News Releases from Region 01
Comment Period for Proposed Remedy Selection Plan for Multiple Training Areas located at Joint Base Cape Cod
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on the EPA's proposal indicating no further action is needed for multiple Training Areas on the Camp Edwards portion of Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC). The EPA's proposal is based on an Army National Guard study that was done as one of the requirements of a Safe Drinking Water Act Administrative Order, and with the oversight of EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
A 30 Day public comment period on this proposal will begin on April 11 and end on May 10 for the "Remedy Selection Plan," which outlines the proposed no further action decisions and limited follow-up investigations at multiple Training Areas.
"EPA is committed to making progress at hazardous waste sites across New England," said Alexandra Dunn, Regional Administrator at EPA New England. "We look forward to receiving public comment on the proposed remedy for these training areas at Camp Edwards, which is an important next step in the process."
Information on the Proposed Remedy Selection Plan will be presented at the JBCC Cleanup Team public meeting on April 11, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting location is at the Welcome Center - Building 1805. EPA, MassDEP and Army representatives will attend this meeting and respond to questions raised. After the comment period ends, on May 10, 2018, EPA will consider public comments received, consult with MassDEP, and issue a Decision Document that contains response actions required for each range. With the issuance of the Decision Document, EPA will include a Responsiveness Summary to provide responses to comments received during the public comment period.
The Army National Guard's Impact Area Groundwater Study Program (IAGWSP) has investigated potential soil and groundwater contamination at the Training Areas. IAGWSP's investigations at these sites determined that they were not expected to have significant environmental impacts. The proposed remedy recommended is for no further action. No further investigations or response actions are recommended for many of the Training Areas. No Further Action (NFA) recommendations are area-specific and are based on the associated risk screening evaluation using results of the soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment and munitions data collected and analyzed for each specific area. In most instances, the environmental analyses indicated that contaminants related to military training were absent or present at very low concentrations comparable to background. Future actions, including additional data review, geophysical surveys and/or confirmatory sampling are proposed at five Training Areas.
More information:
A Remedy Selection Plan Fact Sheet has been developed and the details of the investigations and findings at the Training areas are presented in an Investigation Report. Both documents can be found on EPA's Joint Base Cape Cod Website (www.epa.gov/superfund/otis) along with instructions for providing public comment on the Remedy Selection Plan.
