MASSACHUSETTS MILITARY RESERVATION (MMR), Cape Cod, Mass. — Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) officials invite the public to attend the monthly Plume Cleanup Team’s (PCT) meeting in February to discuss the cleanup of the Chemical Spill 10 (CS-10) groundwater plume. The areas affected by the CS-10 plume that will be discussed at the PCT meeting are located in the Ashumet and Johns Pond areas of Falmouth and Mashpee. Preliminary ideas for cleaning up the leading edge portions of the CS-10 groundwater plume, discussed at this PCT meeting, will be evaluated later this year in a Feasibility Study.

In a Feasibility Study, each cleanup alternative is evaluated by using criteria that address public health, engineering, ecological, and financial aspects of implementing each cleanup alternative. In general, these criteria help engineers evaluate: how effectively each alternative would protect human and ecological health; how effectively each alternative would meet the CS-10 cleanup goals; whether or not each cleanup alternative feasibly could be constructed; how each alternative potentially would affect the surrounding natural ecosystem; and how cost effective each alternative would be at reaching cleanup goals.

The evaluations performed as part of the Feasibility Study will be summarized and presented in a Proposed Plan for cleaning up the entire CS-10 groundwater plume. The public then will be provided an opportunity to comment formally on the alternatives presented in the Proposed Plan. These comments determine how acceptable each of the cleanup alternatives are to the affected neighborhood residents and/or the general public. During this formal public comment stage, modifications also can be made to the proposed alternatives to address public concerns. Public acceptability is an important criterion in making final cleanup decisions at the IRP. The final decision will be documented in a Record of Decision, which includes a Responsiveness Summary in which responses are provided for all public comments received.

For additional information about how final cleanup decisions are made on groundwater plumes at MMR, please read the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) Fact Sheet entitled, Final Groundwater Cleanup Decisions, available on the MMR web site at: www.mmr.org.

Based on the extent of the plume and levels of contamination identified in the CS-10 groundwater plume, a publicly-reviewed decision was made in 1997 to clean up the portions of CS-10 groundwater plume that had been identified at that time while continuing to investigate the remaining portion of the CS-10 plume, referred to as the leading edge. Areas located downgradient (the area toward which groundwater flows) of Ashumet and Johns ponds would be investigated, while treatment systems were constructed to clean up the major portions of the CS-10 plume.

In 1999 and 2000, three groundwater treatment systems were constructed that currently are cleaning up most of the CS-10 groundwater plume. Two treatment systems are located on-base: one system in the south-central and southwestern portions of the base; and the second located along Sandwich and Back Roads in Mashpee and Falmouth. The third system is located along Hooppole Road in Mashpee, and works in combination with a treatment system constructed to clean up portions of the Storm Drain 5 South (SD-5S) groundwater plume.

During 1999 and 2000, additional groundwater monitoring wells were installed as part of the continuing study to identify the leading edge of the CS-10 groundwater plume. This work included the on-pond drilling conducted in Ashumet Pond and investigative work performed in the Briarwood neighborhood in Mashpee and areas located east of Johns Pond. This information is being used in the CS-10 Feasibility Study to develop different alternatives for cleaning up the entire plume.

New PCT Members Needed!