CARD calendar (link to CARD.ewashtenaw.org)

Public Meeting
UPDATE ON THE PALL/GELMAN 1,4-DIOXANE CONTAMINATION SITE

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 7:00-9:00 pm
Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Vogel Room
1819 S. Wagner Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan

SPONSORED BY THE COALITION FOR ACTION ON REMEDIATION OF DIOXANE (CARD)

Citizen and Local government representatives of CARD will provide an update on PALL’s “Comprehensive Proposal to Modify Cleanup Program” submitted on May 4, 2009, to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

Included in this proposal is a further expansion of the Prohibition Zone established by the Court to prevent groundwater use and potential exposure to contaminated groundwater, and significant reductions in the active remediation activities (groundwater extraction and treatment).

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

MDEQ staff are planning to attend but not provide a formal presentation, MDEQ Staff will be able to address
questions during the Question & Answer section of the meeting.

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.

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 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.

Information Links:

• 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 on Ustream.tv for possible live streaming of meetings