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EPA Seeking Public Input on Proposed Action at Camp Edwards Site

Release Date: 05/06/2010
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, 617-918-1027

(Camp Edwards, Mass.—May 6, 2010) A 30-day public comment period begins today for a Remedy Selection Plan which outlines the proposed alternative for addressing groundwater contamination at the L Range on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR). The public comment period runs through June 4.

The comment period provides an opportunity for public input on the Remedy Selection Plan for the L Range. The plan outlines the alternatives presented in the Feasibility Study for addressing groundwater contamination at the site, the proposed alternative recommended by the Army and EPA, and the reasons for its selection. Comments on the proposed remedy will be considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in determining the response action that will be outlined in the EPA’s Decision Document for the L Range. After the public comment period has ended and all public comments have been reviewed the MassDEP will issue its comment letter.

The majority of the L Range groundwater plume is located on the MMR and none of the groundwater contamination from the site is threatening any public or private drinking water supplies. In addition, the site does not have an active source of contamination as the surface contamination at the L Range, which migrated to groundwater, has either been removed or depleted. The groundwater plume contains RDX and perchlorate.

The feasibility study presented three alternatives: No Further Action, Monitored Natural Attenuation and Land-use Controls, and Focused-Extraction.

The Remedy Selection Plan presents Alternative 2, Monitored Natural Attenuation and Land-use Controls, as the EPA’s proposed remedy for the L Range. Land-use controls would ensure there is no use of the contaminated water. Because no further source-area contribution is likely at the site, the alternative is expected to be a permanent remedy. Groundwater modeling and sampling indicate that perchlorate concentrations at the L Range are already below the most conservative risk-based level. The most conservative risk-based level for RDX will be achieved by 2027. The alternative will comply with state and federal regulations and is protective of human health and the environment.

Information regarding the Remedy Selection Plan will be presented at a public meeting at 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 19, at the Forestdale School, 151 Route 130, Sandwich, MA. Representatives from the IAGWSP, the EPA and the MassDEP will be available at this meeting to answer questions on the proposed alternative.

Comments are to be submitted by mail to Jeanethe Falvey, EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 Mail Code HBT, Boston, MA 02109-3912, by fax to 617-918-0020 or by email to [email protected].

Responses to comments on the Remedy Selection Plan will be provided to the public with the L Range Decision Document, which will be finalized this summer.
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