[CPEO-MEF] Camp Edwards (MA) Groundwater Decision

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

U.S. EPA
Press Release
November 2, 2006

Final Groundwater Cleanup Decision Issued for Portion of Massachusetts 
Military Reservation


(Boston, Mass. – Nov. 2, 2006) - A comprehensive plan for groundwater 
cleanup has been completed for the “Demolition Area 1” site on Camp 
Edwards at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR). The cleanup 
plan was finalized and approved by EPA with the review and concurrence 
of the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection.

“Selecting a final cleanup plan for one of the largest and most 
contaminated plumes is a major milestone in our cleanup of Camp 
Edwards,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New 
England office. “The work called for in this cleanup plan will preserve 
the sole source aquifer for the citizens of the Upper Cape, and this is 
a high priority for EPA.”

The final plan addresses contamination found in a groundwater plume that 
could impact a sole source aquifer for citizens of Upper Cape Cod. The 
plume is slowly migrating from a 7.4 acre portion of Camp Edwards, 
approximately two miles northeast of the Otis Rotary in Bourne. The plan 
builds on an interim clean up action that began in Sept. 2004, in which 
two extraction wells treat close to a half million gallons of 
groundwater a day.

EPA’s final cleanup plan outlines how groundwater will be extracted and 
then treated to remove contamination from explosives and perchlorate. 
Groundwater will be extracted at a flow rate of 906 gallons per minute, 
which will then be treated to remove contaminants to below applicable 
federal and state drinking water standards and risk-based levels. The 
current levels are: 0.6 parts per billion (ppb) for RDX; 2.0 ppb for 
TNT; 0.25 ppb for 2,4-DNT; and the Massachusetts standard of 2.0 ppb for 
perchlorate.

The expanded system will treat 1.3 million gallons a day using three new 
and two existing extraction wells to pump groundwater through containers 
of granular activated carbon and ion exchange resin housed in a new 
treatment facility, to be constructed on base, and an existing modular 
treatment unit at Pew Road. Treated water will be returned to the 
aquifer through one new and three existing reinjection wells. This 
cleanup action is expected to restore the groundwater in approximately 
11 years.

The cleanup plan is contained in a “Decision Document” that also 
includes a contingency for an additional extraction well at the leading 
edge of the plume if contaminants exceeding cleanup levels are found to 
migrate substantially further than anticipated in the vicinity of North 
Pond just northeast of the Otis rotary at the base boundary.

With the signing of the document, the U.S. Army Environmental Center’s 
Impact Area Groundwater Study Program (IAGWSP) will move forward to 
complete construction of the cleanup system. System start up is expected 
in mid-2007. The Decision Document also includes system monitoring to 
make sure the cleanup is effective and restrictions to prevent 
groundwater use until cleanup is completed.

A soil response action was undertaken at the Demolition Area 1 site in 
2004 to remove the source of the groundwater contamination. More than 
28,000 tons of soil were removed and treated on site using thermal 
desorption, which uses heat to separate and breakdown contaminants in 
the soil.

The proposed plan outlined in the Decision Document was made available 
for public review on August 22, 2005. Two meetings were held to present 
information to community members. The document includes a section called 
the Responsiveness Summary that provides formal responses to all public 
comments received during the public comment period. The site was used 
from the mid 1970s to late 1980s primarily for demolition and disposal 
of munitions, explosives, fireworks and other items.

Along with extensive background information, the full clean up plan will 
be posted to EPA’s MMR web site (http://www.epa.gov/region1/mmr). The 
plan will also be posted to an MMR site devoted to clean up issues 
(http://groundwaterprogram.army.mil/cleanup/areas/demo1.html). The 
documents may also be reviewed at the public libraries in Bourne, 
Falmouth, Mashpee and Sandwich.

###

For the original press release, go to
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/3c37c10182aacb9f8525721a006c7b7e?OpenDocument

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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