-------
Activities Planned for 2009
Shallow Soil Sampling
EPA's goal is to sample 300 residential, commercial, and
public properties in Superior in 2009 in order to identify
which properties may require additional investigation and/
or removal of contaminated soil. We will be looking for
evidence of mining waste that may have been brought to
the property as fill for driveways or building areas.
Samples will be collected from shallow soils (the upper 12
inches) from multiple locations at each property. They will
be screened in the field using a portable X-ray
fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. Samples that exceed a
predetermined screening concentration for lead or arsenic
will be sent to the laboratory for additional analysis. EPA
anticipates that this may be up to 20 percent of the
samples. The sampling will be documented with pictures,
notes, and a map of each property. Residents will be called
in advance to let them know when their property is
scheduled to be sampled. The shallow soil sampling is
expected to take 10 weeks to complete.
Roadbed Sampling
In addition to sampling shallow soils, EPA will also be
investigating and sampling roadbed materials in Superior
in order to determine if mining wastes were used as fill in
road construction. This will supplement the road right-of-
way data that was obtained during the 2002 PA/SI.
To conduct the sampling, EPA will use a backhoe to
excavate test pits at evenly spaced intervals along roughly
three miles of roads. The test pits will be about three feet
deep and samples will be collected and visual observations
will be made of the materials encountered in each pit. All
samples will be sent to the laboratory for analysis. This
work is expected to take about three days to complete.
Data Validation and Reporting
After the analytical data are received from the laboratory,
they will be reviewed and validated in a Data Usability
Summary Report (DUSR). The report will be used in
writing the eventual Rl report and in updating the
community. All data should be received from the laboratory
by the end of November, so the DSUR should be
completed by early January 2010. EPA expects to hold a
public meeting in Superior in February to announce the
results.
Picture at left
shows an example
of shallow soil
sampling in a
typical yard. No
heavy equipment is
needed, and the
disturbance is very
small.
Having Your Property Sampled...
ATSDR
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) is a federal Agency within the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR
is releasing its public health assessment of the site in
late June 2009, and welcomes public comment.
ATSDR staff will be available to discuss the results of
its evaluation during the July 8, 2009 public meeting.
For additional information please go to ATSDR's
webpage atwww.atsdr.cdc.gov.
Community Involvement
Plan (CIP)
EPA is in the process of writing a CIP to help
guide the communication work at the site. This
allows us to tailor our actions meet future
community and EPA needs.
As part of the process, we interviewed about a
dozen citizens of Superior in June to get their
input on local concerns and issues. The CIP will
describe the results of the interviews and will set
out a general plan for how to best communicate
with local residents. The CIP is a public document
and should be available in August 2009. If you
have suggestions, please call Diana Hammer
(see back page).
EPA's goal is to sample all local properties that may potentially contain mine waste used as fill material. The
more properties that are included in the sampling, the better our assessment of the extent of contamination
will be. This helps ensure that potential sources of contamination will not be missed and that any cleanup
work will be as thorough as possible. EPA is trying to protect future residents, as well as current residents.
Your participation is voluntary, and we can't sample your property without a signed access agreement with
you. Sampling takes only about an hour, and you don't have to be home (although you are welcome to
watch). To sample, a small square of sod is cut away from the location, a small hole is dug with a shovel, and
about a cup of soil is taken for each sample. After sampling, the hole is refilled and the sod is carefully
replaced. Driveways will also be sampled.
««Kto
If the sample results show cleanup is needed, EPA will perform that cleanup at no cost to the property owner.
Property owners who participate in a cleanup will be provided with a letter that
explains what was done and why. At other sites, such letters have proven valuable
to owners during real estate transactions. Cleanup will generally come after
completion of the Rl and Record of Decision. \
EPA has access from about 170 property owners so far and we'd like to sample
300 properties this year. To participate in the 2009 sampling event, property owners
need to provide access to EPA as soon as possible. If you live within the city limits of Superior and would like
to have your property sampled, please call Susan Mittelstadt or Diana Hammer of EPA (see back page). They
will send you an access form and answer any questions you might have. Also, please let EPA know if there
are properties you believe may be contaminated, and we will contact the owners.
Project Schedule
Timeline
June—Aug. 2009
July 8, 2009
July 29, 2009
Aug. 3—Oct. 10, 2009
Sept. 2009
Aug—Nov 2009
Jan. 2010
Feb. 2010
Activity or Deliverable
Continue to obtain access
Public meeting on 2009 work
Set up local field office
Shallow soil sampling
Conduct roadbed sampling
Laboratory analysis
Complete DUSR
Public meeting on results
The July 8 public meeting will be held from 7:00
to 9:00 pm at the following location:
Multipurpose Room
Superior High School
410 Arizona Avenue
Superior, Montana
Local Contracting
The community requested that EPA use local
resources, where possible, and EPA has done
that. EPA's primary contractor for the project is
COM who will use their Helena staff on this
project.
Additionally, there will be a local field office
and COM will be hiring a local subcontractor to
provide support. COM will be staying in local
hotels and shopping locally. EPA also hopes to
provide training opportunities to
allow local resources to be used
in any future site cleanup.
If you have any questions or
suggestions, please contact
Diana Hammer of EPA (see
back page).
Page 2
PageS
------- |