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Input Sought on Proposed Actions at Three Camp Edwards Sites

Release Date: 09/15/2009
Contact Information: Jeanethe Falvey, (617) 918-1020

(Boston, Mass. – September 15, 2009) - A 30-day public comment period begins September 16, 2009 for a Remedy Selection Plan outlining the proposed alternative for addressing groundwater contamination at three sites on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR).

The comment period, which runs through October 15, 2009, provides an opportunity for public input on the Remedy Selection Plan for the sites known as the Western Boundary, Demolition Area 2 and the Northwest Corner. This plan outlines the alternatives presented in the feasibility studies for addressing groundwater contamination at each of the sites, the proposed alternative and the reasons for its selection. Comments on the proposed remedy will be considered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Impact Area Groundwater Study Program (IAGWSP), and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in determining the response action that will be outlined in the EPA’s Decision Document for the three sites.

The remedy selection process for the Western Boundary, Demolition Area 2 and Northwest Corner is being combined because the sites and the range of alternatives to address them are similar.

None of the groundwater contamination from the three sites is threatening any public or private drinking water supplies. In addition, none of these sites has an active source of contamination as the surface contamination at each site, which migrated to groundwater and created the plumes, has either been removed or depleted. The plumes contain relatively low levels of RDX and/or perchlorate.

The feasibility studies presented No-Action, No Further-Action, Monitored-Natural-Attenuation and Land-use Controls, and Focused-Extraction alternatives.

The Remedy Selection Plan presents Alternative 2, Monitored Natural Attenuation and Land-use Controls, as the EPA’s proposed remedy for all three sites.

This alternative will comply with state and federal regulations and will be protective of human health and the environment at all three sites. Concentrations of perchlorate at the Western Boundary, RDX at Demolition Area 2, and RDX and perchlorate at the Northwest Corner will be permanently reduced to below the risk-based levels or 2 parts per billion (ppb) for perchlorate and 0.6 ppb for RDX through natural processes. Groundwater modeling and sampling indicate that perchlorate concentrations at the Western Boundary are already below the risk-based levels. Risk-based levels will be achieved by 2013 at Demolition Area 2 and by 2022 at the Northwest Corner.

Because no further source-area contribution is likely at these sites, this alternative is expected to be a permanent remedy. Groundwater monitoring would continue for several years after risk-based levels are achieved to ensure that cleanup goals are met. In the meantime, land-use controls would ensure there is no use of the contaminated water.

Information regarding the Remedy Selection Plan will be presented at the MMR Cleanup Team meeting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, September 16, at the Quality Inn hotel, 100 Trowbridge Road, Bourne. Representatives from the IAGWSP, the EPA and the MassDEP will be available at this meeting to answer questions on the proposed alternative. A Public Information Meeting to provide more information will be held at 6:00 p.m. on September 30, 2009 at the Quality Inn in Bourne. The information meeting will be followed immediately by a Public Hearing to provide an opportunity for the public to make verbal comments on the plan.

The Remedy Selection Plan, feasibility studies and information on how to submit comments will be available online at the IAGWSP’s Web site: groundwaterprogram.army.mil and at the public libraries in Bourne, Falmouth and Sandwich.

Comments also can be submitted by mail to Jeanethe Falvey, USEPA, One Congress Street (RAA), Boston, MA 02114, by fax to 617-918-0020 or by email to Falvey.Jeanethe@epamail.epa.gov.

Responses to comments on the Remedy Selection Plan will be provided to the public with the Western Boundary, Demolition Area 2 and Northwest Corner Decision Document, which is expected this fall.

For more information, contact:
Jeanethe Falvey, EPA Region 1, (617) 918-1020
Kristina Curley, Groundwater Study Program, (508) 968-5626
Ellie Grillo, MassDEP, (508) 946-2866

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