Residents' concerns over the extent of the proposed public water hookup area in Manorville dominated the November 13 public meeting, as Brookhaven National Laboratory's Environmental Restoration Division personnel explained the preferred remedy for groundwater contamination in the Manorville area.
More than 100 area residents attended the meeting, held at the Dayton Avenue School in Manorville. Office Manager Bill Gunther presented an overview of the Lab's environmental restoration program and Project Manager Mike Hauptmann gave a history of ethylene dibromide (EDB) contamination south of the Lab's southern boundary (Operable Unit VI). Mr. Hauptmann also outlined the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation's preferred remedy for the contamination, which includes public water hookups and continued monitoring. Residents were encouraged to express their concerns and ask questions.
EDB has been found in groundwater in an undeveloped area of Manorville at concentrations as high as 3.5 parts per billion. The New York State drinking water standard is 0.05 parts per billion. EDB, once commonly used as an agricultural pesticide, is located approximately 1,000 feet west of Weeks Avenue and 500 feet south of North Street, 90-130 feet below land surface, and is projected to stay west of Weeks Avenue as it continues to move south. It is expected to dilute and degrade over the next 20 years, eventually reaching non-detectable levels.
After evaluating four potential remediation alternatives, the Department of Energy and Brookhaven National Laboratory have proposed public water hookups with monitoring and natural attenuation and dilution as the preferred remedy for the area. This remedy has been selected as the most protective of human health and the environment, preventing any future residential exposure to EDB-contaminated groundwater.
Though the ethylene dibromide from The Lab has not impacted any residential wells, the Department of Energy authorized the Suffolk County Water Authority to begin public water hookups in the Weeks Avenue/North Street/South Street area of Manorville. The water authority has installed mains, and about 95 homes will be connected to public water over the next few months, weather permitting (see hookupdate, page 10).
Fielding Questions
After 40 minutes of Lab presentations and a brief video, the floor was opened for a two-hour question-and-answer session. On hand to field questions from the public were representatives from several agencies, including the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Department of Environmental Conservation, N.Y. S. Department of Health, Suffolk County Department of Health Services and Suffolk County Water Authority. Discussion ranged from health concerns to property values.
The most frequent comments came from residents who live outside the boundaries of the proposed hookup area. Several Dayton Avenue and south Weeks Avenue residents asked the Department of Energy to extend the hookup area to include their homes, stating they were concerned that contamination could eventually reach their wells.
Prior to determining the final remedy, the Department of Energy will review and respond to the comments and concerns received during the public comment period and at the public meeting. These responses will be reflected in a document called the "Responsiveness Summary," due to be completed by April 1997. The final remediation decision will be documented in a "Record of Decision," which is also expected to be completed by April 1997.
Mr. Hauptmann, explaining the rationale for defining the proposed hookup area, showed that even in the most conservative computer-modeling scenario there is little chance that contamination would reach these homes, based on known direction of groundwater flow and the concentrations of EDB that have been found. In addition, long-term sampling of on- and off-site monitoring wells will track the EDB to make certain it is moving and degrading as expected.
Monitoring Planned
If monitoring shows otherwise, the Department of Energy is prepared to act as is necessary to protect human health. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency's Mary Logan told residents, the existing system of checks and balances means that several agencies (Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Conservation) will be reviewing the data as they are gathered. This review is part of the preferred remedy, as is a state condition requiring the expansion of the hookup area if it is deemed necessary.
Two reports describing the remediation alternatives are now available at local repositories. (for locations, click here). These documents, whose public comment period was from October 3 through December 6, 1996, are the "Operable Unit VI Focused Feasibility Study" and the "Operable Unit VI Proposed Remedial Action Plan."