Westlake Landfill Testing Update

Dawn Chapman uploaded a file.

We have some more great news to share with you all! 

EPA and the Responsible Party at West Lake are FINALLY finished with all the testing that is designed to locate all the previously unknown areas with radioactive waste on the landfill. There is now an updated map that EPA will be posting as well as two meetings the agency will host shortly in the next three months. We have entered the final phase right before the clean up, which is designing the plan for where to start and where to finish. EPA would also like to host another listening session so they can hear from you all what the impact of this site has been and what things you want and need. The are genuinely looking for your input so they can design their meeting and make sure they are meeting your needs for how to inform you about things having to do with the site and clean up moving forward. We are hoping to see these meetings in February and March-possibly beginning of April. Please be sure to let us know if there is a way we can help you access this meeting either in person or online. Our EPA TASK coordinator has stated that they could also help accommodate with childcare needs/ activities for the event. It's been a busy week with meetings between multiple agencies for multiple sites in our region. The one thing that appears to be the same between all the agencies and sites is that community engagement and direct interaction with agencies has had made the difference on getting these agencies to consider different plans, testing locations etc. Direct community involvement going forward is going to be critical at our site and others! The moms extend this invite to those of you on this page who care about these issues. Whether you lived in the areas decades ago, live here currently, have friends and family who live here now, or just care about the horrific situation that has been allowed to plague this region for over 70 years. No degrees or advanced degrees are required! While Karen Nickel and I have worked for over 10 years now to establish communications with this agency and help guide this process, this issue does not belong to just us and we are not, nor do we desire to be the only ones who have direct access to the agencies who make the decisions. While we are happy to take your questions back to the agencies, we also want to make sure you have the ability to reach out directly and ask them your questions. Look for invitations going forward to get more one on one time and be involved with working groups to be posted soon.

I have downloaded the file and uploaded it to my google storage files here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-GCs7DWIauJXcCK6PYFLNH3Ies18ndya/view?usp=sharing

EPA Announces Latest Actions to Protect Groundwater and Communities from Coal Ash Contamination

Agency issues six proposed determinations to deny facilities’ requests to continue unsafe coal ash disposal Issued: Jan 25, 2023 (2:29pm EST)

WASHINGTON (Jan. 25, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the latest action to protect communities and hold facilities accountable for controlling and cleaning up the contamination created by coal ash disposal. The Agency issued six proposed determinations to deny facilities’ requests to continue disposing of coal combustion residuals (CCR or coal ash) into unlined surface impoundments.

For a seventh facility that has withdrawn its application, Apache Generating Station in Cochise, Arizona, EPA issued a letter identifying concerns with deficiencies in its liner components and groundwater monitoring program.

“With today’s proposed denials, EPA is holding facilities accountable and protecting our precious water resources from harmful contamination, all while ensuring a reliable supply of electricity to our communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We remain committed to working with our state partners to protect everyone, especially those in communities overburdened by pollution, from coal ash contamination now and into the future.” 

Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal in coal-fired power plants that, without proper management, can pollute waterways, groundwater, drinking water, and the air. Coal ash contains contaminants like mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic associated with cancer and various other serious health effects.

Today’s action delivers protections for underserved communities already overburdened by pollution, and reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice in impacted communities.

EPA is proposing to deny the applications for continued use of unlined surface impoundments at the following six facilities:

 

• Belle River Power Plant, China Township, Michigan.
• Coal Creek Station, Underwood, North Dakota.
• Conemaugh Generating Station, New Florence, Pennsylvania.
• Coronado Generating Station, St. Johns, Arizona.
• Martin Lake Steam Electric Station, Tatum, Texas.
• Monroe Power Plant, Monroe, Michigan.

 

EPA is proposing to deny these applications because the owners and operators of the CCR units fail to demonstrate that the surface impoundments comply with requirements of the CCR regulations. Specifically, EPA is proposing to deny these applications due to:

 

• Inadequate groundwater monitoring networks.
• Failure to prove groundwater is monitored to detect and characterize any elevated levels of contaminants coming from the coal ash surface impoundment.
• Evidence of potential releases from the impoundments and insufficient information to support claims that the contamination is from sources other than the impoundments.
• Inadequate documentation for the design and performance of the impoundment liners.
• Failure to meet all location restrictions.

 

If EPA finalizes these denials, the facilities will have to either stop sending waste to these unlined impoundments or submit applications to EPA for extensions to the deadline for unlined coal ash surface impoundments to stop receiving waste.

In the significant interest of maintaining grid reliability, the Agency is also proposing a process for these facilities to seek additional time, if needed to address demonstrated grid reliability issues. This process relies in part on reliability assessments from the relevant regional transmission organizations, ensuring a reliable supply of electricity while protecting public health.
EPA is collecting public comments on these proposals for 30 days through dockets in Regulations.gov. For more information, visit the Part B implementation webpage.

Background
The CCR Part B Final Rule, published November 12, 2020, allowed facilities to demonstrate to EPA that, based on groundwater data and the design of a particular surface impoundment, the operation of the unit has and will continue to ensure there is no reasonable probability of adverse effects to human health and the environment. EPA approval would allow the unit to continue to operate.

EPA received applications for alternate liner demonstrations from eight facilities with 17 CCR surface impoundments. These applications were from facilities in Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Texas. One Arizona facility and the Louisiana facility have since withdrawn their applications.

Learn more about coal ash

For further information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

Jana Elementary Nuclear News Florissant MO

typo: that is $49.5 Million. @TeamSaintLouis has requested that the current $49,500,000 maximum contract amount be increased by
to allow the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order W912P921F0260.

image When Scientist Lie People Die source:https://t.co/roxrugvLOT pic.twitter.com/ke2RTFatgw

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

I stand by what I said in this tweet. When I get some testing tools I will test this whole city and north county and share the info to the world. https://t.co/RoDimgI7UC

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

 Join the FUSRAP team for a townhouse at the Florissant Municipal Court tonight, from 5 to 8 p.m. to review the preliminary results from sampling efforts for radioactive material at Jana Elementary School. 

Presentation will be from 6 - 7 p.m CST.
Please email questions to STLFUSRAP@usace.army.mil #JanaElementary #Nuclear #PlayGround

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

anyone can attend for free ! Here is the Jana Elementary School Nuclear Report from USARMY FUSRAP Facebook Live Link and invitation: https://fb.me/e/325DvwNfg

Here is the Jana Elementary School Nuclear Report from USARMY FUSRAP Facebook Live Link and invitation: https://fb.me/e/325DvwNfg

h/t @TeamSaintLouis FUSRAP ACE https://t.co/sklsScPLDp

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

The Florissant Municipal Court is located at 4575 Washington St., Florissant, MO 63033.

In advance of tonight’s public engagement, the St. Louis District has posted some of the materials that will be shared and discussed.

These materials, along with additional information on these efforts, can be accessed here: www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Missions/FUSRAP/Jana-Elementary/

For more information: https://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/.../community-about.../

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters | Mississippi Valley Division (US Army Corps of Engineers) 

See less

@TeamSaintLouis that $49,500,00 contract
that allows the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order W912P921F0260, St Louis FUSRAP
project, currently underway- would seem to buy Scientist who maybe not telling the truth. https://t.co/ZnDEVrND0a Which Govt Agency is fixing the books? @EPA

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

Radiation Testing Contract StLouis FUSRAP

@cureworks @WULF_HEMP_SEED i was amazed at the cost of this service: It is requested that the current $49,500,000 maximum contract amount be increased by $unknown to allow the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order W912P921F0260, St Louis FUSRAP pic.twitter.com/GFiohGfQXL

— StLScotty (@StLScotty1) August 3, 2022

Development of Microcontroller-Based System for Background Radiation Monitoring https://t.co/Y1aCsmF9Bx #arduino #radiation tester

— StLScotty (@StLScotty1) August 3, 2022

@TeamSaintLouis that $49,500,00 contract
that allows the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order W912P921F0260, St Louis FUSRAP
project, currently underway- would seem to buy Scientist who maybe not telling the truth. https://t.co/ZnDEVrND0a Which Govt Agency is fixing the books? @EPA

— systembuster (@stlsystembuster) November 17, 2022

Green Remediation Best Management Practices: Bioremediation

Green Remediation Best Management Practices: Bioremediation” fact sheet (EPA 542-F-10-006)

This fact sheet update- in collaboration with the Greener Cleanups Subcommittee of the U.S. EPA Technical Support Project’s Engineering Forum.

To view BMP fact sheets on other topics, visit CLU-IN Green Remediation Focus: www.clu-in.org/greenremediation

 web link: Green Remediation Google Doc Converted File 

References quoted in the document: 

• 1 U.S. EPA. Greener Cleanups. Principles for Greener Cleanups. https://www.epa.gov/greenercleanups 
• 2 U.S. EPA. Engineering Issue: In Situ and Ex Situ Biodegradation Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites. EPA/625/R-06/015. October 2006. https://clu-in.org/download/contaminantfocus/dnapl/Treatment_Technologies/epa_2006_engin_issue_bio.pdf 
• 3 U.S. Geological Survey. Phytoforensics – Using Trees to Find Contamination. Fact Sheet 2017–3076. September 2017. https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2017/3076/fs20173076.pdf 
• 4 U.S. EPA. Green Remediation Best Management Practices: An Overview. EPA 542-F-16-001. December 2015 update. https://cluin.org/greenremediation/docs/GR_BMP_factsheet_overview.pdf 
• 5 Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. Optimizing Injection Strategies and In situ Remediation Performance. https://ois-isrp-1.itrcweb.org/ 
• 6 U.S. EPA. Bay Road Holdings LLC (formerly Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation). https://www.epa.gov/ca/bay-road-holdings-llc-formerly-romicenvironmental-technologies-corporation 
• 7 U.S. EPA. Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis. https://clu-in.org/greenremediation/SEFA 
• 8 U.S. Department of Agriculture. BioPreferred Program Catalog: Intermediates – Lubricant Components. https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/catalog/Catalog.xhtml 
• 9 U.S. EPA. CLU-IN Green Remediation Focus. Profiles: Camp Lejeune Military Reservation. https://clu-in.org/greenremediation/profiles/camplejeune 
• 10 U.S. EPA. CLU-IN Green Remediation Focus. Profiles: Re-Solve Inc. https://clu-in.org/greenremediation/profiles/resolveinc

Remedy Protectiveness and Climate Resilience in Site Cleanups: Policies, Guidance and Implementation Tools As of November 8, 2021 A product of the Fall 2021 meeting of the Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (Google Doc web link: Information in this summary is current up to November 8, 2021)

The Conference is designed for and presented by scientists, engineers, regulators,
remediation site owners, constructors, and other environmental professionals
representing universities, government agencies, consultants, and R&D and service
firms from around the world. 

 

The program will reflect the growing body of knowledge about better ways to manage contaminated sediment systems.

The Sediments Conference series is a forum for sharing research results, practical

experiences, and opportunities associated with investigating, remediating, and

restoring the environmental and economic vitality of waterways. Managing these

aquatic systems requires complex actions that affect a diverse group of stakeholders

and touch a wide range of environmental, economic, political and social issues