Following concerns expressed by residents at a Nov. 30 community meeting at the Skyland Fire Department to review clean-up plans at the CTS of Asheville, Inc. Superfund site on Mills Gap Road, The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, the CTS Corporation and its contractor, TRS, have released a fact sheet on controls and additional safeguards put in place during the installation and operation of the Electrical Heating Resistance treatment system on the Superfund site. (See “CTS clean-up moves forward as community wrestles with torrid past,” Xpress, Dec. 1, 2017)
The fact sheet includes information for residents regarding TRS’ background and safety record, in addition to health information, safety and emergency response planning, and how the EPA and CTS will notify the community about activity updates onsite.
CTS will also post weekly updates on site activity online at ctsofasheville.com/news.
According to the EPA, installation of the ERH system is already underway, with 15 electrodes and 11 temperature monitoring points in place as of this time. The ERH system is expected to be fully operational by May 2018.
For more information, see the fact sheet below or visit epa.gov/superfund/cts-millsgap.
From the U.S. EPA, Region 4:
POWER Community Advisory Group releases statement on use of TAG Grant
Additionally, in response to questions and concerns raised by residents at the Nov. 30 meeting regarding the use of and transparency around a $50,000 Technical Assistance Grant awarded to the POWER Action Group — one of two Community Advisory Groups related to the CTS of Asheville, Inc. Superfund site — POWER has released a statement regarding the TAG grant, the group’s use of the funds and its involvement with the site.
Under the EPA’s Superfund program, TAG Grants are awarded to CAG organizations who apply for them to help fund technical assistance for residents regarding Superfund site clean-up efforts.
Several residents, including members of the other CAG organization involved with the CTS of Asheville Superfund site — which turned down a TAG Grant offer from the EPA due to concerns over clauses within the agreement — have questioned POWER’s use of the TAG grant funds.
From the POWER Action Group:
The vision of Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER) has always been to support a thorough cleanup of the CTS Superfund site with the most aggressive timeline possible, as this benefits all residents. The Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) has assisted in accomplishing this goal by providing funds to hire a technical adviser, Frank Anastasi, who interprets and explains technical reports, site conditions, and EPA’s proposed cleanup plans. His work benefits the entire community. We recognize that contamination from the CTS site, and stressors surrounding the cleanup process have caused suffering for all our community, and we are thankful for those who initially brought attention to the situation, and to those who tirelessly advocate for a cleanup.
POWER, not the EPA, interviewed and hired the technical adviser. One group was not chosen over another for the TAG because only one group (POWER) applied for the grant.
All community members and community groups are free to criticize and/or challenge decisions made by the EPA and CTS. No one person or group is prevented from refuting EPA decisions. TAG terms do stipulate that grant funds may not be used for this purpose, but there are no restrictions on public advocacy concerning EPA decisions by a group that accepts a TAG grant.
POWER has pushed the EPA and CTS forward toward actionable cleanup numerous times: The community’s technical adviser, together with POWER’s pro-bono legal counsel, pressured the EPA to acknowledge the pool of contamination and agree that the CTS site needed fast attention, ahead of the full Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study process.
When we were told by the EPA that remediation could not happen until the RI/FS was complete, POWER pointed out that the RI/FS is not required when there is a migrating, uncontrolled release of contaminants causing unacceptable exposure to nearby residents.
POWER insisted that the EPA should compel CTS to conduct Interim Remedial Actions (IRAs) to quickly eliminate/reduce the on-going releases. We reminded them that this is not only a Superfund requirement, but also contained within site-specific agreements that give EPA the authority to order the IRAs.
Without the Technical Assistance Grant, we would probably still be waiting on a draft RI/FS rather than seeing probes go in the ground in preparation for a cleanup to begin this May!
POWER meetings are open to the public and all community members are encouraged to attend. To stay updated on meeting times and activities, email info@poweractiongroup.org anytime.
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