Landfill capping

Portsmouth landfill shouting match makes EcoRI News

The torch-and-pitchfork treatment received by the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) at the hands of Portsmouth residents at Tuesday's meeting about the Island Park landfill has garnered extensive coverage in the EcoRI news site.

Money quote:

Given the volatility of the chemicals and heavy metals already present at the former landfill, it was disturbing to hear the refrain of, “Our kids play there,” repeated by residents as a reason to not allow fill with elevated levels of naturally occurring arsenic. AP Enterprises' legal counsel, Kristen Sherman, was nearly shouted down when she said, “If you know that your children are, frankly, trespassing on private property that used to be a landfill, I suggest that you steer them towards safer behaviors.”
— EcoRI

Worth clicking through to read the whole piece. And this is on a site specifically focused on ecology and green issues. Will the people putting up the hand-lettered signs about "Arsenic in the town dump" please take a breath and consider the science?

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Localblogging, 02871, Landfill capping

Anti-DEM shouting match over dump obscures facts

Last night, the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and AP Enterprise (the project team) came to Portsmouth Town Hall to answer residents' questions about a change to the town dump remediation plan which would allow higher levels of naturally occurring arsenic in the grading soil used under the cap.

DEM was represented by Mark Dennen, Principal Environmental Scientist in the Office of Waste Management. On hand to describe the analysis done to support the soil re-use was Tim O'Connor, a consultant with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB). Representing the developer, AP Enterprise, were Arthur Palmer and attorney Kristen Sherman.

The meeting quickly devolved into a shouting match, with residents of Island Park in full attack mode before the DEM's presentation was even finished. Completely obscured by the rapid escalation of rhetoric (which caused the Portsmouth Police Dept. to show up at 8:17pm) were the simple scientific facts: Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in soil, and the concentrations under discussion are within levels generally regarded as safe.

If you don't believe me, please do some Google-fu on arsenic at 20 parts per million (ppm). I was concerned too, before Dennen sent me the full Beneficial Use Determination (BUD). I'm continuing to look into this, and would be happy to hear from anyone with reliable data. We should be having this discussion based on facts.

But facts didn't stop PCC President Larry Fitzmorris, who took to the microphone to claim that there would be a "flow of arsenic off this property," or Tailgunner Gleason, who put in a turn in her new role as citizen activist, or several of the same loud NIMBY voices from the Island Park anti-skatepark contingent who believe, apparently, that public discourse is best conducted in a register of spittle-flecked invective. (I think that technique was in one of the lost chapters of Aristotle's Rhetoric...)

If you want to see how bad it got, Portsmouth Patch has good coverage and videos.

At root, there seemed to be four basic principles underlying the FUD bellowing:

  • Don't investigate or believe the science
  • Fear the DEM
  • Believe everything is a plot
  • Suspect that DEM and the Council are colluding with developers

Particularly interesting was that several speakers managed to work in specific references to Town Administrator Bob Driscoll, implying that he was to blame. Driscoll is a favorite target of the PCC fringe, and I can anticipate this situation being trotted out when his contract comes up for renewal.

To those in the PCC and their fellow travelers who are stirring the pot for political gain, please consider the impact on our community. Are you really concerned for the health and safety of Island Park? Or could it be that some in the PCC believe it might actually be a good thing if AP Enterprise backed out and left the town with a million-dollar cleanup? Hey, I can play the "everything is a plot" game too. The PCC saddled the schools with a million dollar deficit next year by shooting down the referendum; a giant brownfield cleanup bill would be a another peachy "starve the beast" stratagem.

In all seriousness. Did the DEM shoot themselves in the foot by only advertising this in the ProJo? Absolutely. Could they have done a better job at communicating more information earlier in the process? You bet.

Do me a personal favor as a resident of Island Park. Please, everyone, before you decide to amp up the rhetoric, read the full documentation on the BUD.

Tags: 
Localblogging, 02871, Landfill capping

DEM agrees to Portsmouth meeting on landfill

The RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has scheduled a meeting to discuss work at the Island Park landfill on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Town Hall, according to an e-mail from Town Administrator Bob Driscoll.

"Anyone with questions/concerns should attend," said Driscoll.

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Localblogging, 02871, IP, Landfill capping, landfill

Portsmouth landfill project seeks arsenic exemption from DEM


Go visit XKCD to see it full size (and read the delightful last panel...)

Yesterday, Portsmouth Patch reported on a request made by the company doing re-capping work at the old landfill on Park Ave to use dirt with levels of arsenic significantly higher than the RI DEM standard. If you live in Island Park, you will want to attend the Council meeting on Monday, and you may also want to send a note to the RI Dept. of Environmental Management (DEM) explicitly asking for a public meeting.

Sent this to RI DEM yesterday and received a polite, "Thank you, I will be in touch on this issue."

Subject: Written comment pertaining to public landfill in Portsmouth
To: mark.dennen@dem.ri.gov
Cc: sen-ottiano@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-edwards@rilin.state.ri.us, rdriscoll@portsmouthri.com, rgilstein@portsmouthri.com [...]
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:12:52 -0500

Mr. Dennen...
Please consider this a formal request for a public meeting pursuant to the notice attached. I am a long-time resident of Island Park, and our family lives two blocks from this landfill. While I fully understand that arsenic is a naturally occurring element, and that 20mg/kg is below mandated cleanup levels, it is still higher than normally found in RI soils, and I'd like the opportunity to have DEM and the developers discuss safety concerns with residents.

I am also cc'ing our state legislative delegation, both as a heads up, and also, because I do not believe that posting in the Providence Journal constitutes sufficient notice to residents of Portsmouth. The Journal may be the paper of record for Providence, but it closed its East Bay office several years ago; this, to me, means that by definition it is not a paper of record for the population of our town, and I would ask our legislators to work with DEM to find ways to provide effective notice.

Best Regards.
--John

---------

PUBLIC NOTICE This public notice is related to environmental conditions at the Former Portsmouth Landfill, located on the north side of Park Avenue in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (Assessor's Plat 20, Lots 1,2, and 13 and Plat 25, Lot 2). In accordance with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's (RIDEM's) Rules and Regulations for Composting Facilities and Solid Waste Management Facilities (Solid Waste Regulations), January 2001 (Amended April 2001 and October 2005), AP Enterprise, LLC, is providing public notice of a proposed amendment of the variance to the Solid Waste Regulations, referred to as the Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) approved by RIDEM on September 20, 2010. The proposed amendment to the approved BUD relates to the re-use of soils that exhibit naturally occurring elevated arsenic concentrations (such as those found on Aquidneck Island the location of the Project) that exceed the RIDEM Industrial/ Commercial Direct Exposure Criteria (I/CDEC) of 7 mg/Kg (parts per million or ppm). These naturally occurring arsenic concentrations are typically identified by the absence of any other contaminants (organic and inorganic) within the sample. The Site is the subject of a remedial action under the Rules and Regulations for the Investigation and Remediation of Hazardous Materials Releases (the Remediation Regulations), as amended August 1996 and February 2004. A Remedial Action Work Plan has been approved by RIDEM which calls for capping of the former landfill area, groundwater monitoring, soil gas monitoring, and an Environmental Land Use Restriction (ELUR). The BUD allows the reuse of soil from off-site that exceeds RIDEM Residential Direct Exposure Criteria but meets Industrial/Commercial Direct Exposure Criteria and GB Leachability Criteria to be used for onsite grading and shaping purposes. The final cap layer will consist of two feet of soil which meets the RIDEM Residential Direct Exposure Criteria. APE requests a change in the acceptance criteria for arsenic-only impacted soils used for grading and shaping soils that will be placed under the approved final cap. Rather than use the RIDEM I/CDEC of 7 mg/Kg, APE requests a maximum arsenic concentration of 40 mg/Kg with a source data average concentration not to exceed 20 mg/Kg. The average concentration would be determined by the arithmetic average of no less than 10 samples. If significant written comments are received, the Department will schedule a public meeting and notify the commenters of the meeting date. Written comments should be submitted (within one week of this notice date) to: Mr. Mark Dennen Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Office of Waste Management 235 Promenade Street Providence, Rhode Island 02909 mark.dennen@dem.ri.gov Arrangements to review RIDEM records may be made by calling 222-6822 ext. 7307.
—Published: 1/5/2011

Scientific disclaimer: Arsenic is a naturally occurring element, so its presence in soils should not necessarily be construed as problematic. And the proposed average levels of 20mg/kg appears to be below the level of concern, according to a recent EPA report about a different location which identifies 25 mg/kg as the cleanup threshold. In terms of direct action as a poison, you'd have to eat about five pounds of dirt to get a lethal dose. But when it comes to carcinogens, my motto is 'Trust but verify.'

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Localblogging, 02871, IP, Landfill capping