Community Involvement Plan
March 2001
This Community Involvement Plan identifies community concerns about the Hamilton/Labree
Groundwater Contamination Superfund site. It also outlines opportunities for the public to
become involved in future investigation and cleanup activities.
This plan was developed in consultation with members of the community, and can be updated
at any time. We are sending it to fifteen stakeholders who have indicated an interest, and
posting it on the EPA Region 10 webpage at http://vvww.epa.gov/r10/earth. If you have
questions about the site, this plan, or would like additional information, please call, write, or
e-mail:
Debra Packard
Community Involvement Coordinator
(206) 553-0247
packard.debra@epa.gov
Sally Thomas
Project Manager
(206) 553-2102
thomas.sallv@epa.gov
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101
EPA encourages meaningful community involvement. The goals of this plan are to:
~ inform the public of planned and ongoing site activities
~ maintain open communication about site cleanup, ensuring questions are answered and
concerns and conflicts addressed as they occur
~ provide interested parties with useful information
~ provide citizens with opportunities to comment on and be involved in technical decisions
~ encourage and assist local citizens in providing input to agency decisions that will have
long-term effects on their community
This plan contains, in the following
order:
• Current Community Concerns
• Community Involvement Activities
• Cleanup Activities: Background and Next
Steps - Health Effects
• Site Description and Background
• What Is Superfund?
• Site Contacts
• Appendix : Notes from Community
Interviews
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Hamilton/LaBree Community Involvement Plan
March 2001
Current Community Concerns
In preparation for this community involvement
plan, an announcement was mailed to
approximately 260 people on our mailing list in
August 2000. EPA invited individuals to
participate in interviews with representatives of
EPA. The interviews help EPA to understand
community concerns and how residents would
like to be involved in the cleanup process.
Comments were gathered from the Lewis
County Commissioners, the Lewis County
Health Department, and several local residents.
Comments from the Washington State
Department of Health are also included in this
document. (See Appendix for complete list of
comments).
Recommendations for Community Involvement
In general, people felt it was important for EPA
to keep them regularly informed about health
and environmental issues regarding this site,
including communicating sampling results.
Opinions varied regarding methods to share
this information. Suggestions included using
public meetings, fact sheets, newsletters, phone
calls and advertisements in the local
newspaper. Respondents emphasized the need
for accurate and complete information.
Concerns about Contamination
Several respondents expressed concerns about
the nature, extent, and possible health risks
from the contamination. Some concerns
focused on the possibility of perchloroethylene
(PCE) being passed through the food chain, and
the ongoing risks to human, animal, and
environmental health. Requests for more
information about the extent of the
contaminated groundwater plume, the direction
of groundwater flow, and timing of the cleanup
process were also noted. EPA also received
requests for information about the Superfund
process, cleanup technologies, cleanup timeline,
and cost.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) worked with the federal Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to prepare the following health
consultations. To obtain a copy of any of these reports, call Paul Marchant at
(360)236-3375.
December 23,1996: "Hamilton Road PCE, Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington."
August 27,1999: "Evaluation of Contaminants: Residential Domestic Well Near the
Hamilton/Labree Road PCE Site."
June 6, 2000: "Volatile Organic Compounds in Well Water at the Lewis County Central
Maintenance Shop, Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington." This study was done at a
location 4.5 miles from the Hamilton/Labree site.
July 31, 2000: "Evaluation of Raw Dairy Cow Milk Samples, Lewis County Dairy Farm,
Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington."
October 10,2000: "Volatile Organic Compounds in Residential Drinking Water Supply Wells
near Forest Napavine Road and Jackson Highway, Lewis County, Washington."
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Hamilton/LaBree Community Involvement Plan
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Community Involvement Activities
EPA will continue to prepare and distribute
information on site activities. Public officials
and the press will be briefed as appropriate.
Sampling results will be communicated to the
public in fact sheets. EPA will hold public
informational meetings as needed. This
Community Involvement Plan will be updated
and more information provided as necessary
during the cleanup process.
EPA community involvement activities for
this site include:
- an information repository has been
established to house site-related documents
for convenient community review.
- a site mailing list has been generated and
will be updated regularly.
- two fact sheets have been distributed: May
2000, August 2000.
- interviews were conducted in August 2000
to provide information for this Community
Involvement Plan.
- a web page has been developed to keep
citizens informed of site activities.
Listed below are some of the tools that EPA
plans to use to keep the community informed
and involved in the activities at the site. The
level of community interest will be closely
monitored and activities will be conducted as
appropriate. This list can be updated at any
time and EPA welcomes additional suggestions
from community members.
Information Repository
The purpose of an information repository is to
make information accessible and available for
public review. All technical documents and
reports will be placed in the Information
Repository located at the Chehalis Timberland
Library, 76 N.E. Park Street, Chehalis,
Washington 98532-0419.
Fact Sheets
Fact sheets and other information materials
summarizing site activities, technical
documents, and reports will be mailed to EPA's
Hamilton/Labree 260-person mailing list.
Please call Debra Packard at (206) 553-0247 if
you would like to be included on, or deleted
from, this list.
Public Meetings
If there is community interest, public meetings
will be used to provide important site
information, including sampling results. All
public meetings will be announced in advance
in future fact sheets and notices in the local
media.
Internet Website
A website on the Hamilton/Labree site
activities is located at http://www.epa.gov/
rl Oearth
Click on "Index," then click on "H"
Additional Community Involvement Activities,
If Requested
Technical Assistance Grants
EPA will provide information on Technical
Assistance Grants (TAGs) to all interested
parties. A TAG provides funds to citizen groups
that are affected by Superfund. Grant money is
used to hire technical advisors to help interpret
and explain technical materials produced as
part of the Superfund process.
Grants up to $50,000 are available, and require
the group to match a local share contribution of
20% of total program cost. EPA recognizes the
value of your group's skills and time. The TAG
Program allows you to count the value of
volunteer services and contributions of supplies
toward the required 20% match. Donated
office equipment and time, as well as cash,
count towards this 20% match. Volunteer
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services and donated supplies used toward your
match are called "in-kind contributions/' To
receive more information about TAGs, please
call Jeanne O'Dell, EPA Region 10 TAG
Coordinator, at (206) 553-6919, or toll-free at
1 -800-424-4372, extension 6919.
Workshops
Informal workshops are not planned at this
time. However, citizens may request a
workshop on such topics as: Sampling
Techniques, Potential Health and
Environmental Risks Associated with the Site,
and the Superfund Process.
Cleanup Activities: Background
and Next Steps
The Hamilton/Labree site was placed on the
Superfund National Priorities List in July 2000.
EPA's next steps will include sampling to
characterize the contaminants and identify the
extent of groundwater contamination. The
sampling will also help us to discover more
about groundwater flow in the area. The
boundaries of the contaminated groundwater
plume will be defined. EPA will use sampling
results to identify different cleanup alternatives
for the site. After carefully evaluating and
comparing these potential cleanup alternatives,
EPA will present a detailed proposal for cleanup.
The community will have the opportunity to
comment on EPA's proposal before a cleanup
plan is finalized.
EPA conducted some sampling in the summer
of 2000 to better characterize the contaminants
and their extent. We expect to receive
sampling results in early 2001 and will
communicate them to the public in a fact sheet.
Health Effects from PCE
The following information was provided by the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR).
Perchloroethylene (PCE) belongs to a family of
chemicals known as "volatile organic
compounds" which move easily through the
environment and may be harmful to people
who are exposed to them. Potential health
problems from exposure depend on a variety of
things, including how the chemical entered the
body, how long and how often a person has
been exposed, and how sensitive a person is to
its effect.
At room temperature, PCE is a nonflammable
liquid. It evaporates easily into the air and has
a sharp, sweet odor. High concentrations of
PCE (particularly in closed, poorly ventilated
areas) can cause dizziness, headache,
sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in
speaking and walking, unconsciousness, and
even death. The health effects of breathing in
air or drinking water with low levels of PCE are
not known.
Potential Threats to Human Health
• Drinking water contamination
• Effects from vaporization ("volatilization") of
contaminated water during uses like
showering and cooking
Site Description and Background
The Hamilton/Labree site is the area around
the intersection of Hamilton and Labree Roads.
It is located about three miles south of
Chehalis, Washington, just west of Interstate 5.
It is a mixed industrial and agricultural area with
several businesses and private homes. In 1993,
during testing for a commercial well application,
perchloroethylene (PCE) was discovered in the
groundwater. PCE is a chemical commonly used
in metal degreasing and cleaning operations,
dry cleaning, and other industrial uses. It has
the potential to cause cancer in humans. This
finding prompted the Lewis County Department
of Health to ask the Washington Department of
Health (DOH) to investigate ground water
contamination in private and public supply
wells in the area. DOH sampled in 1993-1994
and again in 1996, confirming PCE
contamination. At this time, the county health
department advised owners of the
contaminated wells to use an alternate water
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supply for drinking and cooking. The
Washington State Department of Ecology
(Ecology) has notified all affected well users.
Bottled water is being used at those properties.
From 1997 to 1999, Ecology led the
investigation at the site. Additional sampling
by Ecology and EPA has identified two discreet
source areas for PCE. One source is an area that
contained buried drums (removed in November
1999), northeast of the intersection of
Hamilton and Labree roads. The other source is
located between Hamilton Road and Interstate
5, southeast of the Hamilton/Labree
intersection. The Hamilton/Labree site was
placed on the Superfund National Priorities List
in July 2000 and the EPA will now lead the
environmental investigation. Additional
investigations are underway at both source
areas.
What Is Superfund?
In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA), which was amended in
1986 by the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act (SARA). These two laws are
commonly known as Superfund.
Superfund gives the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) authority to investigate and clean
up releases or threatened releases of hazardous
substances. The Superfund process is complex
and can take many years to complete. On
average, a site can stay on the National
Priorities List (NPL) anywhere from six to ten
years, and some sites are still on the list after
15-20 years.
If an immediate problem threatens public
health or the environment, EPA also has the
authority under Superfund to address the
situation quickly through a removal action.
Other General Superfund Information
Available on the Internet
Superfund Program Acronym Glossary
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/glossl.htm
Glossaries of environmental terms
http://www.epa.gov/ocepal 11/OCEPAterms/
http://www.epa.gov/oerrpage/superfund/
resources/hrstrain/htmain/glossal.htm
Superfund Frequently Asked Questions
http ://www.epa .gov/superfund/faqs/
sf_faqs.htm
Site Contacts
EPA Staff
Debra Packard, Community Involvement Coordinator
Sally Thomas, Project Manager
(206)553-0247
(206)553-2102
You may also call EPA toll-free at 1 -800-424-4372
For Health Questions:
Washington State Department of Health
PaulMarchant
(360)236-3375
Lewis County Health Department
Steve Garrett
Sue Kennedy
(360)740-1233
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March 2001
Appendix:
Notes from Community Interviews
The following comments were gathered from meetings held in August 2000 with the Lewis
County Commissioners, the Lewis County Health Department, and several local residents. EPA
also spoke to the Washington State Department of Health.
Recommendations for Community Involvement
One county commissioner said he used to receive regular phone calls from a staffperson at
Ecology to update him on the site, and that this method worked for him.
Some people felt public meetings to share EPA's sampling results would be a good idea.
One person recommended newsletters as well as fact sheets, and suggested we number our fact
sheets. Another person declined to set up an interview, but mentioned that EPA's fact sheets have
been a useful method of information sharing.
One person recommended public workshops which would include good graphics and maps of the
groundwater plume and wells. This would allow people to ask questions in a smaller group
setting, if they preferred.
There was one comment that the local newspaper, the Centralia Chronicle, was the best way to
get information to the local community.
One person described the community as small and conservative.
The Washington State Department of Health requested that EPA share fact sheets with them for
comment before mailing out to larger mailing list, as they have been heavily involved in this site
and can provide useful information.
Concerns about Contamination
Concerns were voiced about PCE contamination in local wells. Some people had questions about
how PCE is passed through the food chain.
Questions came up about whether the contaminated ground water plume is moving, and if so, in
what direction.
A person wrote that they wanted to know more about the contaminants' possible effect on their
property, which is near the site. Another person was concerned about the contaminants' potential
effect on livestock.
One of the Lewis County Commissioners asked about which cleanup technology or combination
of technologies EPA would use at this site. The commissioners also wanted an estimate of the
cost of cleanup.
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Several people asked EPA about the cleanup schedule and urged us to respond quickly. Some
were frustrated with the cleanup process, which can move slowly.
Responding to EPA's question about possibly implementing a permanent alternate water supply
for the site, people had questions and concerns about how long-term cost and maintenance would
be funded.
One person wrote that they felt that the Potentially Responsible Party should pay for the cleanup
before the taxpayers pay.
Other issues were identified that are outside the scope of EPA's proposed cleanup
project, but are included in order to capture all comments:
The Lewis County Health Department mentioned that elevated levels of nitrates and tannins are
present in wells. They also mentioned that "pit wells," which are not visible from the surface, may
exist in the area and might have been used for disposal.
A concern was voiced that Lewis County has no pollution prevention program.
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The Administrative Record, a file containing all information used to make decisions on
response actions for the site, will be available at the following locations:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Seventh Floor Records Center
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101
and
ChehalisTimberland Library
76N.E. Park Street
Chehalis, Washington 98532-0419
EPA Region lOWebpage: http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 10 (ECO-081)
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle WA 98101
PRSRTSTD
US POSTAGE
PAID
#G-35
SEATTLE WA
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN
Hamilton/LaBree Groundwater Contamination
Superfund Site
Chehalis, Washington
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