Minutes of April 20 CAG Monthly Meeting
This is our first dual meeting: members and interested parties attended remotely via Zoom and in person at Saint Louis City Hall (300 N. Mill St., St. Louis, MI 48880).
The meeting recording is available at the following web link with the password below, with timestamps included in minutes:
Meeting Recording: ttps://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/bFwdvwPCaT_IKGZlho-
Access Passcode: 7yTJ=$vJ
The Zoom meeting included 12 remote participants plus 8 attending in person. Chairperson Jane Keon called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.
I. Additions to Agenda
II. Approval of March minutes. Norm Keon moved, Doug Brecht seconded. Discussion of minor corrections. Motion carried.
III. Treasurer’s Report [00:04:55]: Gary Smith, Treasurer
A. March 2022
1. The GCCU General Fund Checking balance stands at $6,412.14 and Share Draft Savings Account remains at $5.00. The Money Market Account (Oxford Automotive settlement) has $63,768.98. TAG grant money available for the Former Plant Site (FPS) stands at $14,466.06 (which includes $15,000 of $50,000 in new TAG award funding). The Velsicol Burn Pit (VBS) has $48,698.38. Vel-sicol Burn Pit (VBP) Fund Checking has $131.52. The complete reports will be attached to the per-manent minutes.
2. Memberships are $5/year and t-shirts are still available. Send checks to PO Box 172, St. Louis, MI 48880. Website now has photos of t-shirts and visitors can also donate to the CAG that way.
IV. Correspondence and Communication [00:08:15]:
A. Greetings from state legislators, as passed on via Jane Keon.
B. Received Memorandum of Understanding between EGLE and State Land Bank Authority.
C. Summary of EPA work documents with links
V. Looking Back [00:11:30]: A perspective on the cleanups and the CAG from LePetomane Trust and its con-tractor, David Heidlauf, who headed up Environ, Inc. Heidlauf oversaw cleanup of Breckinridge site. He provided a comprehensive overview and comparison between Velsicol sites. Jane noted the absence of CAGs at the other sites. The presentation was titled “Fruit of the Loom (FOL) Bankruptcy Remediation Trust Velsicol St. Louis NPL Site” and highlighted the following:
A. An introduction to bankruptcy trusts and how they are managed, noting that the US EPA is the primary beneficiary for the St. Louis site with funding that covers remediation activities and administrative work.
The trust is “a mechanism intended to serve the primary beneficiaries.” Heidlauf explained that the funding is provided via different mechanisms including possession of property, rights to insurance poli-cies, money from lawsuits, company stocks, rights to rail crossing agreements, proceeds from the sale or lease of remediated trust property, and reimbursements from state-funded petroleum and agricultural chemical programs. The mission of a bankruptcy trust is to remediate and sell the properties; a second-ary goal is to maintain control of impaired property while clean up is underway. He then provided an overview of all challenges, trust actions, and effects of the FOL bankruptcy trusts, scattered across the US east of the Mississippi, drawing comparisons to the St. Louis sites.
B. Discussion followed [00:54:04], including concerns about whether the City of St. Louis would be able to acquire the remediated sites from the Michigan State Land Bank and lingering concerns about the safety of water lines in homes.
VI. TECHNICAL ADVISOR REPORT [00:57:25]: Scott Cornelius continued the discussion from last month on the work plan for the downstream floodplains, taking questions from CAG members.
A. Discussion included questions from CAG officers and residents about earth worms, who “guide the train” for the pilot project, and the extent to which DDT is bioaccumulating and harming higher level or-ganisms. An officer cited the significance of the first bird study (and need for follow-up) and asked about use of SPME, as well as clarification on the relevance of worm species. Another officer asked about the extent to which DDT will bind to GAC with other debris in the floodplain, as well as effects on earth worms and other higher level organisms. Others asked whether the GAC can be distributed evenly, especially with flooding and debris in the floodplain (sticks, leaves, etc.). One resident asked about the possible removal of trees on her property and restoration activities. Scott said that the habitat can be remediated and enhanced, citing the work on the Kalamazoo River. He also broke down the threshold and balancing criteria. Overall, the CAG and TA agree that there remain unanswered ques-tions tied to the pilot project, but hope that the floodplains will be remediated and the habitat restored.
VII. EPA Report Velsicol Site [01:42:40]: Diane Russell shared the report on behalf of Tom Alcamo, Project Manager
A. Former Plant Site: River bottom bathiometric survey is complete. Projects underway include the evalua-tion of need for additional DNAPL/groundwater collection trench (MW-19, sampling and two monitoring wells) and the upgradient slurry wall investigation. The downgradient slurry wall investigation and pe-rimeter drain predesign investigation are slated to begin shortly.
B. PSA 1 & 2: Contractor proposals are due to EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers to review on April 25th, with awards anticipated in June and excavation to begin in fall 2022.
C. OU-3: The proposed plan should be released in June with a public meeting hopefully in person in July.
D. OU-4: Phase 2, Year 2 sampling began in April (including worm, soil, SPME sampling and continuation of lab worm study on toxicity). The Phase 2, Year 1 report will be released in May. Additional work plan-ning may include the following: floodplain sampling, riverbank sampling, sediment sampling, small mammal survey and tissue sampling, worm sampling, fish tissue sampling, and another floodplain eval-uation.
E. Five Year Review: Plans are also underway for community interviews (dates TBD). Announcements will be shared with residents via local paper advertisements, announcements at CAG meetings, and possi-bly through social media (e.g. Next Door application). More to come.
VIII. EPA Report Burn Pit Site [01:53:20]: Jennifer Knoepfle, Project Manager
A. Still working to get contract in place; Jennifer is almost done at the regional level with the hope it will get to headquarters for review in the next week. She is hopeful we’ll have everything in place this summer.
IX. EGLE Report [01:54:30]: Erik Martinson, Project Manager
A. Rail siding update: The additional sampling is complete (March 22 and 24th). A total of 22 soil samples sent to the lab on March 25th and analyzed using same parameters as before; Erik will be able to share results at the next CAG meeting. Weston will develop a technical memo following analysis of the re-sults, assuming the results are favorable for small-scale removal.
B. MOU between EGLE and State Land Bank: The property transfer MOU was signed March 15th. EPA and EGLE made the official request to have materials transferred; there is no timeline for when it will actually happen. The Breckenridge site may take longer because approval from Nuclear Regulatory Commission is necessary.
C. Discussion included concerns that the City of St. Louis may have difficulty obtaining the property from the State Land Bank. Erik said EPA and EGLE are committed to the redevelopment of the site, and he believes the City will have the first opportunity to purchase, but will confirm, especially with the other properties (50% of profits will go to Land Bank and another 50% will go into Velsicol Escrow Manage-ment Account established in December 2021 amounting to $6.5 million). It will be a deed restricted property, which may lend itself in favor to the City in terms of acquiring it for use on behalf of the com-munity.
X. Old Business [02:03:10]:
A. PBB Leadership Team update – Brittany Fremion, Norm Keon
1. Update from postdoc, Dr. Robert Hood, about refining the focus of his research grant proposal to focus on cardiovascular disease and markers of inflammation; community partners recommended also looking at neurological disease.
2. R24 renewal for NIEHS center at Emory wherein Michigan PBB Registry work is conducted: Plans are in the works, which include possible collaboration with a few Michigan institutions
3. 50th Anniversary of PBB as opportunity to raise awareness; community members talked about a conference, documentary, lectures and other public programming (i.e. awards ceremony for notable community members, fundraising efforts, curriculum, etc), that might span a year, from spring 2023-spring 2024.
XI. New Business:
A. Brief mention of PBB 50th Anniversary ideas: Discussion about timeline and timeframe (see above).
Please remember to pay membership dues ($5/year). Send check to PO Box 172, St. Louis, MI 48880.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.
Meeting adjourned at 9:07 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Brittany Fremion, Secretary