united states environmental protection agency15.-i. iov. 1301485. 1. 2 . united states environmental...

15.-I

ioV

1301485 1

2 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

3

4 SDMS DocID 255709

5 PUBLIC HEARING - AUBURN ROAD LANDFILL

6

7

8

9 Public Hearing on Focused Feasibility Study

10 For the Auburn Road Landfill Superfund Site

11

12

13

14

15 Hearing held at the Londonderry Junior High

16 School, Mammoth Road, Route 128,

17 Hampshire, on Wednesday, August 6,

18 at 7:45 P.M. and ending at 8:10 P.M.

19

20

21

22

23

24

Londonderry, New

1986, commencing

LEGAL DEPOSITION SERVICE SHEILA SANTAS CASSAVAUGH

4 HAMPTON STREET

CONCORD. NEW HAMPSHIRE O33O1

I6O3) 224-246O

1 APPEARANCES;

2 Merrill Hohmam Director, Waste Management Division Dan Coughlin, Chief, Superfund Section Chet Janeswki, Project Officer Michael Donahue, Director, New

4 and Pollution Control Commission

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Hampshire Water Supply


4 HAMPTON STREET


I6O.3I 224-2460

1 MR. HOHMAN: Good evening, and welcome. I'm Merrill

2 Hohman. I 'm the director of the Waste Management

Division of the New England Regional Office of

4 E.P.A. I'm going to try to get along without

5 speaking with a microphone. I hope everyone can

6 hear me. If you can't, just wave. This is an

7 informal public hearing, to receive your comments

8 on the draft feasibility study for the so-called

9 Auburn Road Landfill Superfund site, here in Londonderry.

10 The feasibility study that has been distributed,

11 was prepared by NUS Corporation, under contract

12 to E.P.A., using funds from the federal suporfund

program. Let me begin first by introducing soma

people, so you'll know who they are, as you see

them running around. From E.P.A. on my immediate

left is Chester Janeswki, site manager for this

17 particular site. Somewhere out in the audience,

18 over here, on my left, your right, is Dan Coughlin,

19 who is chief of the New Hampshire/Vermont superfund

20 section in E.P.A. On my right and your left is

21 Patty D1Andrea, community relations specialist

22 with E.P.A. We also have, from the State of Naw

23 Hampshire, the Water Supply and Pollution Control

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3I 224-246O

1.KJ148N 2.

1 Commission, Mike Donahue and Charlie Berube, down

2 in front. A couple of comments on the procedures

3 that we're going to follow this evening. First,

4 you'll note that there is a stenographic record

5 being prepared of the meeting. Transcript of

6 that record will be available, at E.P.A.'s offices

7 in the John F. Kennedy Building in Boston and

8 also both in the Leach Library and the town hall

9 here in Londonderry. If, for any reason, you

10 want your own copy, I would suggest that you talk

11 to the stenographer, directly, yourself, at the

12 end of this evening's hearing. We've passed around

13 sign-up sheets and I would start by calling people

14 who have indicated on the sheets or signed up,

15 and then I'll call those people in order. If

16 you wish to make a statement, 1 would ask you

17 to please sign up on one of those sheets and give

18 it to Ms. D'Andrea, from our community relation's

19 office. If you are going to make a statement,

20 I would ask that you come forward and use the

21 podium and the microphone, to help the stenographer

22 on her record. When you do come forward, please

23 identify yourself and tell us who you represent,

24


4 HAMPTON STREET

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE O33O1

(6O3) 224-246O

3.

if you do represent someone. Also, to help the

2 stenographer, would you please spell your name,

3 so that she'll be able to be sure it's correct,

in the record. I would also ask that you limit

5 your oral comments to ten minutes. If you have

6 a longer presentation than that, I would ask that

7 you summarize it, and then submit the complete

8 presentation for the record. They'll be no questions

9 and answers during the hearing part of the evening,

10 since this is to get a formal record of your comments

11 on the study and the various alternatives. After

12 We close the formal part of the evening, we will

13 then turn around and stick around and answer any

14 questions that you may wish to raise. Public

15 comment period will continue to be open until

16 August 14th. And by that we mean that after tonight's

17 hearing, if you have other thoughts or you want

18 to make comments to us, you can do 30 in writing.

19 Comments postmarked on or before August 14, will

20 be considered part of the record, as E.P.A. makes

21 the decision. So I'd like to begin...are there

22 any questions, first of all, on the procedure

23 we're going to follow? Okay, then I would like

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3I 224-246O

4.

1 to begin by calling first Mr. David Hess.

2 MR. HESS: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. My

3 name is David Hess, H e s s . I'm an attorney

4 with the law firm of Brown and Nixon in Manchester

5 and I'm here on behalf of the owners and management

6 and the residents of the Whispering Pines Mobile

7 Home Village. Succinctly stated, we are urging

8 the E.P.A, in conjunction with the State Water

9 Supply and Pollution Control Commission, to adopt,

10 alternative to, in your proposal, namely the extension

11 of a substantial water main, from the present

12 location and site of the Manchester Water Works,

13 the distance necessary to serve the affected areas.

14 We believe that the RAFS Study, which NUS has

15 completed for you, indicates, wit'iout any doubt,

that that is the only significant, viable alternative,

17 which should be considered and I suggest, by way

of summary, the following points: First of all

19 it is the only alternative, which your engineers

20 acknowledge will provide an assured source of

21 clean, safe drinking water. Tne only other close

22 alternative to that is number three, providing

23 for a new well field to service th=; affected areas,

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


16031 224-2460

5.

1 but as your engineers, themselves, have pointed

2 out, that alternative provides no assurance, absent

3 extensive hydrogeologic studies, that you're going

4 to come up with clean water. You hope you'll

5 be upgrading from the contamination plume, but

6 we don't we don't really know and indeed there

7 may be other plumes out there. So, number one,

8 it is the only assured source of clean drinking

9 water. For that reason, it is the safest alternative.

10 It is the most superior alternative from a public

11 health perspective, but it is also superior to

12 all other alternatives in another respect. The

13 implementation of that alternative, is well under

14 way. The Manchester Water Works has undertaken

15 and may very well be in the final stages at the

16 present time, of their preliminary design and

17 engineering studies. They have already submitted

18 an application to the New Hampshire Public Utilties

19 Commission seeking to have their franchise extended

20 into this neighborhood, an application I might

21 add, is supported by Whispering Pines and we have,

22 indeed, at the owners' and management's own expense,

23 entered an appearance in that proceeding in order

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3I 224-246O

6.

to encourage the P.U.C. to extend the franchise.

You are dealing with the Manchester Water Works,

with an organization that runs the largest water

supply system in the State of New Hampshire.

They have engineering in place. They have expertise

in place. They know what they're doing. They

don't have to start up from ground zero and they're

moving expeditiously. They have indicated to

" me in personal conferences, and I'm sure have

10 verified it with the State and the E.P.A., that

11 given almost any conceivable circumstances, they

can be on line and delivering water to the affected

13 areas, perhaps as soon as November, but in no

event, later than approximately 12 months. Now

what that means from a public health perspective,

16 is very simple. If one assumes that the only

viable alternative is the well field, and I think

it is for cost reasons, what that means is that

the continuing human exposure to the contaminants

20 in the ground water, will be minimal, if the water

main alternative, alternative number two, is adopted,

22 because if you proceed to consider the third alternative,

23 the well field alternative, you have a number

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-246O

7.

1 of complicating and time extending factors. You

2 have to create a new water franchise. You

3 have to do prelminary studies. Ycu have to locate

4 a well field that will be sufficient to satisfy

the needs. You have to assure access to that

6 well field, which means either leasing or acquiring

7 or condeming, if you can't do either of those

8 things, the rights, and every step of the way

9 that we're talking, now you're talking about extensions

of months and months in each step and what the

11 establishment of a separate and independent water

12 franchise, you have all of the start-up expenses,

13 all of the start-up resulting from a Lack of experience,

14 a lack of expertise and basically recreating the

wheel. So I would submit that from a safety,

from a public health perspective, the water main

extension by the water works is the only viable

alternative. It will be the cheapest to implement.

Your engineer's own figures indicate that alternatives

20 two and three are within about a hundred thousand

21 dollars of each other, but in point of fact, your

22 economic computations for the well field alternative,

23 number three, contains no provision for the acquisition

24

LEGAL DEPOSITION SERVICE

SHEILA SANTAS CASSAVAUGH

4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-246O

13014%

8.

1 of land or property rights, which is necessary

2 to cite the well field and/or to protect it, namely

3 to devise the radius aecessary to protect that

4 well field. Secondly, it assumes you're going

5 to be right, the first time you shoot, and as

6 your engineer has indicated, that is not a guarantee

7 and, in fact, is really an unknown and thirdly,

8 I would suggest that your cost, in that context

9 are assuming a normal progression of study, design,

10 construction and operation, which probably, from

11 a practical perspective, cannot be anticipated.

12 Finally, I would suggest, and I believe your report

13 points this out, that that alternative, the cost

14 computations, do not include a treatment process

15 which may very well, again, be possible, so from

16 a practical perspective, although in black and

17 white, in the NUS study, alternative three, reads

18 cheaper, I would submit to you that, for the reasons

19 that I have just stated, it will not be cheaper

20 and that, in fact, alternative two, will be cheaper.

21 A water main will require minimum maintenance

22 and minimum operating expenses. You won't have

23 to pay for the pumps, that type of equipment,

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


I6O3) 224-246O

1 the new capital structures and improvements and

2 a maintenance by, again, a staff, a new franchise

3 that is on the job and learning. In summary,

4 I would suggest to you and I have written comments

5 which I will leave with you as I leave the podium,

6 that really the only viable alternative, from

7 public health, from public safety, from cost,

8 from speed of implementation, from ease of maintenance,

9 is to extend the Manchester Water Works water

10 main, from its present proximity to the area,

11 into the area, to service the affected properties.

12 Thank you.

13 MR. HOHMAN: Thank you Mr. Hess. You have a statement.

14 Michael and Cheryl Munson. Did you have a letter

15 you wanted to enter into the record? Okay. Bill

16 and Cathy Stearns.

17 MR. STEARNS: Good evening. My name :..s Bill Stearns.

I'm speaking for both me and my wife, Cathy.

19 We're residents of Auburn Road. We live almost

20 directly across the street from the area that

they did the initial excavation back in May and

22 this is the statement that we prepared for this

23 evening. Number one, we favor the installation

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-2460

10.

i of the water line as soon as possible, an alternate

2 water supply which we understand will be provided

3 by the Manchester Water Works, Manchester, New

4 Hampshire. One A: Given our concerns of the

5 quality of our current water supply and its contents,

6 we request a report on the quality of the water,

7 siting voltoranic and inorganic compounds, that

8 is to be supplied, as a confirmation that this

9 water is safe and clean and well within drinking

10 standards currently. Number Two: We are aware

11 and realize that the design study and the review

12 of construction and its cost, have begun for the

13 water line alternate. Therefore, if the E.P.A.

14 proceeds with this alternative, what is the estimated

15 completion date in the water supply service to

16 the residents. Two A: Do you forsee any short

17 or long-term problems that could inhibit this

18 process? Two B: Will the residents have an opportunity

19 to review the design study before construction

20 begins? Two C: Until such time that the alternative

21 water supply is implemented, will the E.P.A. continue

22 to monitor the residents and test the residents'

23 well? Three: Given the fact that Manchester Water

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-246O

11.

i Works has volunteered and is willing to provide

2 assistance to the residents, the E.P.A. and Londonderry,

3 by providing a water line and E.P.A. has said

4 they favored this option and public opinion has

5 demanded this exclusively, will the E.P.A. go

6 forward and recommend this option, with the commitment

7 of reauthorization of super fund...excuse me,

8 that's without the commitment of reauthorization

9 of super fund. Three A: If so, who will be the

10 primary financers of the water Line? Three B:

11 If the Town of Londonderry is allowed or required

12 to pay for the water line, will they be released

13 of any present and future liabilities? Three

14 C: If it is decided that the town may subsidize,

15 what taxes or charges are they allowed to pass

16 on to the residents, if any at: all. Three D:

17 If the Town of Londonderry and the E.P.A. cannot

18 reach a mutually acceptable agreement on how to

19 finance the water line, will the E.P.A. pursue

20 the other responsible and liable parties for polluting

21 and legally hold these parties also financially

22 responsible for the new water supply alternative.

23 Three E: Does the State of New Hampshire concur

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


I6O.3) 224-246O

12.

with the decision for the installation of the

water line and will they contribute ten or fifty

percent for their share. Four: Why has the E.P.A.

not released or disclosed the naires of the other

parties responsible for the contamination and

pollution? For example, the current and former

landfill owners and operators, generators and

transporters of the toxic waste in the landfill.

Four A: What is the E.P.A.'s position concerning

10 the allocation of potential liability regarding

11 the Town of Londonderry. Four B: What are the

12 names of the responsible parties and when will

13 their names be released? Five: As we get closer

14 to the clean-up of the site and with the water

supply alternative decision nearly made, what

16 are the E.P.A.'s guidelines, rules, and regulations,

17 once a super fund site has been cleaned up. Can

the landfill be reopened to be reused as a dumping

19 ground once again? Six: When will the feasibility

20 study be released regarding the remainder of the

clean-up operations to complete the site? Seven:

22 What are the results and analysis of the test

23 of the resident soil sampling done during the

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


I6O3I 224-246O

13CHSOO 13.

excavation, the evacuation of us during May anc

the H? water that existed that existed on the

3 site at that time. Since the E.P.A., we feel

4 that it is imperative that a healthy and clean

5 water be supplied to all residents who are at

6 risk within the Auburn road land fill area. We

7' ' || feel we have been met with enormous injustice,

and that we, the victims, that. had no part in

this situation, we obviously do not hold the E.P.A.

responsibe for the current environmental problems

H that exist there. Since the E.P.A. has now been

I2 involved we feel strongly that it is their job

to rectify and remedy this problem to the utmost

14 satisfaction to the residents, especially taking

15 into great consideration in how to regard our i

16 health and welfare. Therefore, with this in mind

17 and for this to occur, immediate action, and implemen

tation of the new water source is mandatory.

I9 If finances are the major obstacle and hurtle

in facilitating this process, we feel the E.P.A.

should take strong and legal action against the

22 responsible parties involved. Thank you.

23 MR. HOHMAN: Thank you Mr. Stearns. Excuse me for mis

24

LEGAL DEPOSITION SERVICE

SHEILA SANTAS CASSAVAUGH

4 HAMPTON STREET


(603) 224-2460

14.

pronouncing your name. I didn't read it right

here, when you signed up, so... If you have a number

of questions, as I indicated, after we close

the record, we'll perhaps try to answer some

of those to the extent we can. Mr. Donahue,

do you want to make a statement?

MR. DONAHUE: Thank you, Mr. Hohman. My name is Michael

Donahue. I'm with the New Hampshire Water

Supply and Pollution Control Commission.

I'm the administrator of the Hazardous Waste

11 and Groundwater Protection Division within

12 the commission and I would like to state,

13 for the record, that the commission prefers

14 that E.P.A. choose alternative number two,

15 as the appropriate solution to the problem

16 out at the Auburn Road site. The commission

17 feels that alternative number two is the most

18 expedient remedy available for providing a

19 safe, long-term drinking water supply. Thank

20 you, Mr. Hohman.

21 MR. HOHMAN: Thank you, Mr. Donahue. Harold Lynde,

22 jr.

23 MR. LYNDE: My name is Harold Lynde and I attended

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3I 224-246O

140150*;

15.

the meeting last week and first became aware

of some of the basics of your focus feasiblity

study, based upon the information passed out,

gained from that hearing last week and reading

through the record, it appears certainly that

alternate number two is probably the best

and certainly the most certain solution for

the problems identified in your focus feasibility

study. It does this because it provides the

most certain solution, providing clean and

11 safe water to the residents of the Auburn

Road area. In addition, should there be any

13 further contamination off site, in other areas,

it would certainly provide the means for extending

that to any other areas. However, given that

the E.P.A. does recognize that a problem exists,

a potential health threat, which must be addressed

and indeed, I think addressing it the way

we're proposing, will do it, and also given

20 that it's possible that contamination can

exist at undetected levels or it may occur

22 before it's detected and also given the fact

23 that there's some young children living in

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(60:3) 224-2460

16

1 the area, it would seem to me that prior to

2 getting that in, in the interim, the E.P.A.

3 should be supplying some clean water in the

4 form of bottled water to those residents,

5 and so I would recommend, basically, that

6 one, alternate two, is your best approach,

7 but in the interim, clean water should be

8 supplied as soon as possible and it seems

9 to me the easiest way for you to do it, is

10 through bottled water. Thank you.

11 MR. HOHMAN : Anyone else that wishes to make a statement?

12 Sue Bowen?

13 MS. BOWEN: My name is Sue Bowen and I live on 87

14 Auburn Road, last name's B o w e n. We've

15 been around the site since 1978, pushing very

16 hard for some form of clean up and I just

17 want to make the comment that my family and

18 I choose alternative number two and would

19 like to ask if I can further comment by mail

20 or in writing, on other issues?

21 MR. HOHMAN: Yes, you can, up until August 14th.

22 MS. BOWEN: Okay. Okay. There's one thing I wanted

23 to bring up which a neighbor just said wasn't

24


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-246O

1401504

17.

1 so, but there's a new development going in

2 further down Auburn Road and it comes on to

3 Auburn Road. They're laying some type of

4 pipe and when I stopped to ask them what it

5 was they were laying, they told me it was

6 water line. If, in fact, this is so, there

7 is a section that's already laid that I don't

8 know how much it would deduct from the cost

9 of your proposal. But I don't know for a

10 fact. That was just someone telling me that,

11 you know, a water pipe was laid down, whether

12 it is water or sewer, I'm not sure.

13 MR. HOHMAN: Thank you. Anyone else that wishes

14 to make a statement? Okay, then a final

15 reminder that, as I indicted, the public comment

16 period will be open until August 14th. If

17 you have other comments you want to make,

18 or you want to react to something that you've

19 heard said here tonight, you may comment in

20 writing and anything that is postmarked on

21 or before August 14, will be considered part

22 of the record. I want to th~nk you all for

23 coming. I appreciate the comments and with

that we'll close the formal part of


4 HAMPTON STREET


(6O3) 224-246O

the hearing. 24

united states environmental protection agency15.-i. iov. 1301485. 1. 2 . united states environmental...

Documents