AFCEE/MMR CONTACT: Mr. Douglas C. Karson 1-508-968-4670 ext2 |
NEWS RELEASE 2008-10 October 29, 2008
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AFCEE announces changes to prior decision on six plumes |
MASSACHUSETTS
MILITARY RESERVATION (MMR), Cape Cod, Mass. -Officials of the Air Force Center
for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) announced today that an Explanation
of Significant Differences (ESD) has been issued for six groundwater plumes
emanating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The ESD documents changes to the selected
remedies described in the Final Record of Decisions (RODs) issued for the
Chemical Spill-4 (CS-4), Chemical Spill-20 (CS-20), Chemical Spill-21 (CS-21),
Fuel Spill-13 (FS-13), Fuel Spill-28 (FS-28) and Fuel
Spill-29
(FS-29) groundwater plumes in Falmouth, MA. The ESD has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The
two RODs amended by the ESD are the Final Record of Decision for the CS-4,
CS-20, CS-21 and FS-13 Plumes dated February 2000 and the Final Record of
Decision for the Fuel Spill-28 and Fuel Spill-29 Plumes dated October
2000. The significant difference
between the plume cleanup strategies outlined in the RODs and the current
remedial design is that the RODs indicated that all of the groundwater within
the CS-4, CS-20 and FS-29 plumes with Contaminants of Concern (COCs) in excess
of federal and state Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for drinking water would
be captured and treated by Extraction, Treatment and Reinjection systems,
whereas, the current remedial designs allow for low concentrations of COCs at
the leading edges of the CS-4, CS-20 and FS-29 plumes to reach cleanup levels
by the natural attenuation processes of degradation, dilution and
dispersion. Specifically, the decision
to modify the remedial strategies for the CS-4 and FS-29 plumes is based upon
the lack of significant contaminant mass in the leading edges of these
plumes. The decision to modify the
remedial strategy for the CS-20 plume is based upon access issues for the
installation of an extraction well at the leading edge of this plume. Two other minor differences from the RODs
include changes in the decision process for determining when the treatment
systems may be turned off for the five plumes undergoing active treatment
(CS-4, CS-20, CS-21, FS-28 and FS-29) and changes in the Land Use Controls for
all six plumes. FS-13 continues to be monitored as
outlined in its ROD.
Although
the ESD modifies the active remedies for five of the six plumes, the existing
treatment systems and monitoring of groundwater is protective of human health
and the environment and none of the changes fundamentally change the original
remedies.
A
copy of the ESD will be available at the Bourne Library, the Main Falmouth
Public Library, and on
AFCEE's
website www.mmr.org under “What’s New” (for a
limited time). It will also be
available through AFCEE's administrative record that can be accessed through
its website www.mmr.org. Additional
information is available by contacting Douglas Karson, Community Involvement
Lead at 508-968-4678, x2 or doug.karson@brooks.af.mil
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