Massachusetts Military Reservation
Installation Restoration Program
Strategic Plan
Informational Public Meeting
June 12, 1996
Mashpee Middle School, Mashpee, MA.

Introduction - Mr. Jim Snyder:

Mr. Jim Snyder, Project Manager of the Installation Restoration Program/MMR convened the meeting at 7:15 P.M. Mr. Snyder introduced himself and stated that he works for the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) in San Antonio, Texas and has been associated with this project for seven weeks. He looks forward to moving to this area with him family in July. He stated that this is a fine place to live and they will show the public what they are doing to correct their problems in that environment.

Mr. Snyder stated that both he and Mr. Doug Karson would give tonight`s presentation.

Strategic Plan Overview - Mr. Doug Karson:

Mr. Doug Karson, Public Affairs Specialist for the IRP then gave a brief overview of the strategic plan. Mr. Karson stated that the draft strategic plan was issued on May 15, 1996. The plan is all over the Installation Restoration Program and where they go from this point on. The plan offers direction and guidance to clean up the environmental problems at MMR and how they are going to do that. The plan also has the integration of policy of the Air Force, MassDEP and EPA and action.

The plan talks of near and long-term cleanup. An example of near term action may be the wellhead treatment system for the Coonamessett well in Falmouth which is a short term measure to provide safe drinking water to the residents of Falmouth. A long term cleanup action is how they will restore the aquifer to the condition it was before the problem arose.

The plan focuses on four major areas: the comprehensive plume response plan and schedule, responses to regulatory requirement, responses to community needs and organization. The Air Force became the lead agency as of May 1, 1996. Mr. Karson stated that all the Air National Guard staff still remains there and are being augmented by the people from AFCEE. AFCEE brings with them many people, contractors and funding to get the job done.

The objectives of the Comprehensive Plume Response Plan and Schedule are to protect public health and environment, which is the primary objective. Also to restore community water resources. Groundwater plumes have affected several municipal systems and had impact on private well systems. Another objective of the plan of to implement and maintain enhanced community involvement. Right now they are going through a very intensive interview process. Another objective is to meet all of the regulatory requirements and to earn and restore the public trust and confidence in the program.

Mr. Karson continued that the plume response plan and schedule reflects the input of the Technical Review and Evaluation Team (TRET) and the Peer Review team (PRT). The TRET consisted of people from various agencies and experts in remediation of groundwater and cleanup. They were brought in to review the pump and treat proposal and to make recommendations to address the groundwater plumes. In the plume response plan the option for each plume will be evaluated, then computer modeled, optimized and implemented.

Some of the key issues in the strategic plan are the new management for the IRP program which is the integration of the Air Force coming in and AFCEE. Another issue is technical assistance for the Senior Management Board (SMB) which was requested to help them make decisions. Long range water supply issues are also included. Cape Cod has a sole source aquifer and they are looking for future water sources on the Base to provide clean water to the surrounding towns. Another issue is the impact area and if the IRP is going to investigate that. Mr. Karson stated that the Army National Guard uses the impact area for training. The IRP does have a program at CS-19 where they are investigating the groundwater and there may be additional investigation. Another issue is property values that have decreased and there are discussions going on right now between the Air Force and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). Mr. Karson commented there are a lot of other issues going on besides the cleanup that are part of the comprehensive plan. Mr. Karson then stated that Mr. Snyder would continue with the presentation.

FS-12:

Mr. Snyder stated he would address FS-12 and the objectives and activities planned. FS-12 is located in area of Camp Good News and Snake Pond. FS-12 is going to a full containment system. They are taking a design of the modeling that has been done for extraction and reinjection wells. The modeling shows that there will be very little if any hydrological impacts. Mr. Snyder stated that the impacts of water drawdown of Snake Pond caused them to develop the new design. The primary goal is to contain, capture and remediation the FS-12 plume. Thirty extraction and reinjection wells are proposed with monitoring wells to assess the performance of the system. The construction startup date is December 1996 with a system startup date of October 1996. Mr. Snyder commented that they are looking for any opportunity to accelerate the schedule.

LF-1:

Mr. Snyder stated that the LF-1 plume has been divided into two sections, LF-1 North and LF-1 South.

LF-1 North:

LF-1 North will be one of the four locations where they do recirculating well pilot tests. They will evaluate the efficiency, constructability and applicability for the location. The recirculating wells technology is an innovative technology. The TRET recommended one pilot test and they expanded that based on input from the PRT and decided on four different locations, settings and elevations. Construction startup date is December 1996 with a system start up date of May 1997. Mr. Snyder stated that the pilot test will give a good indication if this a good technology to go full scale with and how many well they will need. They will go through a test period after evaluating the system to look for performance, radius of influence, and contaminant reduction over a period of time. This system will also include a series of monitoring wells.

LF-1 South:

LF-1 South is going into an intensive modeling effort to look at the hydrological and ecological effects and to balance the environmental issues. Pilot extraction and reinjection system will be installed to evaluate the effectiveness and ecological impacts of the system near the toe of the southern lobe. They propose to install three extraction and three reinjection wells and also a series of monitoring wells. They will pilot test the operation and evaluate the data. The construction startup date is June 1997 with a system startup date of March 1998. CS-4 EDB :

Mr. Snyder stated one of the issues is to fully characterize the CS-4 EDB plume. The only thing in the strategic plan on this plume was the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS). A narrative is now in the revised strategic plan stating they are going into Phase 2 characterization to rapidly characterize the horizontal and vertical extent and search for the source and to get to some decisions quickly to contain the plume. They will also install monitoring wells, complete a baseline risk assessment and evaluate and develop remedial alternatives.

A wellhead treatment system will be installed in Falmouth by July 4, 1996 that is capable of removing EDB and other contaminants from the Coonamessett Well. This is a precautionary, interim measure to provide water to Falmouth. This will be a carbon filtration system.

Ashumet Valley:

Mr. Snyder stated they are proposing a two-phased approach with two pilot tests: a recirculating well pilot test and a pilot-scale extraction/reinjection system.

For the recirculating pilot tests they are proposing two wells and monitoring wells with a construction startup date of December 1996 and a system startup date of may 1997.

The pilot scale extraction/reinjection system will have groundwater modeling to locate the ideal location. They will then install three extraction and three reinjection wells near the toe of the plume of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and also install monitoring wells. This has a construction startup date of June 1997 with a system startup date of May 1998.

The phosphorus plume is under review by the 102nd Fighter Wing Environmental Management Office.

CS-10:

The CS-10 plume is divided into two sections: CS-10 East and CS-10 West. Each section has distinct objectives and activities.

CS-10 East:

Mr. Snyder stated for CS-10 East they are going to a side by side test of two pilot-scale recirculating well systems from two different suppliers. This is to evaluate the efficiency, constructability, and applicability for the location for containment or source reduction. Monitoring wells will also be installed. This has a construction startup date of September 1996 with a system startup date of December 1996.

CS-10 West:

For CS-10 West they have planned three extraction/reinjection tests to evaluate the effectiveness and ecological impacts of a system near the toe of the western lobe. Groundwater modeling will be conducted to evaluate the design needs. Monitoring wells are also proposed. There is a construction startup date of June 1997 with a system startup date of May 1998.

SD-5:

Mr. Snyder stated that the SD-5 plume is also divided into two areas, SD-5 North and SD-5 South.

SD-5 North:

SD-5 North has a recommendation from the TRET to design, construct, operate, maintain and monitor a full size extraction/reinjection remedial system for the northern portion at the MMR boundary. This has system has been moved up away from sensitive environments. Mr. Snyder stated that where it goes off the Base boundary it drops very quickly to lowlands above Ashumet Valley/Johns Pond area where there are also vernal pools. They needed to move the system away from the sensitive area back onto Base property. Fourteen extraction and fourteen reinjection wells are proposed as well as monitoring wells. Mr. Snyder commented that this system, the FS-12 system and just about everyone that has a pilot test is likely to expand wells on either end. Modeling is a good indicator of what will happen but it is not like designing a bridge, it is not a predictable science. Modeling gets them to a good comfort level but when they get into the field there needs to be the flexibility to respond to whatever needs to be done. This has a construction startup date of December 1996 with a system startup date of September 1997.

SD-5 South:

Mr. Snyder stated that SD-5 plume below the Base boundary has pilot-scale recirculating well system proposed as it doesn`t have any net hydrologic effect and is an insitu system. Monitoring wells are also proposed to evaluate the performance. This has a construction startup date of December 1996 with a system startup date of May 1997.

Other Activities:

Mr. Snyder stated that there is expansion to be done in the plan to include the rest of the IRP. Additional activities that will be included by July 15, 1996 are the Federal Facilities Agreement Document Submittals, which has twelve documents due by August 1997. Also, all Records of Decision are to be submitted by December 1997.

The CS-4 containment system performance test has been operating for two years and there has been a slight movement in the plume since the system was turned on. They are evaluating what the movement has done to make sure that it is still being captured by the pump and treat system.

A reactive wall pilot test is also being proposed for the CS-10 source area. The reactive wall is another innovative design which is being done in conjunction with the University of Waterloo. The reactive wall is a subsurface wall where they force the water through iron filings and gets reduced to water free of VOCs. This is also called the magic wall as the science behind it is not understood but it works in treating TCE. The reason they are doing a pilot test is that it has not been done at the depth needed here. There are several emplacement methods that can be used and the pilot test will begin this summer.

Long-term groundwater modeling is going on at the Western Aquafarm and Eastern Briarwood plumes.

Mr. Snyder stated they are also continuing regional periodic groundwater molding around the Base.

An inorganic investigation is also proposed to settle some questions on the true inorganic levels that were found in the groundwater.

Ecological surveys and sampling will be starting this week for the different ponds. An ecological baseline establishes what is there right now so they can compare any effects on the environment at a later time.

Community Involvement Activity:

Mr. Karson stated there are three more public meetings/hearings scheduled and there is a news release on the back table that lists the other dates. There is also a site mailing list on the back table. Community interviews are underway and Mr. Karson asks that anyone interested contact him. The input from the interviews will be used in updating the community relations plan.

Mr. Karson stated they will also continue with the community involvement and teams associated with the program.

Written Comments:

Mr. Karson also stated there is a 45 day public comment period on the strategic plan which ends on June 28, 1996. Comments may be submitted to Mr. Karson by mail, e-mail or fax:

Douglas Karson HQ AFCEE/MMR-PA 322 East Inner Road, Box 41 Otis ANG Base, MA 02542 Telephone (508) 968-4678 Fax (508) 968-4927 E-Mail - dkarson@mafmh.ang.af.mil

Mr. Karson then explained the public meeting/hearing and stated that the first half of the public meeting was to summarize the strategic plan and that the meeting would be opened for general discussion and comments and that they would do their best to answer any questions. The intention of the meeting is to give the public clarification on the plan and program. Mr. Karson stated that he would then stop the meeting and go into a formal public hearing where those who wish to give formal testimony may do so by coming to the microphone, stating their name and Town and providing comments on the strategic plan.

Mr. Karson then opened the meeting to general discussion:

Public Comments and Questions:

Daniel Neale of Forestdale stated they talked about the innovative technology and cleaning up plumes and saying they were going to test. If they find that the test is not doing anything how long will it take before they implement another system to clean up the plume? Mr. Snyder replied they are looking at modeling for all the plumes and right now are focusing on immediate opportunity but they will be assessing as they do the test sites.

Mr. Neale asked if any innovative technology been used elsewhere in the country? Mr. Snyder replied yes, both the recirculating well and the reactive wall have been used at other locations but they want to test it here as they re considered new, innovative technology.

Mr. Neale also commented that they used the term "quickly" when describing how far the plume has gone, and he stated that they don`t do anything quickly. Mr. Snyder replied he appreciated the comment.

Mr. Don Tucker of So. Sandwich asked the extraction and reinjection technique and has it been tested? How does it effect groundwater levels in nearby areas? How certain is the funding for the entire project from start to end? Mr. Snyder replied on the extraction and reinjection technique depends on how it is approached. The previous plume containment response was pure containment and you can stop it if you have enough wells but they realize that there needs to be a balance and they are now trying to balance the impacts. FS-12 is very sensitive with Snake Pond so they are looking at different concepts and balancing the issues. Pumping and treating is an accepted presumptive remedy to stop something if you engineer it hard enough and have nothing else to be concerned with. However, here there are other concerns to be dealt with and to balance. Mr. Snyder replied as far as the funding there is a promise from the DoD Undersecretary McCall for Secretary Goodman that the funding will be there.

Mr. Tucker asked if there would not be much impact to the groundwater level? Mr. Snyder replied that is correct, there will be very little overall effect on groundwater level and it will take a little more effort.

Peter Dinizio of Mashpee stated he was concerned with the FS-1 spill and understands there was quite a large quantity of fuel that was spilled in that area. He is concerned for the residents of Mashpee and asks if there has been any documentation as to where the jet fuel has gone and what kind of impact it is having on the people there? He stated there is nothing in the plan other than remedial investigation. Mr. Dinizio also asked what remedial investigation is.

Mr. Synder replied that remedial investigation is a term of the national language on the comprehensive environmental response and liability act which is the Superfund law that they are working under with the EPA. A remedial investigation is a very detailed investigation to fully characterize the extent and nature of contamination and ends in risk assessment. It is an involved process and they are doing remedial investigations (RIs) but are also taking every opportunity to get to interim actions to stop further flow. The RIs have to be done, but they do not have to wait for the end to start doing remedial actions like the plume response plan.

Mr. Minior replied that as far as FS-1, they have completed a remedial investigation and did some additional sampling and that information is being put together and finalized. They are looking at what needs to be done now. So far that have not seen any major problems identified, no significant plumes as there were for the landfill, or Ashumet Valley or CS-10. They will be going into a feasibility study. Mr. Minior stated they have heard about the quantities of fuel dumped but they have not been able to recreate or define the evidence of that in the sampling.

Ms. Carol Webber of Braden Thompson Road stated she has a letter saying they will be digging a well on her property. She stated that she has not seen a picture of what well digging equipment looks like and also asked if they will be cutting down a lot of trees for access?

Mr. Minior replied he is not sure what her property looks like. He will have someone else answer that question. Mr. Minior stated what type of equipment depends on the location and access issues. They will try to minimize any clearing required.

Mr. Earl Parker from OpTech explained that they have been doing a lot of well drilling over last year. He stated they are planning on putting wells in the Forestdale area to do some studies. Mr. Parker stated they will bring in drill rig which is mounted on the back of a fairly large truck, like a tractor trailer truck. The drill rig doesn`t make a lot of noise, although it does make some. As far as land clearing, that that specific area they have finished all the landclearing. They cut down 5-6 trees. They try to put the wells as close to the side of road as possible. The wells are usually flushmounted, level with groundsurface, so that when they are finished there is no evidence that the well is there. They usually put in 2 to 6 to 8 monitoring wells and one larger well is used for the test itself. Mr. Parker stated they always restore the property when finished and they have professional landscapers come through and chip and mulch and restore the site as quickly as possible. They do everything to minimize impact and work with the landowners through every step of the process. Mr. Parker stated they usually have flexibility in placing the wells.

Mr. Michael Rotman of Cotuit stated he is new to the area and he is not that familiar with what has been done. But looking at the map, it seems to him that the only way to clean the plume is to dig down and try to stop the plume from continuing any further even if that means digging down 300 feet. He understands that you have to allow the tests to find out what is going on, but the plumes are heading to major bodies of water such as Buzzards Bay and he doesn`t think that they can clean this up. Mr. Rotman stated that looking at the map it is almost touching Red Book Harbor and if the plumes are moving an inch or two inches a day they need to contain it before it gets into the bodies of water. He can just see the whole Cape going down the tubes.

Mr. Snyder replied that technically there is no way to dig that deep and stop the plumes physically. The only way they can do it is with well hydraulic controls to try to alter the natural groundwater flow and pull the water with pumps and even that around the bogs and bays is difficult.

Mr. Rotman asked if they couldn`t dig and suction the plume towards where they want it to go to try to stop it at least in the interim from hitting the major bodies of water?

Mr. Snyder replied that is what is not on the map is how deep the plumes are. They need to be seen in cross section. They are much deeper than the lakes and ponds and volatile organics have not been detected in ponds so they do not know what the interaction is. Mr. Snyder stated that there is no way to dig and put a wall to stop it. It is not feasible so they have to go with wells and water to alter the migration.

Sharon Matthews of Tri Town Circle asked how safe are the private wells? She also asked if any of the water is safe? Mr. Snyder replied that private well sampling was performed and most of the private wells have been replaced with public water even if the plume was near the well but there was no detection.

Ms Matthew stated her well was tested and she has never received a response of the results. Mr. Karson stated he would get her name and telephone number and contact her with the information tomorrow.

Ms. Matthews asked about the status of the reimburse of homes that the Air Force promise to hook up? Mr. Minior responded there are two basic agreements in the works right now. One for homes not hooked up and another for homes hooked up. Ms. Matthews stated that those hooked up will be reimbursed. Mr. Minior said the funds are available and they are working on the final wording and the agreements should be finalized within a week.

Mrs. Rotman stated she was curious and asked if there were alternate plans in case these don`t work out? Mr. Snyder replied there is not a lot of technical opportunities other than pump and treat. The recirculating well technology is a more sensitive system but less aggressive. The pump and treat is an agreed to remedy but then they get into, can they do it here without changing water levels or pulling saltwater into freshwater interfaces? They can always stop the plume at but at what price to other issues? Mr. Snyder stated they are going to get to the point of turning on the monitoring system.

Mr. Rotman asked if they feel that they have found the total amount of plumes out there or are there more? Mr. Snyder stated they have no knowledge of any others. They have been investigation for years and there is no knowledge of any others on or off the Base.

Mr. Karson stated investigation is still ongoing on several sites on the Base which and will be incorporated into the plan for July 15, 1996. It is possible there may be something else out there, but right now they have not seen anything in the preliminary investigation.

Mr. Rotman asked if they felt if there were any other plume problems on other areas of Cape that the military could have been involved in? Mr. Karson stated not that they are aware of. In 1982 an extensive research project was done which looked at all the written records at the time and activities such as where the motor pools were located, where did they maintain the airplanes, they looked for candidates for environmental problems. They also went out and talked to past and present employees to get first hand knowledge on what happened when the aircraft needed to be re-fueled. They feel very confident in the process. There have been four additional sites added since that process went on and they are sure they have identified the areas where there might be problems.

Mr. Tucker stated that according to the charts the plumes seem to be moving primarily to the south and the west. If the plumes are untreated or if the treatment fails, is there an opportunity for the plumes to move to the east as well? Is there any possibility that they can change their path? Mr. Snyder replied they do not usually change their path unless they are altered artificially by a pumping scenario. Mr. Snyder stated that what you see right now is pretty much the direction.

Mr. Karson stated they could look at the plume map and the black circular contours on the map are groundwater elevations. The groundwater flows perpendicular to the black line. When the lines gets near ponds it changes a little due to the effect from the ponds.

Ms. Mary K. Riley of Johns Pond asked if the plume may be going under the pond towards Poponessett Bay?

Mr. Snyder replied that is a likelihood. The interaction under the pond is not fully understood. There are wells up to side of the pond and the depth of the pond is 60 feet and the plumes are 90-100 feet deep and deeper. There have been USGS studies on where subsurface water comes back into the pond and drilling in the middle of the pond has not been done.

Ms. Riley stated it was her understanding that once the VOCs come in contact with the pond and the air that there is then air pollution. Mr. Snyder replied they are volatiles and they vaporize.

Ms. Riley asked if the VOCs come through the water and into the air where they are swimming and breathing? Mr. Snyder replied that there have been public health department and other studies and VOCs were never detected in the sediments or pond waters. Ms. Riley asked what about in the fish? Mr. Karson replied there was extensive testing in fish 1993 and 1994 and they found low levels of many types of things like pesticides and herbicides but they did not find any constituents from the SD-5 plume or the fuel plumes. The only compound in the fish that was a health concern was mercury which is a state wide problem associated with freshwater fish and not attributed to the Base and all the information was provided to the Towns.

Mr. Greg Taylor stated he was concerned about a number of things that were said tonight. He stated it was told to them at a TEAC meeting a year and a half ago that some of the solvents from the SD-5 plume were going into Johns Pond and that was white-washed tonight. Mr. Taylor also stated that at the beginning of the meeting they mentioned that the report reflects a group of technical people. He stated that the public should know that the technical people do not earn a living designing and constructing hazardous waste treatment systems. They are just people trying to do the best that they could but with no background. He feels they need to have a foundation of people who know what they are doing and this is what they are looking for from the Air Force. Mr. Taylor also stated that they were told that the PRT had input in the plan. Mr. Taylor stated that it does not reflect anything that was discussed for the last year and there is lot of mis- information being handed out. Mr. Taylor also stated that three weeks ago at a briefing from the Barnstable County Science Advisory Panel, which is comprised of a group of people who do make their living doing groundwater work and related work. A lot of them are scientists from Woods Hole and Mr. Taylor asked how many of them have done any work with recirculating wells. Mr. Taylor stated they looked around and smiled and no one had done recirculating well work. Mr. Taylor feels it will be a waste of more time. The PRT said have there need to be at least two pilot systems for every where they are doing work and that is not reflected in the plan. Mr. Taylor stated there is no responsibility taken by anybody. He stated they didn`t make the mess, they are looking for someone to come in with expertise and clean it us. Mr. Taylor stated that this draft shows that Mr. Snyder is the tail on the end of the dog and it not good as far as getting anything done. Mr. Taylor also feels that the organizational chart shows why they have not done anything in eighteen years. He stated it is a maze of convoluted system and they need to cut through the red tape and get something done.

Mr. Karson thanked him for his comments and stated he would try and address each of the main points.

Mr. Karson stated in response to SD-5 and the TEAC meeting, previous groundwater modeling had shown some discharge into the pond and possibly some underflow from the pond. That is an uncertainty now and needs to be looked at.

Mr. Karson stated the comments of PRT need to be worked on and there needs to be meeting with the Joint Team to talk about different issues. At the last Joint Team meeting there was a presentation by Metcalf & Eddy on the recirculating well technology. Mr. Karson stated that they want input from the community and the PRT and that will continue.

Mr. Karson replied Mr. Snyder will address the issue of the pilot system. Mr. Snyder responded that the recirculating well technology is endorsed by the US EPA and he also stated he would not expect lot of local experience with recirculating well technology. It has lot of potential and was recommended by the TRET. Mr. Snyder stated he also endorses the TRET team and they were experienced, senior people in hydrology and they brought a lot of science and balance back to what was a previously unbalanced proposal. Mr. Snyder stated he looks forward to bringing in the AFCEE expertise. Mr. Snyder also stated he has experience being a project manager at other sites and has only been here for six or seven weeks. AFCEE will bring in people from all over the country with solutions.

Mr. Karson responded on the organizational structure and stated that AFCEE is committed to ensuring that they get the most done that they can. There is a lot of activity going on at the IRP office to bring in support staff to AFCEE, Jacobs and risk assessment people to do the job right and address the concerns. Things are happening.

Mr. Peter Dinizio asked if there was a monitoring program on the other side of Johns Pond? He also asked if there was a thorough testing program or if one was proposed around the perimeter of the pond?

Mr. Minior replied that are looking at the eastern side of Ashumet Pond which is the western side of Johns Pond to put some monitoring wells. They are also looking at the eastern side of Johns Pond where they have wells on the north east corner and will move them further south and put in more wells.

Ms. Caffyn asked for a date when they would be doing that as they had been asking for that for several years? Mr. Minior replied there is a class action law suit that is pending and until that is settled he can`t give a firm date but it will be soon. Ms. Caffyn asked why is defining the plume tied into the lawsuit? Mr. Minior replied it is part of the settlement agreement and he cannot comment any more as it is in litigation.

There were no other comments or questions. The public meeting concluded at 8:27 P.M. Mr. Karson also stated there were handouts on the back table. Mr. Karson also stated that all the comment and questions tonight are being recorded and will be addressed in the strategic plan.

Mr. Karson then stated that is was time for the formal public hearing. Mr. Karson will be the hearing officer. Mr. Karson stated that all the questions will be incorporated and addressed in strategic plan and they may comment until June 28, 1996 in writing or at the three remaining public hearings.

Mr. Karson stated the purpose of the hearing is to accept oral testimony and or written comments on the draft strategic plans. All oral comments will be transcribed verbatim as opposed to minutes of the previous discussion. The verbal testimony will be part of the official record. This hearing is different from the meeting they just had and they will not be responding to any of the comments but they may ask for clarification.

The official record for comment on the strategic plan opened at 8:30 P.M. Mr. Karson asked that they come to the microphone, state their name and town.

Official Public Hearing:

Mr. Juan Bacigalupi of Mashpee stated that besides the eighty-five comments he has already submitted and on further review of the June 5 draft, he realized that in the specific section talking about plumes and the sections that deal with the review process for each one and the implementation, they have the regulatory agencies, the community Joint PATs providing review, but they have left one out, and that was for the Coonamessett well. The towns are not involved in the review for remediation or clean up. Mr. Bacigalupi also stated for correction that Falmouth is a Town not a city. He would like to recommend that the National Guard Bureau and the Air Force consider adding the communities that plumes impact in the review process by the Board of Selectmen or the Board of Health in each town.

Mr. Edward Baker of Mashpee stated he lives in an area not affected by the plumes. Mr. Baker stated that it appears to him that the plumes that effect Mashpee are Eastern CS-10, Eastern Briarwood, FS-1, and SD-5 South. He looks at what is being done and what he sees is one pilot test that is going to run for one year on the recirculating well for CS-10 East and one pilot test for SD-5. He sees absolutely nothing else being done. If it AFCEE`s intent to let all the plumes go into Nantucket Sound, then the IRP should say so. He also notices there is nothing at all on FS-1. FS-1, the last comment he heard was a college professor from Denver whose comments were "its being eaten by bugs and we can`t find it". Mr. Baker stated he would point out that the ability to define these plumes based on historical evidence is less than precise. He submits as evidence the surprise of the Coonamessett Well and the surprise of the 2700 ppb number in the Ashumet Pond/TriTown Circle and based on that his written comments will talk more about finances than plume treatment. Mr. Baker stated he will submit his comments from that point on in writing and briefly state them:

Mr. Baker stated he finds the draft plan to be totally inadequate on the subject of financial remediation and long term health protection for residents downgradient of the defined plume. The only financial responsibility is in the attachments and in an inaccurate description of the Briarwood/Falmouth connection on pages 11 and 12. Briarwood is permanently connected to the Mashpee Water District. The Northwest Ashumet area is connect to the Falmouth system on a temporary basis. The IRP should authorize and fund a permanent connection to the Mashpee Water District to replace this temporary connection.

Attachment 2, Item 2: Funding for Municipal Water Connections is not clear to the reader and should indicate either "inter" or "intra", he believes that "intra" is intended. The response avoids any indication of a funding commitment and is thereby incomplete..

Attachment 3, Item 6: Regional Water Supply leaves a significant question to the various possible interpretations of the word "directly". The strictest interpretation would absolve MMR of any responsibility unless a specific test at a specific pond or water source identified contaminants in excess of currents limits. He trusts that is not what the MMR meant.

The entire Mashpee community has been adversely effected by the plumes and the response should contain sufficient detail to allow intelligent comments.

The Mashpee Water District has indicated an unwillingness to participate in a regional water supply system as an additional organizational structure would exist with associated costs that would not be required. The water district has been supportive of connections between the Base and the Towns to serve as a conduit for short term, emergency basis mutual aid. This portion of the response is in conflict with the position stated by the Mashpee Water District.

Mr. Baker is also concerned that financial remediation is extremely limited, ill-defined or avoided in the attachments, responses and fails to recognize the damage inflicted on the Towns. Without the MMR problem, there would be no need for a Mashpee Water District to provide potable water to the impacted residents. The Water District has required subsidies from the Towns and taxpayers to function until quite recently. The costs of bringing the water district to a financially viable organization is a bond issue still being placed on district taxpayers. The MMR should undertake to fund a study by a competent accountant through the Mashpee Water District to define the actual costs incurred by Mashpee taxpayers.

Recent events such as the Coonamessett Pond Well, the EDB problems and the high contamination levels found in the TriTown Circle area outside the plotted plumes indicates that a lack of precision exists in the definition of the plumes. It is obvious from the draft plan and schedule that somebody made that they are doing little more than watching the plumes that affect Mashpee. Measures should be taken to provide adequate protection to down gradient homes. To wait until they are impacted is unacceptable.

He requests that the drainage easement impacts on Johns and Ashumet Ponds be addressed in the plan. Stormwater should be contained and treated if required on the Base. Road runoff can be the source of heavy metals and this possible contamination seems to be ignored.

Deidre Greenlish a Mashpee Water District Commissioner stated he came to comment on specific areas having to do with the Water District. Mashpee has many fine sources of water that are not yet polluted and they support strongly interconnections with the other Towns. They have never said they were going to join a regional water district especially if it is looking for water on the Base. Even if find they find positive good water, there is no assurance that there would be no plumes coming towards it. She thinks it would be more cost effective if the Base assisted them in fast tracking the develop of wells in their Town and then interconnect to the other Towns to supply water to each other.

Ms. Greenlish stated it is also very true that it is not just Briarwood or the TriTown area that has been faced with large economical impacts from the Base pollution. They had a private water company and Mashpee and until the pollution was found that was all there was. Because of the pollution they had to quickly form a Water District and find a way to get water out of the ground and service it to the people because the well was not useful any more. They only way they could bring the cost down was to buy water which meant that all the people who were members of the water company and had paid to develop that company, now had to buy water. They were also impacted by the Base pollution. There is really a townwide effect that the pollution has had on them. She doesn`t mind letting the plumes go by if they are not going to impact the health of the people and if they can provide water that is not threatened. She hopes that the Base will look at interconnection and funding well development in the Town rather than on the Base and let them provide themselves with water.

Mr. Greg Taylor of Mashpee stated his comments are related to the draft strategic plan as revised on June 5, 1996. In general, the pilot program portion needs 100% improvement. The one legged approach and relying on untested recirculating well system can further delay the process for one year. He feels there should in place a pump and treat option for every plume. By taking two courses of action now, they will develop a background of information that will facilitate expediting a more complete system in the future.

In review of the May 15 and June 5 version, the following items were noted:

1. The flow charts on Figure 4 should indicate key resources at each step, they do not say who the keep players are or what is being done. 2. The plume response design process flow organizational chart does not indicate process or flow. 3. The clean up program management chart includes 23 positions with 8 vacancies will this the complete team? They thought that AFCEE had in house personnel to perform the work and were surprised at the vacancies. 4. In Section 4.2.3 Objectives and Targets needs to include restoring property values. The schedule should be included for each of the objectives. 5. The Comprehensive Plume Response Plan has to be able to move ahead independent if property owners do not allow site access. There is a lot of concern about it site access will be provided or not. He doesn`t see that someone not providing access should be a reason for not proceeding. 6. There will be unforeseen complications that need attention and resolution, they need to plan for them. 7. The partnership should only be related for the permitting basis. The owner of the design and responsibility for the successful containment is the IRP Program, not the affected public and regulators. 8. The meaning of enhanced community involvement is not clear. The design and operation must have a technical foundation and responsibility. 9. In the past, the involvement of the PAT was a token involvement with information withheld for months, is this to change and when and how will they notice the change? 10. The scope of involvement of the design contractor should be include in the strategic plan. 11. How will AFCEE contractors work within the conglomerate, bureaucratic framework, will there be a network for expedited action? 12. The property access time needs to be revisited. 13. The drill rig capacity needs to be established. In the past 2 or 3 rigs were considered desirable. 14. There needs to be a more comprehensive procurement plan than noted. 15. The plumes specific plans need more detail to reflect that all possible means and methods have been employed to expedite the remediation process. Two or more possible design combinations for each plume need to be provided. The strategy needs to be delineated to contain the more concentrated part of the plumes before they reach receptors. 16. The costs of initial capital and maintenance upon residential and municipal properties should be included.

Nancy Caffyn, Selectmen, Town of Mashpee and member of the Senior Management Board stated that she found the format very uncomfortable that during the public hearing process they have to stand there in a very formal way and stated opinions or questions into the record. At the earlier portion more people were willing to comment and it was more comfortable when sitting down, she saw no reason why she should have to stand there with papers in her hand and do this in a formal way. She stated they are supposed to be making people feel comfortable and working together on the Base cleanup and they should work diligently in making people feel comfortable at these meetings.

Mr. Karson commented that everything that went on at the earlier discussion period and all comments and questions are being recorded and will be put into the strategic plan responsiveness summary and there will be responses to every comment. They are having this formal public hearing because they were directed to.

Ms. Caffyn stated she did not have a problem with dividing the meeting into two parts, she has a problem with the format of requiring people to stand up and speak.

Ms. Caffyn stated she also wanted to address the draft strategic plan. She felt it was very difficult to read and extremely technical and difficult to get anything out of. She felt it was boring and there were no definition of the plumes. She thinks it should be more friendly to the public and there should also be more history in it.

Ms. Caffyn also state she is very unhappy with so much of what is being proposed is the recirculating well systems. The Town of Mashpee`s consultant has said he has not seen a recirculating well system operating. It seems that 90% of the resolutions will be coming through the innovative process and that is very concerning to her and she thinks there should be other backup system in place.

Another of her more serious concerns is the protection of public health and environment and although that is one of the goals, she realizes that when they get to the ecological activities, they are only go to take sample inventory and she has a problem with that. She met with Mr. McCall and suggested there be more sampling of the fish and sediment and Mr. Karson`s response was not accurate. There were very few samples taken and the samples were very perfect. The fish have been meagerly tested and there have been tumors found here were not found elsewhere. She would like that information to be more candid and to explain there have been problems.

In the meetings she has attended, they have been told that the plumes are entering the ponds and again she has a problem that they are not testing to the degree she feels they should test to. She wants to clarify why there has not been further testing done and should be on a more immediate basis. That was requested and Mr. McCall indicated that would be done.

Ms. Caffyn also mentioned that funds should be set aside to pay for a study for possible property depreciation. Programs could be also be implemented that allow the sale of property with the guarantee of the value. This has also been suggested by DEP. The assessor in Mashpee has found a 10 to 15% deprecation and funds should be allocated. People should not have to suffer more than what they already are.

Mr. Rotman of Cotuit commented on trying to understand the plan and stated it scares him because he cannot understand it. Trying to find information on the plumes is impossible. He would like to see the report put into layman`s terms so that he can understand what is going on.

Mr. Karson asked if there were any more comments or oral testimony. Seeing none, the official record for oral testimony concluded at 8:55 P.M.

Mr. Karson stated they can still provide written comments through June 28, 1996 and oral testimony at the three remaining public meetings.

The meeting adjourned at 8:59 P.M.