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Published: April 05, 2008 11:17 pm
Standard Register aims to break down contamination
IDEM reviewing remediation plan prepared by environmental consultant
By Sue Loughlin
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Standard Register’s plan to clean up contaminated groundwater at its former property on North Fruitridge Avenue calls for a series of injections with a mixture of soybean oil and water.
The goal is to break down the perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination to harmless byproducts and eliminate or greatly reduce the flow of PCE leaving the former Standard Register property, according to a proposed remediation plan submitted to the state in mid-March.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is reviewing the plan, prepared by QEPI, Standard Register’s environmental consultant.
A copy of the plan is available at the Vigo County Public Library east branch at The Meadows shopping center. IDEM also is working to have the remediation plan available on line. The injection of soybean oil creates a better environment for bacteria so that it can do a better job breaking down the PCE, said Richard R. Milton, IDEM project manager.
Standard Register is participating in the state’s Voluntary Remediation Program. It does not acknowledge it caused the contamination.
The problem was discovered when the company was selling its property to current owner Black Dog Ranch LLC. Testing showed that a plume of groundwater contamination extends southwest of the property and has affected seven homes on well water in Edgebrook subdivision.
QEPI states that the proposed remediation strategy “has been utilized with great success at more than 40 Department of Defense sites” and is currently being used to treat contamination at a site in Connersville.
Injections would create ‘biobarrier’
The plan calls for injecting about 75 55-gallon drums of soybean oil emulsion into 38 injection points. Twenty-four of those injection points would be concentrated near the western boundary of the former Standard Register property to create a “barrier” through which the contaminated water would have to pass.
The goal of the “biobarrier” would be to eliminate or greatly reduce the flow of PCE offsite.
After cleanup, the company’s goal is to reduce PCE groundwater levels to 55 parts per billion (ppb) on the former Standard Register property, according to the QEPI report.
In residential areas, the company proposes post-cleanup PCE groundwater levels that are higher than 5 ppb, which is the EPA drinking water standard. Standard Register anticipates that all residents with contaminated water wells — and those who reside within the contamination plume — will connect to Indiana-American water.
Amy Hartsock, IDEM spokeswoman, said the agency is reviewing what Standard Register/QEPI is proposing as far as PCE groundwater goals in residential areas after cleanup. “We will need to review that proposal and determine if it’s appropriate,” she said.
According to Milton, “Standard Register/QEPI is stating that the water will never be used for drinking purposes and exposure will be limited, so they will propose a higher number than the [EPA drinking water limit, or 5 ppb]. This is acceptable and common.”
IDEM could not immediately address what Standard Register/QEPI is proposing as far as a goal for groundwater PCE levels in residential areas once cleanup is complete.
But Standard Register must demonstrate to IDEM that if some contamination remains in the groundwater, it won’t cause harm to anyone, Milton said.
Testing shows contamination’s reach
As of late January, seven homes had tested above the EPA drinking water limit, ranging from a high of 156 ppb to a low of 15.3 ppb.
Standard Register has proposed connecting 25 residents within the impacted area to Indiana-American Water Co. In addition, it will pay a lump sum of $3,400 to 12 of those homeowners to help defray future water bills.
The impacted area extends south of Maple Avenue, east of Lost Creek and west of 38th Street. It is southwest of Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
So far, about 13 or 14 residents have agreed to be connected to Indiana-American, and four residents have been connected to-date, said Tom Furey, Standard Register chief supply chain officer.
Also, Standard Register will connect one home west of Lost Creek that tested below drinking water limits but above zero ppb, Furey said. The home is within the path that the plume potentially could follow.
The company also has agreed to extend a water main 500 feet southeast along Sheridan Drive.
Furey said at this time, Standard Register is unable to comment on the proposed remediation work plan until IDEM responds to it.
Reducing contamination to the agreed upon limits will take at least two years, Milton said. Even then, the company would be expected to monitor groundwater for an additional two years.
“I expect monitoring to go on for several more years,” Milton said.
In its plan, the company says it will install six additional monitoring wells, two on the former Standard Register property and four off-site, which would be installed along the right-of-way to the west of Lost Creek. Samples will be collected quarterly.
Milton said IDEM staff — including himself, a geologist and chemist — are reviewing the plan, which could take 30 to 60 days. Standard Register/QEPI then will be asked to address IDEM’s comments and concerns.
At that point, IDEM preliminary approves the plan, and the agency will provide public notice and accept comment on the plan. If requested, a public meeting also will be conducted; City Councilman Norm Loudermilk said he intends to request a public meeting.
After considering the public comment, IDEM will formally approve a remediation work plan and give the company permission to proceed.
Source of PCE undetermined
In its report, Standard Register suggests the contamination occurred prior to January 1981, when EPA regulations governing the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous waste became effective.
“These regulations were in effect during the entire time that Standard Register operated the site,” the remediation plan states. Standard Register began operation there in September 1981.
Unique Graphics, which operated at the site prior to Standard Register, also used PCE in its operations — prior to regulations being in effect for handling and disposal of PCE waste, according to the remediation plan.
Standard Register indicated there is “no information or records documenting how Unique Graphics disposed of the drums containing PCE waste” between 1978 and January 1981.
It also says the city owned the facility between 1978 to 1998 and leased it to both Unique Graphics and Standard Register. The city issued industrial revenue bonds to finance Unique Graphics’ relocation to the facility; to secure the financing, the city took title to the property under a warranty deed and leased it back to Unique Graphics and later Standard Register, the work plan states.
IDEM representatives say Standard Register has come to them voluntarily and is taking responsibility for the cleanup.
“They don’t have to take responsibility for actually causing the problem to enter the program,” Milton said.
If the company meets cleanup goals, IDEM will issue two documents: certification of completion and a covenant that says IDEM will not take enforcement action against the company.
For the past several months, the company has been addressing the immediate concern of ensuring affected residents in Edgebrook neighborhood have a safe drinking water supply, Hartsock said.
In the remediation work plan, the company outlines its long-term plan to clean up the contamination, she said.
Loudermilk, who is closely following the issue, said he is eager to see Standard Register’s proposed remediation work plan and hopes it addresses residents’ concerns.
He believes water mains should be extended throughout the Edgebrook neighborhood so that residents could connect to Indiana-American if they chose — now, or in the future if the contamination spreads.
“To be on the safe side, err on the side of caution,” Loudermilk said.
Karrum Nasser, who lives at 3636 Sheridan Drive, also will follow developments closely. He lives just a few houses away from where the proposed Sheridan water main extension will end. Standard Register is paying for the water main extension.
While his well tested negative for PCE, Nasser is concerned about possible contamination in the future. He and some other neighbors don’t understand why the company won’t extend the water main the short distance to their homes.
“We’re arguing over 300 feet” of additional water main construction, Nasser said. “We don’t want them to hook us up, but we want peace of mind so we could hook up.”
When he asked Standard Register why the water main could not be extended, Nasser said he was told, “They have to draw a line somewhere.”
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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