by

DSCSOC's Executive Director
Julie Roth

October 1997

The US Environmental Protection Agency provides funds for communities impacted by NPL Superfund site to hire a technical advisor to review site documents and provide the oversight group with advise so that the community can have an affective voice in the decisions made at the site. Dr. G. Fred Lee is Davis South Campus Superfund Oversight Committee's technical advisor.

DSCSOC is the Davis community's oversight group for the DOE-UCD LEHR Superfund Site on the UC Davis Campus. Citizens groups are not allowed to do independent investigations at a site nor do they have enforcement powers. All DSCSOC can do is present our concerns to the Remedial Project Managers. Remedial Project Managers have the enforcement powers and the Remedial Managers' agencies are the Environmental Protection Agency, Dept. of Toxic Substance Control, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Dept. of Health Services. The responsible parties at the site are the Department of Energy and the University of California, Davis.

When DSCSOC received its grant in 1995, the Board of Directors decided to hold an annual Town Meeting to keep the Davis Community informed about LEHR issues. We did not want to duplicate UCD-DOE's Public Meetings which informed the community about site activities, instead DSCSOC wanted to focus on the issues which we felt the community had the most interest and were not being addressed at the UCD-DOE meetings; the public health and environmental risks associated with the site. At that time, UCD-DOE were holding semi annual public meetings. In the last 18 months they have not held any meetings and I do not no why. It is impossible for DSCSOC to discuss the site activities and health and environmental risk issues in one- three hour meeting, so DSCSOC's Town Meetings will continue to focus on the health and environmental risks issues.

Some of DSCSOC's issues of concern to are:

Some LEHR waste was moved off the site and is not included in the Superfund investigation. A former LEHR dump tender testified that when the LEHR site landfills were closed, the LEHR waste was transported to the current Campus landfill. When the septic tanks were disconnected, the LEHR site was connected to the Campus WWTP. Some of the storm/surface water drains at the site are connected to the WWTP and some drains go directly to Putah Creek. DSCSOC has asked that the LEHR site investigation be expanded to include all of the potential areas of pollution. DSCSOC believes that the health and environmental risks extend beyond the arbitrary investigation boundaries now impose at the site. This community deserves to be protected from all the health and environmental risks associated with the LEHR Superfund site regardless of the waste's location.

Chloroform pollution has been recently found in the lower aquifer, HSU-4 and the plume is off-site. Monitoring wells are in the process of being installed to begin to determine the extent of the plume. The detection of pollution in this aquifer has greatly increased the amount of investigation necessary at this site. DSCSOC does not understand why UCD took so long to investigate the pollution in this aquifer.

An IRA or Interim Remedial Action for the HSU-2 is currently being implemented to begin to address the pollution in this aquifer but this action only addresses the chloroform and not the other constituents of concern in this aquifer or the pollution which has moved beyond the extraction well location.

DOE has recently devised a plan called "Accelerating Cleanup: Focus on 2006." The objective of this plan is for DOE to meet its current budget objectives by leaving more of it waste behind for the impacted communities and future tax payers to deal with. DSCSOC does not feel that DOE's budget objectives should take priority over the health and environmental risks to this community and DSCSOC will vigorously oppose any attempt by DOE to leave this community at risk.

The storm/surface water monitoring plan which DSCSOC has been asking UCD to develop for two and one half years has not yet been delivered. DSCSOC asked that this be a high priority at this site and especially now that the LEHR site could be the source of or contribute to the of the hazardous levels of lead and mercury that ATSDR found in the fish near the site. DSCSOC asked that the portions of the site investigation which impact the public, be given priority. UCD has ignored DSCSOC's request.

Important decisions which will impact this community are being made. The old saying the squeaky wheel gets the attention is never more true then when dealing with public agencies with limited funds. DSCSOC is concerned that both UCD and DOE will uses economic hardship as an excuse to leave some of their waste behind. Citizens can make their concerns known to UCD and DOE administrators and support funding for this site so that the Davis community will not have to live with the health and environmental risks forever.

DSCSOC has provided copies of Dr. Lee's comments on his reviews of LEHR site documents and other DSCSOC information to the UCD Shields Library and the Yolo County, Davis Branch Library for citizens review. This information can also be accessed on DSCSOC's web site. The web site address is on the bottom of your program.

DSCSOC is looking for interested citizens who would like to help with our activities. DSCSOC is a non-profit organization which works very hard to keep this community informed about issues of concern. DSCSOC appreciates and is great full for any donations.