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Crompton Corporation (Formerly Witco Corporation)

Minutes for Meetings Used to Develop the Final Project Agreement

60169 9/9/96

OSi Specialties - Project XL August 13, 1996 Meeting Minutes

I. Location and Participants

A. The August 13, 1996 meeting of the OSi Project XL Workgroup was held at EPA's Region III headquarters in Philadelphia.
B. Meeting Participants


Okey Tucker Witco-OSi
Dennis Heintzman Witco-OSi
Tony Vandenberg Witco-OSi (by telephone)
Brenda Gotanda Witco-Manko, Gold & Katcher
Tim Malloy Witco-Manko, Gold & Katcher
Cheryl Atkinson EPA Region III
Jim Cashel EPA Region III
Nancy Cichowicz EPA Region III
Beth Termini EPA Region III
Maria Parisi-Vickers EPA Region III
Michele Aston EPA Headquarters
Julie Frieder EPA Headquarters
Lucy Pontiveros WV DEP (by telephone)

II. Summary of Discussions

A. Minutes Approved

The July 30 conference call minutes were approved. Copies of the minutes will be sent to everyone on the distribution list.
B. Distribution List
Julie Frieder has some additional names of EPA personnel that she would like to have added to the distribution list. Julie will forward these names to Okey to add to the list. Okey will send a copy of the updated distribution list to Julie for review. To date, the distribution list has been used only for circulation of minutes of the XL Workgroup meetings and conference calls.
C. EPA Information Dissemination
1. EPA has begun implementation of an XL information dissemination plan designed to increase public accessibility to XL information. The plan includes posting information about XL projects on the Internet.
2. Dennis noted that there have been errors in some of the information posted on the Internet about OSi's XL project. Dennis suggested that EPA send the information to OSi for review prior to posting in order to avoid such errors in the future. The group agreed that this should be done to maintain quality control. The previous errors will be corrected and Julie will forward all future postings to Okey for review prior to posting.
3. Everyone agreed that if draft or working documents are posted on the Internet, that they should be clearly marked as drafts to avoid confusion. Further, if a working draft is posted and then that document is subsequently revised, the earlier draft will be removed and replaced with the revised version. Only the most current version of documents will be available on the Internet in order to avoid confusion on the part of the public about which version is being utilized by the Workgroup.
D. Stakeholder Involvement Plan

1. To date, OSi has been working on its own to solicit the involvement of interested parties in the XL project development process. OSi has focused primarily on its local community, but has also reached out to NGOs such as NRDC. Dennis suggested that providing information on the Internet is likely to bring many more people into the process. He, therefore, requested that EPA provide assistance in handling inquiries and requests. Dennis suggested that EPA could serve as a bridge between interested members of the public and OSi. EPA expressed some concerns about its participation in stakeholder involvement initiatives in that potential conflicts could arise under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Everyone agreed, however, that such conflicts should not arise if EPA simply served as a contact for information.
2. Julie noted that in terms of stakeholder involvement, it is most important for OSi to focus on the concerns of its local community, more so than NGOs, as EPA views the local community as the check on companies participating in the XL program. Nevertheless, Julie added, it is important for OSi to meet with NGOs for their input.
3. Dennis explained the he, Okey and Tim had, in fact, met with Christopher van Löben Sels at NRDC in Washington, D.C.. He reported that Chris seemed generally pleased with OSi's XL project and that Chris was forwarding it on to his peers for further review. Dennis will follow-up with Chris to determine whether NRDC intends to be involved in the project development in some way. Chris has been involved with several other XL projects (e.g., Merck, 3M, Intel, Weyerhauser). Chris requested that OSi provide him with the emissions calculations once they are finalized. Chris also inquired about the possibility of undertaking some post-project waste minimization activities. OSi and EPA discussed the possibility that OSi might reference in the FPA its intention to continue to investigate waste minimization in the future utilizing a third party to help evaluate future projects.
4. OSi will hold a public meeting on Thursday August 22 at 5:00 p.m. to educate interested members of the public on the XL project and the laws and regulations which impact it. OSi will advertise this meeting in two newspaper articles and two local radio spots. Senator McNaughton has offered to attend the meeting and provide assistance.
5. Julie inquired if the public had raised any issues concerning the XL project to date and what those issues were. Dennis explained that there has been tremendous support for the project and that he is not aware of any outstanding concerns on the part of the public.
6. OSi's draft public involvement plan was reviewed by the Workgroup. The following is a list of minor revisions to the plan which were suggested by various members of the Workgroup:
a. Replace the list of individual EPA offices with "EPA, selected offices and Region III." This is preferable because so many different EPA offices are likely to become involved in this project as it progresses.
b. Add the mayors of Middlebourne and St Marys to the list of interested government officials.
c. Add the Office of Waste Management to the State Government listing.
d. Add an appendix which lists the names and addresses of everyone participating in the OSi Project XL Workgroup.

7. EPA will post the finalized public involvement plan on the Internet. Some group members raised concerns about having phone numbers and addresses of all participants in the OSi XL project listed on the Internet. To address this concern, the Workgroup agreed that the body of the plan should contain a name and telephone number of a contact person at each EPA, OSi and DEP. Julie will be the EPA contact. Okey and Dennis will be listed as the OSi contacts. Okey will contact Steve Hass to confirm that he Steve has no objection to being listed as the DEP contact. The OSi XL distribution list will also be included in the appendix, however, it will contain only addresses, not telephone numbers.
8. EPA inquired why OSi employees were listed in the public involvement plan both as stakeholders and as interested parties. Okey explained that some employees are actively involved in the development process, such as the union leaders, and, as such, they are considered stakeholders. Other employees, however, are not actively involved in the process and, thus, they are classified simply as interested parties.
9. EPA suggested that OSi try to make contact with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, an interest group concerned with the Ohio Valley watershed. Lucy Pontiveros will ask Steve Hass to provide OSi with the name of a contact person. If the Coalition has any interest in the project, OSi should list them as an additional interested NGO.
10. OSi has accepted an invitation to make a presentation on its XL project at the West Virginia Conference on the Environment being held on October 24 in Charleston, West Virginia.
E. Administrative Record
1. There was some discussion concerning the purpose of the administrative record file being assembled for the XL project and how to assess which documents should be included in it. Because the administrative record has several purposes, the Workgroup agreed to evaluate documents as they are finalized and to decide on a rolling basis whether they should be included in the administrative record file. Further, an official "administrative record" will not be designated until the FPA is executed, accordingly the Workgroup will not refer to the ongoing collection of documents as the administrative record, but will refer to it as the "administrative record file" or the "Site file." It is from the Site file that documents will eventually be pulled to form the official administrative record.
2. Okey has forwarded a copy of the Site file index to Beth for EPA review. Cheryl will pull together an administrative record file for Region III based upon Okey's index and will contact Okey if there are any documents on the index which she does not already have.
3. All draft documents which are included in the Site file should be clearly marked to indicate that they are only drafts, not final documents. Likewise, when documents have been superseded, this should be indicated on the Site file index and on the cover page to the document.
F. No Action Assurance
1. EPA indicated its willingness to issue an order or letter granting OSi a grace period to come into compliance with RCRA requirements if such period is necessary as a result of termination of project XL negotiations. Issuance of such order or letter is contingent upon OSi providing EPA with some assurance that it intends to install the capper unit at the Sistersville plant.
2. Dennis stated that internal authorization will be required to perform the detailed engineering necessary for Witco to consider implementing a project of this size. Beth will consult with others at EPA to verify that such authorization would be sufficient commitment for EPA to issue the order. Dennis will draft a letter to Beth once the authorization has been given if such authorization is sufficient for EPA.
G. Emissions Calculation and Risk Evaluation
1. The group reviewed spreadsheets prepared by OSi which contain the calculated air emission estimates for the capper unit, sewer loadings, and landfilled wastes. Okey explained that the spreadsheets were in draft form and that further work was required to finalize the calculations. The spreadsheets contain emission estimates under five different regulatory scenarios.
2. EPA suggested that Okey add to the spreadsheet another row showing the cumulative environmental benefit and add an executive summary.

3. Michelle stated that it was not necessary to include on the spreadsheets estimates for any emissions which are not affected by the project, such as fugitive emissions. She also stated that scenario 2 was not necessary if emission estimates from the sewer collection system were provided.

H. Risk Evaluation
Michelle will prepare a toxicological profile for each of the constituents of concern which are impacted by this project. To assist in this endeavor, Dennis and Okey will send Michelle copies of the one-page toxicological summaries that have been prepared for the public meeting in Sistersville.


III. XL Timeline/Management Plan

DATE
DELIVERABLE/ACTION ITEM
PARTY
Aug. 19 Conference Call on Legal Mechanisms OSi, EPA, DEP
Aug. 23 Final Emission Estimates with Executive Summary OSi
Aug. 23 Toxicological Profiles EPA
Aug. 23 Complete Public Participation Plan OSi
Aug. 23 XL Criteria Evaluation OSi
Aug. 27 Workgroup Conference Call OSi
Aug. 30 Regulatory Assumptions OSi
Aug. 30 FPA Draft #1 (skeleton and some flesh) Everyone
Sept. 5-6 Workgroup Meeting in Philadelphia Everyone
Sept. 6 Acceptance of Emission Estimates EPA, DEP
Sept. 6 Selection of Legal Mechanism EPA, DEP
Sept. 13 Project Description OSi
Sept. 13 Performance Standards/Milestones OSi
Sept. 20 FPA Draft #2 (fully fleshed out) OSi
Oct. 4 FPA Draft #3 (last draft) OSi

IV. Action Items

A. Action Items Responsible Persons

1. Correct Information re: OSi Julie/Okey
XL Project on Internet

2. Follow-up with NRDC Dennis/Julie

3. Add EPA names to mailing list Julie/Okey

4. Add XL Workgroup addresses to public Okey involvement plan
5. Provide OSi with name of contact at Lucy/Dennis-Okey Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
6. Update communication efforts table Okey and distribute

7. Revise/Update emissions summaries Okey

8. Evaluate OSi RFE for Detail EPA Engineering in conjunction with request for no action assurance

9. Assemble toxicological profiles Michelle/Okey


V. Meeting/Conference Call Schedule

A. Conference Calls
1. On Legal Mechanisms Only
a. Monday, August 19 at 10:00 a.m.
b. Participants: Beth Termini, Dennis Heintzman, Okey Tucker, Tim Malloy, Brenda Gotanda, Steve Hass, Britt Ludwig

2. For Entire XL Workgroup

a. Tuesday, August 27 at 1:30 p.m.
B. Next Meeting

1. Location: EPA Region III, Philadelphia

2. Time: Sept. 5 (afternoon) and Sept. 6 (morning)


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