Nationwide Program – Neighborhood Environmental Report Your Home Health Status
Nationwide Program – The Keystone Clean Water Team is in pre-launch for a new USA program to help homeowners. The program helps you to identify the existing and historic environmental hazards in your community. We are working with a national environmental database search company to offer a report to help you understand your home’s or your future homes environmental health status within a community. We are doing this by taking a snapshot of the current and historic environmental concerns and hazards in the community and a review of select criminal activity. This program has been lauched – order a Neighboorhood Hazard Reports.
The program, Neighborhood Environmental Report™, offers a search of over 1,400 databases and millions of records of potential land and groundwater contamination within 1 mile radius of the entered address. The report includes a search for concerns that might be dangerous to a homeowner’s family or investment such as nearby leaking underground oil tanks, leaky underground fuel tanks (LUSTs), leaky above ground tanks (LASTs), CDC Health Assessment Database, landfills, hazardous waste sites, DOD facilities, gas and radiological sources, National Wetland Mapping, Flooding mapping data, drug houses, and clandestine drug labs.
Healthy Communities = Healthy Kids and Families
Some of the most toxic and/or costly hazards exists outside of your home. These contaminants can enter your home through direct human or animal contract or vapor intrusion into your home through the air, soil, or groundwater. These hazards pose a threat to you and your family’s health and the value of your property. Every report includes detailed information about what has been searched and identified as well as contact information for all governmental and private organizations cited in the databases.
The benefits of this report:
1. Help existing homeowners understand the hazards in their communities.
2. Aid future homeowners quickly learn about the historic hazards and concerns to conduct prior water quality, soils, or environmental testing and get the proper inspections.
3. Aid real estate professionals, investors, and appraisers evaluate the value of a home or residential property.
4. If you are selling your home, what a great way to introduce your home and surrounding community to any potential buyers, and as a home buyer, the Neighborhood Environmental Report helps provide peace of mind for you and your family.
5. For environmental groups, this is a great way to educate and inform your community about existing environmental hazards, develop local targeted sub-watershed monitoring programs, and educate children about their communities. In some cases a larger search area is needed.
6. Home inspectors, environmental laboratories, and other may find the reports useful, but in many cases some additional review or interpretation will be needed to select the appropriate testing parameters, inspections, and monitoring.
(Example Report Dallas Pennsylvania)
We ran this report for a small business owner that was looking to purchase a residential property in Shavertown, PA. The property was going to be purchased for cash. We completed the search and search identified a specific potential problem with a past but active leak at a gasoline station. This lead the buyer to ask for more information. When the right questions were asked, it was determined that there may be some environmental hazards that could impact the value of the property. In addition, the preliminary search suggested that the property could be located in a floodplain. The quote from the buyer – “The preliminary information and educational materials allowed me to better understand my risk and allow me to find a new property in a timely manner and save over $ 200,000.00” (GW, Shavertown, PA, 2015).
During the period from 2010 to 2011 – the following are the states with the most “Meth Lab” busts: Missouri, Tennessee , Indiana , Kentucky, Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
We are in pre-launch on this service. During pre-launch we are offering to complete compile this report for a fee of only $ 55.00. After pre-launch and website design, we think the final cost will be $ 75 and up. Neighboorhood Hazard Reports
2. Contact Mr. Brian Oram at the Keystone Clean Water Team (KCWT) at cleanwater@carbonwaters.org and provide the mailing address for the property, your contact information, email address, and phone number. We can provide this service for the USA. For some areas, we may need more information.
Terms and Conditions
1. Reports do not meet the terms and conditions of an environmental audit for real estate translations.
2. Reports can not be resold and the copyright will be maintained by the Keystone Clean Water Team.
3. Any analyses, estimates, ratings or risk codes provided in this Report are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to provide, nor should they be interpreted as providing any facts regarding, or prediction or forecast of, any environmental risk for any property. Only a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment performed by an environmental professional can provide information regarding the environmental risk for any property. This Report is not a replacement for a home inspection. This Report does not provide information pertaining to the interior of the target property such as, but not limited to: mold, asbestos, lead, radon or other issues. Additionally, the information provided in this Report is not to be construed as legal advice.
4. This report contains certain information described herein pertaining solely to the exterior of the target property, which information was obtained from a variety of public and other sources reasonably available to the database search company. The company. does not produce, maintain or verify the information contained in these sources; and assumes, without independent investigation, that the information in such sources is accurate and complete.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We have offered “Free” Assistance to this effort, but if you are a private well owner that needs assistance we are happy to help.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. KCWT’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests, posting articles on social media, or assisting with a local event !
For more information, please go to KCWT’s About Page or contact us. Follow us on Twitter
Keystone Clean Water Team is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission), but we also do local educational workshops and local cellphone/small electronic recycling programs. If you would like to set up a program to help recycle cellphones at an event, business, or other organization. Through our program we can recycle cell phones, iPods, game systems, and small digital cameras. If your interested, please contact us. Our new PSAs.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization). Water Science Basics!
Northeast Pennsylvania Polycythemia Vera (PV) Investigation
Background
In 2004, using state cancer registry records, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) found a PV cluster in northeast Pennsylvania. PV is part of a disease group called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), which is a group of slow-growing blood cancers where the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.
In 2006, ATSDR was asked to help study PV patterns in the area. From 2007-2008, ATSDR reviewed medical records, conducted genetic testing, and confirmed this PV cluster.
In 2009, Congress funded ATSDR to continue this investigation. ATSDR is overseeing 18 projects with PADOH, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and various universities and private organizations. These projects are based on recommendations from an expert panel. The panel identified four areas for investigation; epidemiology, genetics, toxicology, and environmental studies.
In 2014, the last of the contracts for the 18 different projects ended.
PV Research Projects Status Graphic March 2015 (The Graphic)
Status
The graphic, PV Research Projects Status Graphic March 2015 (The Graphic), this provides a summary of the status of each of the 18 projects as of March 2015. I’ve attached this graphic both as a “snapshot” in the body of this email, as well as a pdf attachment. Projects highlighted in “green” in the attached graphic have work complete and a final product available (if applicable). Projects highlighted in “yellow” have final products in progress and undergoing clearance. Projects highlighted in “red” have final products that are anticipated but not yet started. The shapes of the projects in the graphics give you an idea of the category of work of that project, as described in the key on the graphic.
As of March 23, 2015, work is complete and a final product is available (if applicable) for 12 projects. We are happy to announce that 1 new project (#12) moved from yellow to green since my January 2015 update:
#12: “Tri-County MPN Updated Surveillance Study“ conducted by the University of Pittsburgh is complete. The published manuscript and ATSDR/CDC summary factsheet are available on the ATSDR website at:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/polycythemia_vera/
The purpose of this study was to examine PV reporting to the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry (PCR) following the original ATSDR PV investigation; to determine whether other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) were similarly underreported or falsely reported; and to determine whether a cancer cluster persisted in the follow-up period. The original ATSDR PV cancer cluster investigation was conducted in a tri county area in northeast Pennsylvania in 2006. This study was initiated to update and expand the original investigation. These researchers found that:
- * Most MPN cases had been reported to the PCR but only about half were true cases.
- * Using the seven true PV cases identified, these researchers did not find any statistically significant clusters in space or in space-time in this updated analysis.
- * Using the eleven true CML cases, these researchers did not find any statistically significant clusters in space or in space-time in this updated analysis.
- * Using nine true ET cases, these researchers found a statistically significant cluster at the zip-code level when evaluated in space, but not in space-time.
- * The estimated incidence rates for most MPNs are lower than the rates calculated from the original PCR database.
- * The estimated PV incidence rate was 2.5 (0.8-5.1) per 100,000, 64% lower than the original rate based on PCR reports after correcting for completeness and accuracy.
- * The estimated ET incidence rate was 2.3 (0.6-3.8) per 100,000, slightly higher than the original rate based on PCR reports after correcting for completeness and accuracy.
- * However, the wide range of values for estimated incidence rates reflects the variability associated with the findings based on the low response rate. The response rate for this study was 26%. This means that approximately ¼ of the identified cases agreed to participate in this study.
Further, #13 “Case Control Study” conducted by Drexel University (reported as already complete when Carol Ann Gross-Davis’ PhD dissertation was completed as of the October 2014 update) now has a publicly available journal article published related to this effort. This article is entitled “The Role of Genotypes That Modify the Toxicity of Chemical Mutagens in the Risk for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms” and is available online at:
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/3/2465/html
This article describes Drexel’s population-based case-control study. Eligible participants were residents of Carbon, Luzerne, and Schuylkill counties born between 1921–1968 and residing in the area between 2000–2008. Drexel recruited 27 “cases” (i.e., participants diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF))and 292 “controls” (i.e., participants not diagnosed with MPNs but similar in other characteristics such as age, residence history, etc) through random digit dialing. Blood samples from participants were analyzed, and odds ratios estimated for a select set of polymorphisms (i.e., variations in a particular DNA sequence). The researchers selected polymorphisms that are associated with “environmentally sensitive genes.” The aim of this effort was to try to identify potential classes of environmental exposures that could be linked to the development of genetic changes that could be related to MPNs.
For more information:
Visit ATSDR’s web page on PV: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/polycythemia_vera/index.html
Call ATSDR’s toll-free PV information line: 866-448-0242 or email jcx0@cdc.gov, which will connect you to Dr. Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell, ATSDR Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences.
Contact Lora Siegmann Werner, ATSDR Region 3, by phone at 215-814-3141 or by email at lkw9@cdc.gov.
Wellness and Water 2013 WV Wesleyan College Buckhannon West Virginia
Wellness and Water 2013
June 29 – 30, 3013 ~ WV Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV
Plenary Speakers, Panelists & Workshop Leaders:
Yuri Gorby, Associate Professor, Blitman Chair in Environmental Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Yuri Gorby earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Bethany College, and his doctoral degree in microbiology from the University of New Hampshire. He served as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA, and the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA. Prior to joining Rensselaer, he served as an assistant professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit genomics institute in San Diego and Department of Marine and Environmental Biology at the University of Southern California. His interdisciplinary research is at the nexus of environmental engineering and biology. He is an accomplished microbial physiologist and bioprocess engineer who, in his work, embraces the use of controlled cultivation to understand the fundamental properties of bacteria for a range of applications. These include remediating contaminated water, developing alternative energy resources, and mitigating the impact of microbes on corrosion. Contact: Yuri Gory, ygorby@gmail.com
Marc Glass, Principle, Downstream Strategies, Morgantown, WV
Mr. Glass has over twelve years of experience in environmental consulting and management. He is skilled in the evaluation and remediation of environmental contamination. His experience includes Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, petroleum and chlorinated solvent site investigations, design and installation of monitoring well networks, aquifer testing, asbestos and biological remediation and project supervision, preparation of facility Spill Prevention Plans for above-ground and underground storage tank facilities, and mold investigation and remediation.
Contact: Marc Glass, mglass@downstreamstrategies.com, (304) 292-2450
Rob Goodwin, Coordinator, Citizens’ Enforcement Project
Coal River Mountain Watch, Whitesville, WV
Rob Goodwin grew up in the Adirondack Mountains of Northern New York State and received a B.S. in Surveying Engineering Technology from the University of Maine in 2009. He then moved to WV as a volunteer with Coal River Mountain Watch, a WV Non-profit that has a mission to stop the destruction of WV communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in WV and to help rebuild sustainable communities. Early in 2010, Rob started the citizens’ enforcement project with Coal River Mountain Watch with a goal of connecting with citizens adversely affected by the impacts of coal mining in Southern, WV. Since 2010, the work of the citizen enforcement project has consulted with dozens of citizens across the state to help them navigate the frustrating processes that citizens have at their disposal to address mining impacts. Frequent Black water spills, dust, blasting and a looming threat of flooding in the area are all issues that citizens are using the tools at their disposal in efforts to have their concerns addressed. Contact: Rob Goodwin, rob@crmw.net, (304)-854-2182
Brian Oram, BF Environmental Consultants, Dallas, PA and Carbon County Groundwater Guardians
Brian Oram is a licensed professional geologist and soil scientist with over 20 years experience in applied earth and environmental sciences. He has conducted research and consulting projects related to acid mine drainage ( AMD ), mine drainage, lake and stream monitoring programs, wetland creation and monitoring, filtration plant performance evaluations, testing new point of use water treatment devices and systems, hydrogeological evaluations, geological investigations, soils testing, soil morphological evaluations, water well drilling and construction, drinking water testing, mail order water testing kit program, private well water testing programs, and land reclamation. He has also been involved with Citizen Monitoring and other Environmental Training Programs for groups within the United States, Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Brian also works with a private well owner education outreach group and a regional RC&D Council. Contact: Brian Oram, bfenviro@ptd.net, (570)-335-1947
Leslie Fields, Program Director
Sierra Club Environmental Justice & Community Partnerships, Washington, DC
Leslie Fields has worked extensively on natural resource extraction issues on an international level, as well as on climate change and water privatization. In addition to her work with the Sierra Club she is also an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law, co-teaching international environmental law. She formerly served as International Director of Friends of the Earth-U.S., and has worked with community groups, nonprofits, the private sector and all levels of government.
Contact: Office: Leslie Fields, leslie.fields@sierraclub.org, (202)-548-4586
Elisa Young, Founder, Meigs Citizens Action Now, Racine, OH
Elisa Young is an environmental activist from Racine, OH. She lives on farmland that has been her family for 7 generations. She originally dreamed of starting a sustainable living and teaching center and farming organically, but found herself embroiled in coalfield struggles. With four power plants visible from their farm, her community has the highest asthma and lung cancer death rate in the state, the shortest life expectancy, and are in the top 3rd percentile for the worst air quality in the nation. When five more plants were proposed, threatening to make her community the largest concentration of coal-fired power plants in the nation (nine within an 11.5-mile radius) she founded the grassroots community group, Meigs Citizens Action Now! More recently she has been concerned with the potential impacts associated with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Ohio, particularly the issues and risks associated with waste injection wells. Contact: Elisa Young, elisayoung1@yahoo.com
Grant Smith, Energy Policy Analyst, Civil Society Institute, Newton, MA
Grant Smith has been an energy policy analyst with the Civil Society Institute since June 2011. Prior to joining CSI, he was employed by the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana (CAC). At CAC, he served as ED from 2004 to 2011, as energy and utilities director from 1998 to 2004, and as environmental coordinator from 1986 to 1998. His responsibilities at CAC included organizing, research and writing, lobbying and media work. He began at CAC as a canvasser. From 2006 to 2011, he advised CSI on energy policy issues. Contact: Grant Smith, gssmith5123@gmail.com, (317)-442-8802
Dave Hanna, Onsite Training Director, New Visions Renewable Energy, Philippi, WV
Dave Hanna is Onsite Training Director for New Visions Renewable Energy. He is also a member of their technical team, which helps community members become knowledgeable with the concepts and principles of renewable energy systems and provided assistance on how to build and install electrical and/or hot water solar systems for their home or community facility. New Visions is a growing grassroots, community-based organization working to ReEnergize communities to implement renewable energy solutions. New Vision is an educational and innovation movement focusing on applicable technologies within the emerging “green” economy and serving as a hub of collaborative discussion, training and invention bringing together green innovators, community leaders, youth, companies, organizations as well as public and private partners.
Contact: New Visions Renewable Energy, info@NVRE.org, (304) 457 2971
Sam Malone, Manager of Science & Communications, FracTracker, Pittsburgh, PA
Sam Malone has worked with FracTracker since its inception in 2010 as a project of CHEC at the University of Pittsburgh. With FracTracker, she provides user and partner support, coordinates internal and external communications, and conducts and translates environmental health research for the website. She also manages FracTracker’s student internship program. Sam obtained a master of public health degree from Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health and is currently working on a doctorate of public health from the school’s Environmental and Occupational Health department. In July 2011, she was awarded a U.S. State Department and Duquesne University travel grant, where she spent a month in Ghana participating in the Emerging Leaders’ Extraction and Environment Program. Recently, Sam was appointed to the City of Pittsburgh’s Propel Pittsburgh Commission and serves on its Environment committee. Contact: Sam Malone, malone@fractracker.org, (412)-802-0273
Aaron Sutch, Energy Program Manager
The Mountain Institute (Appalachian Program), Morgantown, WV
Aaron Sutch is based in Morgantown and specializes in energy and resource management. He started out as a classroom teacher and zoological education specialist. Prior to joining The Mountain Institute he worked for the Alliance to Save Energy in the Green Schools and Green Campus programs. He also served as an Energy Storage Fellow at Technology Transition Corporation and interned at Solar Costa Rica, S.A. in San José Costa Rica. He completed his undergraduate work in Languages and Linguistics at Florida Atlantic University and received dual M.A.’s in International Affairs and Natural Resources, and Sustainable Development-Energy Policy from the American University School of International Service and United Nations University for Peace. Contact: Aaron Sutch, asutch@mountain.org
Laura Rigell, Swarthmore Divestment Campaign, Swarthmore, PA
Laura Rigell just finished her first year at Swarthmore College, where she is a member of Swarthmore Mountain Justice. This student group is campaigning for divestment from fossil fuels. In 2011, Swarthmore students launched the first such campaign in the county. Before starting at Swarthmore, Laura took a gap year to co-found the Tennessee Youth Environmental Network, a coalition of high school environmental clubs, in her home state. This summer, she is working as an intern with Coal River Mountain Watch to make conservation easements more accessible in southern West Virginia. At Swarthmore, Laura is designing a major titled “Sustainable Land Use,” and hopes to work on land reform in the future. Contact: Laura Rigell, laura.rigell@gmail.com, (865) 254-3289
Saturday Evening Entertainment
East Run Bluegrass Band, Doddridge County, WV
East Run started in 1997 and is based in Doddridge County, West Virginia. They have been playing fairs, festivals, parties, bars and halls all over West Virginia and beyond for the past ten years. Over the years an eclectic mix of bluegrass based music has emerged. In the past, all the members have performed in bands spanning many genres of music, such as blues, rock, country, heavy metal, jam bands, punk and swing. Jeff Powell (Guitar) has played with many notable bands, and has written many of East Run’s original tunes. Wayne Woods (Banjo) is originally from Taylor County, WV and got started in music playing bluegrass with his father, Neil Woods. Wayne sings lead vocal on many tunes. Chris Rossi is a talented mandolin player from Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Chris is a disciplined player with a style drawing from New Grass, Swing and Southern Rock. With the addition of WV music veteran Rus Reppert on bass, the music is evolving into new sounds and dimensions.
Contact: Wayne Woods, wcwoods0000@aol.com, (304) 782-3054
Contact Information for Conference Sponsors
Doddridge County Watershed AssociationChristina Woods, mchrisw40@aol.com, (304) 782-3054
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (www.ohvec.org)
Robin Blakeman, robin@ohvec.org, (304)-840-4877
Sierra Club (westvirginia.sierraclub.org) Bill Price, bill.price@sierraclub.org, (304)-389-8822
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy (www.wvhighlands.org)
Cindy Rank, clrank2@gmail.com, (304)-924-5802
WV Surface Owners’ Right Organization (www.wvsoro.org)
Julie Archer, julie@wvsoro.org, (304)-346-5891
Additional Resources
frackcheckwv.net/ ~ FrackCheckWV.net was created as a platform for educating citizens about the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing and providing tools and guidance for effective citizen action and advocacy. The editors of this site are volunteers with watershed and conservation groups in both West Virginia and neighboring states.
One of our Presentations For West Virginia
Education Booklet for Private Well Owners (Proceeds Support Groundwater Education in Pennsylvania)
Wellness and Water 2013 WV Wesleyan College, Buckhannon,WV
Wellness and Water 2013
June 29 – 30, 3013 ~ WV Wesleyan College, Buckhannon,WV
Saturday Morning: Bringing concerned citizens and facts together
8:00 – 9:00 am ~ Registration ~ Continental Breakfast, Coffee & Tea available
9:00- 9:15 am ~ Welcome and Introductions
9:15 – 10:00 am ~ Plenary: Dr. Tom Darrah, Duke University
10:00 – 10:20 am ~ Q & A
For More Information
10:20 – 10:30 am ~ Break
10:30 – 11:30 am ~ Panelists:
- Marc Glass, Downstream Strategies
- Rob Goodwin, Coal River Mountain Watch
- Yuri Gorby, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
- Brian Oram, B.F. Environmental Consultants and the Carbon County
Groundwater Educators
Each panelist will have 10-15 minutes for an initial presentation of their work related to monitoring impacts of MTR and gas drilling. Q & A will follow entire panel presentations, until noon.
noon – 1pm ~ Lunch
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Saturday Afternoon: To whom does all this matter?
1 – 1:15 pm ~ Gathering time
Please be in your seats by 1:15 pm. Announcements may be made between 1 and 1:15 pm.
1:15 – 2:00 pm ~ Plenary: Leslie Fields, Sierra Club
2:00 – 2:15 pm ~ Q & A
2:15 – 3:15 pm ~ Affected Resident Panelists:
Coal mining affected:
- Nada White, Boone and Kanawha counties, WV
- Danny Cook, Boone County, WV
- Lorelei Scarbro, Raleigh County, WV
Gas drilling affected:
- Leann Kiner, Harrison County, WV
- Donna Herd, Doddridge County, WV
- Jeanne Moten, Washington County, PA
3:15 – 3:30 pm ~ Q & A
3:30 – 3:45 pm ~ Break and workshop set-up
3:45 – 5:15 pm ~ Workshops:
- Rob Goodwin, Coal River Mountain Watch ~ Mapping of slurry impoundments and coal mine sites
- Elisa Young ~ Problems of waste disposal and water extraction affecting the Ohio River
- Brian Oram, B.F. Environmental Consultants ~ “Working as a Community – We ALL Live Downstream” on the need for proper baseline testing and the most likely types of influence or adverse impacts associated with natural gas development
- New Visions Solar ~ Solar powered water filtration system and “homemade” solar power
5:30 pm ~ Dinner
Saturday Evening: Music & Socializing – Main Meeting Room, Student Center
7 pm – ??? ~ Featuring music by East Run (Bluegrass band)
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Sunday Morning: What can we do about the problems created by extreme fossil fuel extraction in our region?
8:00 – 9:00 am ~ Registration ~ Continental Breakfast, Coffee & Tea available
9:00 – 9:15 am ~ Welcome and Announcements
9:15 – 10:00 am ~ Plenary: Grant Smith, Civil Society Institute
10:00 – 10:15 am ~ Q & A
10:15 – 11:15 am ~ Solution Focused Panelists:
- Pam O’Brien, New Visions Solar, Solar power and solar powered water filtration devices
- Sam Malone, FracTracker: Exploring data, sharing perspectives, mapping impacts of the gas industry
- Aaron Sutch, Energy Program Manager for the Mountain Institute
- Laura Rigell, Swathmore College Divestment Campaign
Each panelist will have 10-15 minutes for an initial presentation of their work. Q & A will follow entire panel presentations, until 11:30 am.
11:30 – 11:40 am ~ Break
11:40 am – 12:30 pm ~ Roundtable Discussions (facilitated by Bill Price, Sierra Club)
12:30 – 12:45 pm ~ Wrap Up & Evaluations
12:45 – 1:45 pm ~ Lunch
For More Information
If you are in Pennsylvania, you can contribute to the Citizen Groundwater Database and help track change for FREE and if you would like to learn about our Natural Gas Related Information, please visit us at http://www.private-well-owner.org.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
EPA faces suit from 11 groups over coal ash
www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/health/epa-faces-suit-from-11-groups-over-coal-ash-630121/
April 6, 2012 12:00 am
By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Eleven environmental organizations are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to better regulate toxic coal ash and citing recent groundwater contamination at 29 coal ash dump sites in 16 states, including two in Western Pennsylvania.
According to the EPA’s own data, coal ash has caused contamination of groundwater at coal-fired power plants in Homer City, Indiana County, and near New Castle, Lawrence County.
Earthjustice, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the other groups Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said in a release that the EPA hasn’t updated coal ash disposal and control regulations in more than 30 years and that it continues to delay new rules despite recent evidence of “leaking waste ponds, poisoned groundwater supplies and threats to public health.”
Coal ash is produced mainly by coal-fired power plants and contains a mixture of toxic chemicals and compounds, Earthjustice said, including arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, manganese, mercury, selenium and cadmium.
The EPA data, based on a 2010 questionnaire sent to 700 fossil- and nuclear-fueled power plants to asses water discharges, show ash from GenOn’s 60-year-old, 330-megawatt New Castle power plant in West Pittsburg, Lawrence County, has contaminated groundwater with arsenic.
The 1,884-megawatt Homer City power plant operated by Midwest Generation EME LLC and owned by General Electric, uses 19 ponds or landfills to dispose of its ash and, according to the EPA, has contaminated groundwater with iron, lead, manganese and sulfate.
GenOn, which announced in March it will close the New Castle power plant in April 2015, did not return calls requesting comment. Midwest Generation EME, operator of the 43-year-old power plant 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, also did not return calls.
The environmental groups’ lawsuit seeks an order to force the EPA to set deadlines for review and revision of coal ash regulations, as well as changes to tests done to determine if the waste is hazardous under federal law.
“The numbers of coal ash ponds and landfills that are contaminating water supplies continues to grow, yet nearby communities still do not have effective federal protection,” said Lisa Evans, an Earthjustice attorney.
Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and a former EPA regulator, said the dumping of toxic coal ash is on the rise. In 2010, he said, toxic heavy metals in power plant ash disposal topped 113 million pounds, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2009.
In September 2010, the EPA held public hearings in Pittsburgh and six other cities across the nation on a proposal to federally regulate coal ash for the first time, a proposal that the coal and power industries opposed. Industry leaders at the hearing said federal regulation would be costly, hurt the industry, cost jobs and increase electric rates.
Mr. Schaeffer said EPA’s proposed standards for safe disposal, including a plan to close unsafe ash ponds within five years, “have gone nowhere.”
The nation’s power plants produce approximately 150 million tons of ash a year, about 20 tons of that in Pennsylvania.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.
First Published 2012-04-06
New study determines states offer inadequate coal ash protection
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/aug/25/new-study-determines-states-offer-inadequate-coal-ash-protection
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A new study finds that state regulations regarding coal ash disposal are inadequate to protect public health and drinking water supplies for nearby communities. The information comes as federal regulations – the first of their kind – are under attack by a hostile Congress bent on derailing any effort to ensure strong, federally enforceable safeguards for coal ash, America’s second largest industrial waste stream.
Earthjustice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates (formerly the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment) released “State of Failure: How states fail to protect our health and drinking water from toxic coal ash,” a review of state regulations in 37 states, which together comprise over 98 percent of all coal ash generated nationally. The study highlights the lack of state-based regulations for coal ash disposal and points to the 12 worst states when it comes to coal ash dumping: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina and Virginia.
There are currently nearly 700 coal ash ponds and hundreds of coal ash landfills in the U.S., most of which operate without adequate liners and water quality monitoring, and have been operating as such for decades. Most states do not require coal ash dumps to employ the most basic safeguards required at landfills for household garbage.
State of Failure includes detailed information on basic disposal safeguards, such as groundwater monitoring, liners, isolation of ash from the water table, and financial assurance requirements in 37 states where coal ash is currently generated and disposed.
Coal ash is the toxic remains of coal-fired power plants; enough is generated each year to fill train cars stretching from the North Pole to the South Pole. The ash contains toxic metals, including arsenic, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium. Coal ash is commonly dumped into unlined and unmonitored ponds and landfills. There are well over a hundred documented sites where coal ash has contaminated drinking water or surface water.
The EPA is currently considering a federal proposal to regulate coal ash that includes two options: the first option would classify coal ash as hazardous waste, requiring water quality monitoring, liners and the phase out of dangerous “wet” storage of coal ash, such as the pond that collapsed in Kingston, Tennessee in 2008. The second option would continue to allow states to inadequately regulate coal ash by establishing only guidelines that states are free to ignore. Within the industry, coal ash generators support the weaker option. The EPA, under pressure from industry, has postponed finalizing the coal ash standard until 2012.
But coal ash allies in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are not content with delay. Two bills currently moving through the House seek to undermine any efforts by the EPA to set federal enforceable safeguards for coal ash disposal. Both bills require EPA to let the states – and the states alone – decide how to regulate ash, with little federal oversight.
“This report proves unequivocally that state programs, without federal mandates or oversight, are a recipe for disaster when it comes to protecting our health and our environment,” said Lisa Evans, senior legislative counsel at Earthjustice and a co-author of the study. “Strong, federally enforceable safeguards are needed to guarantee that our drinking water remains free of arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic metals found in coal ash. The myth that states are doing a good job protecting Americans from coal ash is busted.”
“The problem with relying on state regulations is that they are not designed for the unique problems of coal ash generally and coal ash impoundments particularly,” said Mike Becher, the Equal Justice Works Fellow at Appalachian Mountain Advocates. “While many coal ash impoundments are regulated by state dam safety programs, these programs were developed to deal with dams holding back water, not toxic substances. State solid waste programs, on the other hand, are not used to dealing with large impoundments and the threat of a catastrophic dam failure like the one seen in Tennessee in 2008.”
Coal ash taints groundwater
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110725/NEWS11/307250034/Coal-ash-taints-groundwater-at-TVA-sites-report-finds
Inspector General report finds nine of TVA’s plant sites have contamination
A new report says groundwater contamination from coal ash has been found at Gallatin and eight of the nine other Tennessee Valley Authority fossil power plant sites where testing is being done.
Levels of toxic substances found at the Gallatin plant site in Sumner County and at the Cumberland site, 50 miles northwest of Nashville, are high enough that they could create a health hazard, the report says. Beryllium, cadmium and nickel levels are above drinking water standards at Gallatin, as are arsenic, selenium and vanadium at Cumberland.
One major surprise also showed up in the review by TVA’s Office of Inspector General: For more than a decade, the TVA had been finding substances in groundwater at its Allen coal-fired plant in Memphis that indicated toxic metals could be leaking from a coal ash pond there.
Arsenic above today’s allowable levels was found repeatedly in a monitoring well on the site, which is in a sensitive location. The plant and its ash ponds lie above a deep, high-quality aquifer that supplies drinking water to Memphis and nearby areas.
“I was not aware of this until today,” Chuck Head, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s senior director for land programs, said Friday after The Tennessean provided a copy of the TVA document.
“We would obviously have liked them to report it to us when they found the arsenic. But now that we have the information, we are going to work with them to try to resolve the problem.”
TVA declined requests for interviews on the topic, but spokeswoman Barbara Martocci sent an email, saying the legal limits for contaminants at Allen were met at the time of the testing.
“Even though some parameters were measured at levels higher than background, there were no exceedances of EPA municipal drinking water limits,” she wrote.
That was the case, up to a point.
TVA quit testing when the EPA tightened its standard — what’s called the Maximum Contaminant Level, the report said. Samples taken before then had showed arsenic levels above the new, higher standard.
“Testing has not been performed since the Maximum Contaminant Level was lowered,” the report said.
The toxic substances typically are found in small amounts — parts per billion. At the Gallatin site, they are likely moving down to and being diluted in the Cumberland River, Head said.
Similarly, at Allen in Memphis, the most likely result is discharge of the groundwater directly into the nearby Mississippi River and a lake there, he said. The threat to the Memphis aquifer is minimal.
Head said the state is set to talk Tuesday to TVA as they work toward a solution.
He said more monitoring wells will likely be needed to determine how large the contaminated plume is underground at the Gallatin plant.
’08 spill was catalyst
The OIG investigation of groundwater contamination at TVA coal ash sites, released June 21, began as a result of questions raised during congressional testimony following the December 2008 ash spill in East Tennessee.
A mountain of damp ash had buckled at TVA’s Kingston plant and 5.4 million cubic yards of the waste, which contains mercury, cadmium, lead, selenium, arsenic and other potentially toxic substances, cascaded into yards, fields and the Emory River.
The event brought national attention to the lack of regulation of coal ash and helped spark proposed rules last year from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that are being argued over today.
The OIG report is considered important on several counts by the Environmental Integrity Project that has been gathering data on coal ash sites.
“The list of plants where monitoring is taking place at TVA is notable for what is missing,” said Russell Boulding, a hydro-geologist and soil scientist working with the environmental advocacy group.
That includes the absence of testing at the ash impoundment at TVA’s closed Watts Bar Plant coal-fired plant, 60 miles southwest of Knoxville. No monitoring is done around Watts Bar, where an old, unlined ash pond is located.
Spokeswoman Martocci said it’s not required.
“It is not an active plant, and there were no solid waste permits (or other regulations) that required groundwater monitoring for the site,” she wrote.
The legacy ash pond there is under study for permanent closure, which, when officially closed, could require monitoring by the state.
Coal ash, once viewed as harmless, contains a variety of heavy metals in low concentrations. Without proper protection, they can leach into groundwater and move to drinking water sources, such as well water, posing “significant public health concerns,” according to an EPA report.
Some of the substances can also move up the food chain.
Martocci said TVA’s coal ash sites pose no threat.
“The small amount of heavy metals or other potential contaminants identified in groundwater at the fossil sites are confined to the TVA reservation and do not impact off-site drinking water sources,” Martocci wrote. “Moreover, there are no potable water supplies down-gradient from these sites.”
Data gap frustrating
The Environmental Integrity Project is among groups that have been advocating for the EPA to regulate coal ash, but a lack of monitoring nationally in the past means little data is available.
“This has been a big source of frustration for those of us who are looking at the impacts of disposal practices,” Boulding said.
At least in Tennessee there is some information, he said. Data, including this new report, is growing in the wake of the Kingston spill, and more is forthcoming. TVA voluntarily put in 29 groundwater monitoring wells last year at its power plant coal ash sites. Results from samples are expected this year.
In Colorado and some other states, the group can find virtually no data despite a large number of coal-fired plants pumping out coal ash, Boulding said.
Still, the EPA has found about 70 cases where coal ash has caused fish kills, sullied wells and tainted land in a 2007 report. The EIP, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club have put out reports on scores of other cases.
Time of reckoning
Coal, which has long provided cheap electricity nationwide, has also generated vast quantities of ash in Tennessee and around the country. After burning, the leftover chunks and flakes have generally been flooded with water for sluicing to ponds where the ash settles out. The water is then pumped into a river or lake. Coal ash has been left in the ponds, mounded beside rivers, placed in old coal mines and loaded into gravel pits.
Some has been spread on roadways or used to make walking paths. And some has been recycled in asphalt or other products .
Since at least the 1980s, with growing coal ash wastes and disasters environmentalists have been pressing for regulation.
Coal industry representatives have said federal regulation would be cumbersome and costly and want to leave it to states.
TVA officials have said they’re getting ahead of the curve. They announced plans earlier to convert to more costly but preferred dry ash disposal, which experts say makes ash easier to manage and less likely to contaminate groundwater. It also leaves materials available for recycling.
Though monitoring hasn’t been required, TVA carried out voluntary testing at the Allen plant ash ponds in Memphis from 1988-2008, according to the OIG report.
Elevated levels of boron and sulfate — which indicate ash releases from the impoundments there — and also arsenic “have been historically higher than the background data,” the report said.
“According to TVA personnel, these levels have not been reported to (the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) because the testing was not required,” it said.
The report gave specific data for a few plant sites, but not for Allen. It did say that arsenic levels measured in the past were above today’s current safe limit.
Experts discuss likely sources of the rare blood illnesses in the three-county area
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/jun/16/it-radon-fly-ash-or-something-else
Thursday, June 16, 2011
By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfass@tnonline.com
Is it radon, fly ash or something else?
DONALD R. SERFASS/TIMES NEWS Dr. Jeanine Buchanich, University of Pittsburgh, stresses the importance of participating in studies aimed at targeting the cause of a rare blood disease. Buchanich was one of several speakers at a public forum held Wednesday at the Tamaqua Community Center. Also shown are Tom Murphy, Hometown, health and environmental advocate, and Dr. Henry Cole, Maryland.
Is radon the culprit in an unusually high number of cases of a rare blood illness in Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties? Or is it fly ash? Or maybe something else?
Those possibilities are being examined, along with a variety of other scenarios as part of $8.8M in research and investigations.
At Wednesday’s public meeting, sponsored by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Tri-County Polycythemia Vera (PV) Community Advisory Committee, an expert said significantly high levels of radon have been seen in studies here.
Robert K. Lewis, manager, hazardous sites cleanup, Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), told 50 in attendance at the Tamaqua Community Center that one environmental analysis of air quality has turned up an area of concern.
“We sampled radon in homes. Fifty percent of homes were 4 picocuries or higher,” noted Lewis, who explained that 48 different locations were tested. One area tested was where a high incidence of PV cases has been identified.
“We were requested to sample along Ben Titus Road,” said Lewis.
In terms of water analysis, Lewis said testing was done on “a combination of well water and commercial water supplies such as the Tamaqua Water Authority.”
Lewis said results indicate that Tamaqua residential drinking water appears to have no problem with contaminants. However, “we didn’t (test for) radon in water,” he added. That is one area that would need to be looked at, said Lewis.
Lewis indicated that drinking water testing turned up only two lead results and two nitrate.
“The department doesn’t feel that drinking water is a problem here, but we should go back and look for radon.”
One expert said the entire effort is multipronged.
“You have an interdisciplinary group of scientists working on these studies,” said Dr. Henry Cole of Maryland, who has been working with Tom Murphy, Hometown, a founder of the CAC group.
The meeting featured updates by the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, the agency sampling drinking water, dust and soil at the homes of study participants.
In addition, workers are testing water and sediment at the McAdoo Superfund site and cogeneration plants in the area.
A team from Drexel University is trying to identify risk factors for the disease, while researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are studying the frequency of PV cases.
Research updates target PV incidence
The session provided a broad range of updates from a variety of sources:
Ÿ Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell of the ATSDR said a total of 1,150 persons were screened for the JAK2 mutation, found in those who develop PV. In addition, 3,500 DNA samples were analyzed for the mutation.
“We can link each person’s test with demographic factors … it’s a groundbreaking study,” said Irvin-Barnwell.
Ÿ Dr. Lora Siegmann Werner of the ATSDR outlined initiatives in health education, such as developing literature to address “What does it mean if you have PV?” A comprehensive list of physicians has been completed because there is great need to get information to doctors, she said. She also lauded work by the CAC support group and Michelle Greshner.
Ÿ Dr. Jeanine Buchanich, University of Pittsburgh said, “We’re working with the Department of Health to do an expansion of the original study.” She said 372 cases are included in the study, all from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry. She said as many folks as possible should take part.
“We’re hoping CAC members will convey how important it is to participate in the study. The success of the study depends on getting people to participate.”
Ÿ Dr. Carol Ann Gross-Davis of Drexel University reported on a case control study of 147 people.
“Of the cases, we have 24 consented who have PV. We had 10 percent who declined to participate, which is their right,” she said, adding, “We’re doing it through the Geisinger system, coordinating through the University of Pittsburgh.”
Ÿ Dr. Jim Logue, Pennsylvania DOH principal investigator for the myeloproliferative neoplasm program, said he’s been involved in cancer analyses since 2004. He announced success with a partnership.
“We secured two contracts with the University of Pittsburgh.”
Ÿ David Marchetto, the department’s program manager, said progress is being made.
“The pieces are coming together,” he said. “We’re working with state, federal and local partners.” Marchetto also said, “Misclassification of the disease is a concern to us. There are cases reported to the cancer registry that aren’t PV, not only here but in southwestern and central Pa. as well.”
Similarly, sometimes PV cases do not get reported, he stated.
It was noted that Dr. Peter Jaran, environmental engineer from New Jersey, will look at groundwater and potential sources of contamination.
Local residents had several questions for the experts.
Irene Genther, a Nesquehoning resident and former educator with extensive background in the sciences, asked for clarification as to whether susceptibility to PV can be attributed to heredity. Irvin-Barnwell said heredity itself isn’t seen as a factor. Still, family history and ethnicity are areas being examined.
Genther advised attendees that contaminants such as fly ash dust and radon aren’t found only in the ground, but are airborne.
Some said a solution isn’t coming fast enough.
“It’s been eight years and we still don’t have an answer,” said PV patient Merle Wertman, Tamaqua. Wertman was on hand with wife Linda. The two have been staying on top of developments with the disease. Wertman was diagnosed in 2003. He has no family history of cancer.
Dr. Cole had words of praise for Murphy, a community volunteer who devotes himself to the role of environmental and health activist.
“Joe has put so much into this,” said Cole. “He’s been the guiding light. He put his whole heart and soul into this.”
Those in attendance gave Murphy a round of applause for his role in coordinating activities of the CAC.
Agency action would cut transport of air pollutants from Pa. power plant
EPA Proposes to Grant Clean Air Act Petition to Improve Air Quality in New Jersey
WASHINGTON (March 31, 2011) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed to grant a petition submitted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to limit sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from a Pennsylvania power plant that are adversely impacting air quality in four New Jersey counties. The proposed rule, when final, would require the Portland Generating Station in Northampton County, Pa. to reduce its SO2 emissions by 81 percent over a three-year period. Exposure to SO2 can aggravate asthma and cause other respiratory difficulties. People with asthma, children, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to these effects.
Under the Clean Air Act, when a facility impacts air quality in another state, the affected state can petition EPA and request that the facility be required to reduce its impact. In a September 2010 petition, New Jersey asked EPA to find that the Portland power plant is impacting the state’s air quality and to require the facility to reduce its SO2 emissions. These emission reductions can be achieved using proven and widely available pollution control methods.
New Jersey conducted several air quality modeling analyses to evaluate SO2 levels in the state. These analyses show that the level of SO2 in the air is exceeding the agency’s 1-hour national air quality standard and that the Portland plant is the main source of emissions. EPA also conducted its own modeling analyses and found the same results.
Typically a mix of sources from multiple locations is responsible for air quality issues in a specific area. However, in this case, the extensive analysis shows a clear connection between the emissions from the Portland plant alone and the elevated level of SO2 in New Jersey.
EPA will accept comment on this proposal until May 27, 2011. The agency is also holding public hearing on this proposed rule on April 27, 2011 in Oxford, N.J. The hearing will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to submit written or oral comments in person. A written record of the hearing will be compiled and submitted to the docket. Any questions posed at the hearing will be replied to in a response to comment summary issued with EPA’s final response to the petition.
More information on the petition and public hearing: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/new.html
Contacts: Terri A. White, EPA Region 3, (215) 814-5523, white.terri-a@epa.gov
Elias Rodriguez, EPA Region 2, (212) 637-3664, Rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
Fly ash contamination report sparks concern
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2011/01/04-38/Fly-ash-contamination-report-sparks-concern.html
Fly ash contamination report sparks concern
Leopold calls for more testing of wells, but development continues
By ERIN COX and PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writers
Capital Gazette Communications
Published 01/04/11
In 2007, fly ash is dumped and spread at a pit off of Evergreen Road in Gambrills. A report about fly ash contamination has sparked concern over the safety of drinking water in the area.
Opponents of a $275 million Gambrills shopping center to be built atop a fly ash dump have called in experts to bolster their case.
The findings sparked new concerns about the safety of drinking water in the area, but the companies working to redevelop the dump say the worries are overblown.
A new review of data by a Johns Hopkins University researcher shows groundwater contamination has spread outside the system designed to contain it. A companion study by a Tufts University researcher predicts contamination could seep deeper into the ground, reaching the source of Gambrills-area wells in 15 years and seeping into public water supplies within a half-century.
“You don’t know if the plume capture system they have in place is capturing the contamination,” said the study’s author, Edward Bouwer, chair of the Geography and Environmental Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins. “I think there’s been lack of oversight.”
Both studies were commissioned because of a lawsuit designed to halt development of Village South at Waugh Chapel, but the report has drawn a public response from county officials.
Concerned about undetected contamination, County Executive John R. Leopold has asked state environmental officials to keep a closer watch on drinking wells.
Despite warnings that groundwater contamination concerns should be resolved first, the county has not taken any steps to slow development of the 80-acre Village South at Waugh Chapel complex, which will include shops, office space and homes.
Brian Gibbons, developer of the project, said the county has no reason to take any such steps.
He said his company and others involved in redeveloping the area have installed all the safeguards demanded by state environmental officials. Building the project, he said, will create a cap that stops stormwater from dissolving the fly ash buried below.
The Maryland Department of Environment required monitoring wells to track and contain contamination. Agency spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus said protecting drinking water is a top concern of the MDE, and that’s why the agency has a legal promise from the site owners they will fix the problem.
She said the agency’s technicians will review the new study and take additional steps, if warranted.
The group fighting the Village South at Waugh Chapel development said the MDE’s system for monitoring and cleaning up the contamination does not do enough to ensure public safety. The new study used data sent to the MDE to conclude that contamination is spreading. Once a sprawling shopping center is built atop the fly ash, they argue, it will be more difficult to fix environmental woes.
“Clean it up and then do the development,” said G. Macy Nelson, a Towson lawyer representing Crofton resident Robert Smith and the Patuxent Riverkeeper organization.
Nelson’s clients are suing the county, the state, developer Greenberg Gibbons, fly ash owner Constellation Energy and former dump owner BBSS Inc. to delay the development. The lawsuit was filed over the summer. No hearings have been set.
“Our goal is not to stop this development, our goal is to get a cleanup before they do the development,” Nelson said.
Filled with fly ash
The land proposed for 1.2 million square feet of development along Route 3 was once a sand-and-gravel mine. Constellation Energy filled it in with fly ash – a grainy byproduct of burning coal for electricity – for about a decade beginning in 1995.
Fly ash contains sulfates, chlorides and a host of heavy metals that easily dissolve in water. Those contaminants can harm human health. In 2006, the county detected the contaminants in drinking wells near the pit in Gambrills.
The finding sparked a county ban on burying fly ash elsewhere and actions by the Maryland Department of the Environment, including a $1 million fine for Constellation. The dump’s neighbors won a multimillion-dollar legal settlement that also set terms for cleaning up the site and eventually building on it.
The County Council unanimously renewed a one-year ban on new fly ash landfills in the county last night, although a permit is pending to dump fly ash at a site off Hawkins Point Road near the Baltimore City-Anne Arundel County line
Kevin Thornton, a spokesman for Constellation, said his company has been diligent in remedying the problems.
“We’re doing everything at the site we said we would do. We’re meeting all the requirements of the consent decree and we’re moving forward with remediation,” he said.
Other motives?
Gibbons, president of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, said his company also has done its part to help the environment and he suspects the lawsuit stems from other motives.
The Village South at Waugh Chapel project will be anchored by a nonunion Wegmans grocery store, and Gibbons alleged union officials are bankrolling the lawsuit in order to stop a nonunion shop.
He said the opponents’ lawyer, Nelson, has been involved in union-funded fights over grocery store projects in Prince George’s and Howard counties. “They don’t care if we create 5,500 new jobs. They’re just trying to stop Wegmans,” he said.
When asked how a homeowner and an environmental group could afford to pay for scientific studies and piles of legal paperwork, Nelson said his staff has gotten very good over the years at researching cases at a low cost.
Not an issue
Community activist Torrey Jacobsen, who also has professional connections to a grocers’ union and is not involved in the lawsuit, said the Wegmans had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
“The fly ash issue was being fought before the Wegmans was even an option,” Jacobsen said. “There are a lot of people with wells out there.”
Those concerns prompted Leopold to write last week to the MDE’s acting secretary, Robert Summers, asking him to take action to better track the contaminants flowing out of the pit.
“There is no evidence that the public water supply has been affected by the groundwater contamination at the fly ash site,” Leopold wrote. “However, the request for additional monitoring wells is a measure being taken to protect public health and to assure the public that municipal water supply wells will remain unaffected by contamination.”
ecox@capitalgazette.com
pwood@capitalgazette.com