoint presentations, Google Earth mashups, and sampling data
• DEQ's Gelman Website

Public Participation:

• CARD 5-20-09 Meeting on Facebook
• Use hash tag #A2CARD to follow/comment/ask questions on Twitter
• Search Wguru Live on Ustream.tv for possible live streaming of meetings