OCR Text |
Show 2 Hilltop Times Aug. 10, 1995 Inloizoirdoys wsfte denmyp eirafliniwes releases proposed plan for Unit 8 EM Hill AFB Proposed Well; by Dave Harris Locations Environmental Management Directorate Tuesday, Environmental Management released the proposed plan for an interim cleanup action at Operable Unit 8, one of nine such units at Hill AFB and part of the Superfund hazardous waste cleanup under way here. The proposed action is not the final cleanup planned for the site, but is an interim measure intended to pre- 1 V a. (Area of Investigation) NorthrMg High School (Location of Open Hou' North Layton Junior High School Operable Unit 8 Unco In Elementary 8 66 The most important thing to know about the contamination is that no drinking water supplies are affected. 99 Environmental Management Directorate 7274 Wardleigh Road Howie Aubertin Operobl Unit 8 protect monogr 84056-513- 7 In addition to submitting comments, people will have an opportunity to discuss the proposal with base environmental officials at the open house. The proposed plan outlines the various alternatives considered by the Air Force for the containment action, citing pros and cons for each alternative. The preferred alternative was selected based on criteria set forth by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, the law that drives Superfund. These criteria include the following: overall protection of human health and the environment; compliance with all applicable laws and regulations; short and long-tereffectiveness; reduction of the toxicity or mobility of the contaminants; implement-ability- ; cost; and state and community acceptance. Contaminated groundwater Unit 8 consists of an area of contamiOperable nated underground water, also called groundwater, that stretches from beneath the base's industrial complex to the southern base boundary. It also includes an area of investigation off base in Layton. Contaminated groundwater has been discovered at scattered locations in Layton, but environmental investigations have not yet determined a source of the contamination or defined a contiguous area of contamination. "The most important thing to know about the contamination is that no drinking water supplies are affected," said Howie Aubertin, Operable Unit 8 project manager. Currently, the contamination in Layton is limited to what geologists call the shallow aquifer, which is the layer of groundwater Layton School Area of Investigation The Air Force invites comments on this proposed action. The public comment period began Tuesday and will end Sept. 7. In conjunction with the proposed plan and public comment period. Hill will host an open house Aug. 17, from p.m., in the commons area at Northridge High School in Layton. All those interested are encouraged to attend the open house and submit their comments on the proposal. Comments may also be submitted in writing to: Hill AFB, UT :Tv: s Operable Unit 8 vent contaminated under ground water from flowing from the base into Layton. Meanwhile, the primary investigation will continue at the site, resulting in a proposal to clean up the entirety of Operable Unit 8 in 1999. 4-- U Boundary" South Gata closest to the surface. This shallow aquifer is not used for drinking water, but is sometimes used for irrigating crops or watering livestock. The contaminants are mostly dissolved solvents such as trichloroethene, dichloroethene, and dichloroethane. The concentrations of these chemicals in the shallow groundwater off base are very low (trichloroethene has been measured as high as 89 parts per billion, but is typically below 70 ppb). Based on what we know today, the contaminants do not pose a risk to people, unless they were to use contaminated groundwater as their primary source of drinking water for a very long period of time. A complete assessment of the risks is currently under way and will be completed in trich-loroetha- Published by MorMedia. Inc.. a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of the Hilltop Times are not necessarily the official views of. or endorsed by. the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. According to the proposal, a series of extraction wells would be installed along the southern base boundary near the base's South Gate. These wells will extract contaminated groundwater before it flows off base. The extracted water will be pumped to the base's Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment and then discharged into the local sewer system. Aubertin said the majority and the worst of the contamination is on base, beneath the base industrial complex, and slowly moving north, away from the southern base boundary. However, the groundwater nearest to the southern base boundary flows south toward Layton. This southernmost area of the contaminated groundwater is the target of the extraction system. If approved, the extraction system will be in place and operational by December 1996, a full five years before cleanup would otherwise begin at the site. It is scheduled to continue operating at least until the main cleanup is under way, and may be incorporated as part of the final cleanup action. As with any cleanup proposal. Hill will not proceed without first hearing from the public. Interested people are invited to review the proposal and submit their comments on it. "Everyone is invited to come," Aubertin said. "At the open house, people will be able to get more detailed information about what we've found at the site and they will have the opportunity to discuss the proposal with Hill environmental en1996. gineers. We really want to hear what the people have "There's still a lot to learn about Operable Unit to say about what we're doing," he said. 8," said Aubertin. "Right now we are focusing our In addition to base officials, representatives from efforts off base, because that's where people live. If the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and there's a current or future risk there, we want to find the Environmental Protection Agency will be and eliminate it. If there's not a risk, we want to it know that, too. Tliis containment action is a major present to answer questions. step in that direction." The proposed plan, along with all documents associated with the cleanup at Hill, is available for action Proposed public review at the Davis County Library-CentrHill proposed this interim action to the EnvironBranch, located at 155 N. Wasatch Drive in Layton, mental Protection Agency and the Utah Depart- or at the Environmental Management Directorate's ment of Environmental Quality in March since offices at Hill. Interested citizens may have a copy under the present investigation and cleanup sched- of the proposed plan mailed to them by calling the ule, no cleanup action would begin at the site until Environmental Management Directorate at Ext. late 2001. one-on-o- ne al Global Power and Reach for America. " "Air Force people building the world's most respected Air and Space Force Hilltop Times Antelope Drive The appearance of advertisements in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or MorMedia. Inc. of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs Office staff. Bldg. 1102. Room 118. Ext. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are U.S. Air Force photos. TO PLACE AN ADVERTISEMENT, CALL 394-965- 5 (OGDEN) OR 532-777- Hill AFB Editorial Staff: Moj. Gen. Pot Condon Commander, OO-AL- C Moj. J. Robert Ballew .Director, Public Affoirs Office Bill Omdorff Chief of Intemol Information Frances Kosakowsky Editor Staff writers Jay Joem, Sue Berk Deadlines l Editorial and "Around the Hill" items, 3 p.m. Tuesday, nine days before publication; sports arti- cles, a.m. Monday, week ef publication; classified ads, 2 p.m. Tuesday, week ef publication. For mare information, call the editor, Et. 4 (SAIT LAKE CITY). . |