Articles by By Tara Monastesse,Tara Monastesse -- The Berkshire Eagle,The Berkshire Eagle

Technology

PCB Advisory Committee submits concerns to EPA regarding site preparation for landfill

LEE — The PCB Advisory Committee has formally requested that changes and clarifications be made to the PCB landfill project’s site-clearing plan made public earlier this month by the Environmental Protection Agency. Chief among the committee’s concerns are how site preparations could impact the surrounding environment and wildlife species, as well as unclear language about what are the potential consequences if certain guidelines, such as truck travel routes, are not followed. The criticisms initially came as members of the committee reviewed a short draft of questions and concerns prepared by the engineering consultant company Kleinfelder at a recent meeting. Kleinfelder’s feedback was drafted in response to a 360-page plan submitted by General Electric to EPA for its landfill site preparations. The plan does not contain information about the actual construction of the landfill itself, but describes preliminary measures that will be taken such as tree removal and equipment placement. Site preparation work is currently slated to begin on Monday. Once completed, the landfill is expected to hold over a million cubic yards of sediments contaminated with PCBs gathered from the Housatonic River. The contamination was from years of the carcinogenic's use at GE's plant upstream in Pittsfield. Using Kleinfelder’s initial feedback as a starting point, members of the PCB Advisory Committee voiced their reservations about what they saw as the project’s unclear language regarding on-site truck routes. For example, Kleinfelder noted that a clause allowing trucks to use roads outside of those stipulated in the plan in order to access certain disposal facilities seemed “overly broad,” and recommended that the town request clearer boundaries to keep trucks off residential streets. The question of how to ensure accountability for this rule and others, such as site work only being permitted during daylight hours, became a pressing concern for the committee. “This doesn't push back with enough clarity to protect the community's interests,” committee member Robert Heinzman said at the PCB Advisory Committee meeting. “I think we just need to pin them down and say, what are the scenarios? Who's making the decisions and what are we really talking about?” Robert Wespiser, also on the committee, expressed similar concerns: “We need to define the process for violations of whatever is stated. … We should require a definition of enforcement processes.” Members also discussed whether the plan had investigated the impact of the project on local species, including the endangered northern long-eared bat, thoroughly enough. While the plan notes that tree clearing will not begin until early November to avoid disrupting any bats that may be roosting in the area, it does not outline any plans to replace the potential habitat space for future availability. After working with Kleinfelder to incorporate the concerns discussed at the meeting into the consultant’s feedback, the comments were submitted to EPA on Oct. 24, ahead of the Oct. 31 response deadline. EPA will now reach out to GE to relay concerns and make suggestions. To expedite the review process, EPA will not be holding a formal public comment period for the site preparation plan. The narrow deadline to submit feedback was a point of contention for some members of the PCB Advisory Committee, who said that it doesn’t allow enough time for the lengthy plan to be fully read and understood by community members. “My concern is that we're sort of seeing a downplay of concern about public involvement,” said committee member Marilyn Wyatt. Committee member Bob Jones, who is also a Select Board member, agreed. “I just look at this as a way to diminish communication,” he said. Historical Commission Vice President Bill Matthews, who delivered the meeting’s sole public comment, said that he planned to organize an informal discussion session for community members to discuss their concerns. He said that the meeting would be independent from the town, and that a date had not yet been set. The committee also discussed a Massachusetts Department of Health report made public in September that claimed to have found no significant increase in PCB-related cancers in residential areas located near the Housatonic River. Several members said that they thought the study wasn’t thorough enough and expressed a desire to see a new, more comprehensive epidemiological study that would further investigate how PCB contaminants may have affected local communities. “I want it to be true that this is not affecting the cancer rate whatsoever,” Jones said. “I want to believe that. But the problem is both the EPA and GE and [biochemical producer] Monsanto have impacted their own credibility over decades. And so we're left with nothing but questions.” The PCB Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting on Nov. 17, after site clearing work for the PCB landfill begins in early November. Due to the ongoing government shutdown, the EPA has delayed a community information session initially scheduled for Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. At the event, which will be hosted at Lee Middle & High School, informational booths will be available for community members to learn more about aspects of the Housatonic River, including the PCB landfill project.