U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 35th Avenue Superfund Site Community Outreach and Sampling Activities Birmingham, Alabama Number 2 October 2012 INTRODUCTION The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund program is developing a Community Outreach Plan to keep the community informed about site activities at the 35th Avenue Superfund Site (Site) in Birmingham, Alabama. The Site encompasses portions of three neighborhoods — Harriman Park, Collegeville, and Fairmont located in northern Birmingham, Jefferson County. Also included are Five-Mile Creek and the drainage ditch which runs through Harriman Park and receives runoff from the former chemical plant area of the Walter Coke (WC) facility. Industrial facilities surround the communities that comprise the Site. The Harriman Park, Collegeville, and Fairmont communities surround the WC facility, which is located at 3500 35th Ave N in Birmingham, Alabama. The WC facility is situated at the center of the neighborhoods that make up the Site. To the south of the WC facility is the Collegeville Neighborhood; to the east is the Harriman Park Neighborhood; and to the west is the Fairmont Neighborhood. There are or have been other coke manufacturing facilities, foundries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities in the area that also may be responsible for releases of hazardous substance that are impacting residential properties. ACCESS PERIOD The purpose of the Access Period is to provide property owners and tenants whose property has been identified for sampling an opportunity to sign and return access agreements allowing sampling of that property. The 90-day Access Period begins October 15, 2012 and will continue until January 15, 2013. Several activities will take place during this period including holding public meetings, small group informational meetings within each neighborhood, distributing Access Agreements and sampling properties. During the week of October 15, 2012 access agreements will be distributed via regular mail to residential property owners in the Harriman Park, Collegeville, and Fairmont communities. Small group informational meetings are being held within each of these communities (see box above for locations, dates and times for October meetings). SAMPLING ACTIVITIES Beginning November 1, 2012, EPA will collect and analyze (1) surface soil from residential properties; (2) sediment and surface water in any distinct drainage pathway located on residential properties, as deemed appropriate by EPA; and (3) surface soil, sediment, and surface water on the WC property and in and along the banks and drainage areas of the ditch that flows through Harriman Park, for semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) which include PAHs, metals and limited PCB sampling, in accordance with an EPA developed Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP). Sampling activities are expected to continue until April 30, 2013. Property owners/tenants can expect to receive the sampling letters about 60 days after the property was sampled. ivEPA Meetings to be Held Monthly meetings will be scheduled with Homeowners Associations (HOAs) and Community Action Panels (CAP). Below are the locations, dates and times for the October meetings. Fairmont Neighborhood Association Northside Church of God 2873 41st Avenue North Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 6 p.m. Collegeville Neighborhood Association Trinity Church 3313 Shuttlesworth Dr. Monday, October 8, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. Harriman Park Neighborhood Association Harriman Park Recreational Center 4345 Shuttlesworth Dr. Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. ------- 35th Avenue Superfund Site Community Outreach Timeline Activities Due Date (on or before) • First Public Meeting 10/1/2012 • Monthly Meetings with Homeowners Association (HOAs) and Community Action Panel (CAP) October, November, December January (Dates to be determined based on dates of HOA and CAP regularly scheduled meetings) (See box on Page 1 for October meeting dates) • Access Period (90 days) 10/15/2012-1/15/2013 • Begin distribution (via mail) of access agreements in Harriman Park. • Hold small group informational meeting with Harriman Park HOA to discuss/explain access. Week of 10/15/2012 • Begin distribution (via mail) of access agreements in Fairmont. • Hold small group informational meeting with Fairmont HOA to discuss/explain access. Week of 10/15/2012 • Begin distribution (via mail) of access agreements in Collegeville neighborhood. • Hold small group informational meeting with College Park HOA to discuss/explain access. Week of 10/15/2012 • Begin Door to Door Outreach in all Neighborhoods 10/29/2012- 12/7/2012 • Sampling Begins (6 months) o Harriman Park o Fairmont o Collegeville 11/1/2012-4/30/2013 • 2nd Public Meeting* 11/19/2012 • 3rd Public Meeting* 12/17/2012 • Letters to property owners regarding data (60 days after sampling activities) 1/1/2013-6/30/2013 *AII public meeting dates are tentative and subject to change. FOR MORE INFORMATION EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Stephanie Y. Brown, (678) 575-8505 or (877) 718-3752 or by email to Brown.StephanieY@.epa.gov EPA Community Outreach Office 1820 7th Avenue North, Suite 100 Birmingham, AL 35203 Information Repository Harriman Park Recreational Center 4347 F.L. Shuttlesworth Drive Birmingham, AL 35207 ------- |