| Introduction The purpose of this annual fact sheet is
to provide information on the updates that have been made to the schedules, which are part
of the revised Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) for 2002. The FFA is an agreement between
the Air Force, the National Guard Bureau, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), guiding the Superfund cleanup of the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR). The
schedules contain deadlines for all sites that are being investigated and cleaned up under
the Installation Restoration Program (IRP).
According to the FFA, EPA may grant extensions to enforceable
deadlines when circumstances are determined to constitute good cause. Changes to the
enforceable deadlines are associated with two types of cleanup actions: [1] Source Area
Actions and [2] Groundwater Plume Response Actions. A table summarizing all of the new
schedule amendments to the FFA is provided on page 3.
This is an update to the 2001 FFA fact sheet (#2001-08, in
October 2001). The following acronyms are used throughout this document: (CS) Chemical
Spill and (FS) Fuel Spill. |
The Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) is the agency
responsible for the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) at the Massachusetts Military
Reservation (MMR). The IRP is the program that cleans up soil and ground-water
contamination resulting from historic use of MMR. We hope
that you find this newsletter informative. For more information about the FFA, any source
area or any plume area, please see the IRP web site at www.mmr.org,
or call the AFCEE/IRP Community Involvement Office at 508-968-4678, ext. 2.
Words that appear in italics are defined at the end of
this fact sheet in the glossary. |
Background
The first schedule, contained in Appendix III, Timetable 2 of
the FFA, establishes enforceable deadlines for ongoing source area actions at the MMR.
Specifically, this schedule sets deadlines for decisions for areas requiring soil and/or
sediment cleanup.
The second schedule contains the enforceable deadlines pertaining
to groundwater plume response actions, the cleanup of contaminated groundwater at and
originating from the MMR. This schedule was added to the FFA as Appendix III, Timetable 3
on May 30, 1997.
The FFA Milestone Changes Summary table (Table 1 on page 3)
indicates where changes to previous deadlines have been made. Divided by source area and
groundwater plumes, the table contains information on the document to which the update
applies, the former date, the revised date, and the reason for the change. AFCEE and EPA,
with consultation by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), have
agreed to the noted changes.
Updated Source
Area Actions
Chemical Spill 13 (CS-13): The CS-13
site was a former contractor yard located on private property near the entrance to the
Sandwich gate of the MMR. Records indicate that releases of oil and hazardous material
occurred there. Previous owners of the CS-13 property, as well as AFCEE, have conducted
environmental investigations at the site, which included soil and groundwater sampling.
The property owners conducted two cleanup actions under MassDEP oversight. The site was
designated as an IRP study area in 1986 and was included in the original FFA signed in
1991. In 2001, AFCEE determined that the military has not ever been owner nor operator of
the site. Based on the history of the site, and the lack of real estate interest in the
property by the military, AFCEE requested EPA concurrence to remove the CS-13 site from
the FFA.
On June 6, 2002, the EPA signed
Amendment [5], which officially removed the CS-13 site from the FFA. The newly amended FFA
became effective on June 11, 2002.
Updated
Groundwater Plume Response Actions
Chemical Spill 4 (CS-4):The Record
of Decision (ROD) for the CS-4, CS-20, and CS-21 groundwater plumes was signed on
February 18, 2000. Following the signing of the ROD, new enforceable deadlines were
established for the development of the Draft Wellfield Design Concurrence Project Note
(WPN).
- The new FFA date for the submittal of the draft CS-4 WPN is January 27, 2003.
There was no previous FFA date associated with this milestone.
Chemical Spill 10 (CS-10): The Remedial Program Managers (representatives from
AFCEE, EPA and MassDEP known as RPMs) committed to presenting a listing of the proposed
CS-10 remedial alternatives to the Plume Cleanup Team (PCT). Subsequently, multiple
presentations were made to the PCT concerning CS-10 remedial alternatives. As a result of
the PCT’s comments, new remedial alternatives were identified. Therefore, the
schedule for the submission of the draft Feasibility Study (FS) was changed to
incorporate these new changes. Hence, the schedule for the submission of the draft Proposed
Plan (PP) and draft ROD also moved to accommodate resolution of comments on the draft
FS. The following revised enforceable deadlines were subsequently established:
- The former FFA date for the submittal of the draft FS was December 10, 2001. The new FFA
date was April 14, 2002. This date was met.
- The former FFA date for the submittal of the draft PP was May 5, 2002. The new FFA date
is November 12, 2002.
- The former FFA date for the submittal of the draft ROD was November 29, 2002. The new
FFA date is June 7, 2003.
Chemical Spill 19 (CS-19): After submittal of the draft Remedial
Investigation (RI) report, there were additional soil and groundwater investigations
needed. Subsequently, a new FFA date for the submittal of a supplemental RI was
established.
- The new FFA date for the submittal of the draft supplemental RI was March 15, 2002.
This date was met. There was no previous FFA date for this milestone.
Chemical Spill 20 (CS-20): The ROD for the CS-4, CS-20, and CS-21 groundwater
plumes was signed on February 18, 2000. Following the signing of the ROD, new enforceable
deadlines were established for the development of the draft WPN.
- The new FFA date for the submittal of the draft CS-20 WPN is January 27, 2003.
There was no previous FFA date associated with this milestone.
Chemical Spill 21 (CS-21): The ROD for the CS-4, CS-20, and CS-21 groundwater
plumes was signed on February 18, 2000. Following the signing of the ROD, new enforceable
deadlines were established for the development of the draft WPN.
- The new FFA date for the submittal of the draft CS-21 WPN is January 27, 2003.
There was no previous FFA date associated with this milestone.
Fuel Spill 1 (FS-1): As a result of the delay in receipt of funding, an event of
"Force Majeure" has occurred. The delay was caused by a new governmental
funding process for Defense Environmental Restoration Account (DERA) dollars. The FS-1
project received funding in late September 2002 and AFCEE currently is proposing new
schedules to EPA.
- The old FFA date for the startup of the FS-1 treatment system was September 21, 2002.
The new FFA date for the system startup is to be determined.
For More Information, please contact the following:
| AFCEE/MMR |
U.S. EPA |
Doug Karson, Community Involvement Specialist
HQ AFCEE/MMR
322 East Inner Road
Otis ANG Base, MA 02542
Phone: (508) 968–4678 x. 2
Toll Free: (866) GO–AFCEE
Fax: (508) 968-4673
E–mail: doug.karson@mmr.brooks.af.mil |
Jim Murphy, Community Involvement Coordinator
USEPA New England Region, Suite 1100
One Congress Street (RAA)
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: (617) 918–1028 Toll free: (888) 372–7341
Fax: (617) 918–1029
E–mail: murphy.jim@epamail.epa.gov |
Glossary
enforceable deadlines—the time limitation applicable to
issuance by the lead agency of all primary documents up to an including all record of
decisions (RODs) for which a limitation has been specifically established under the terms
of the FFA. Also sometimes referred to as enforceable milestones.
Feasibility Study (FS)—a report that identifies and
screens potential cleanup alternatives for a site that requires further remedial action.
Force Majeure—any event arising from causes beyond
the control of the party that causes a delay in, or prevents the, performance of any
obligation.
Proposed Plan (PP)—a document that summarizes the
preferred remedial action for a site and presents the rationale for the preference.
Record of Decision (ROD)—a document presenting the
remedial action selected under agreement with the regulatory agencies and also includes a
record of public comments and the responsiveness summary.
Remedial Investigation (RI)—an investigation to
gather and analyze data necessary to determine the nature and extent of contamination of a
site.
Wellfield Design Concurrence Project Note (WPN)—a
document containing a summary of the proposed wellfield design for the cleanup of a
contaminated groundwater plume. It contains primary details such as the number, location,
and flow rates of extraction wells and reinjection wells and/or infiltration galleries.
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