EPA cleanup process sees change
Canda Harbaugh/The Western News ACTIVITY-BASED TESTING AT SCHOOLS: CDM employees imitate the actions of elementary school children Tuesday at Asa Wood’s playground as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s activity-based sampling. Sampling has begun at both the elementary and high school and will move on to the administration building, middle school and old Plummer building which houses Head Start.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s new role in property cleanups this fall should improve efficiency and change very little else, according to an official with the agency.
“We’re being brought in to streamline the process,” said Mary Darling, project manager for the Corps. “We will still use CDM and Volpe to make sure there’s as little change as possible as far as how we work with the public.”
Despite a rumor to the contrary, Darling said that there are no plans to change the role of the community involvement coordinator, a liaison between property owners and cleanup crews.
The biggest change in procedure is that the Corps will cut out the bidding process. Contractors will have set prices that they’re allowed to charge for certain activities.
“The period of time for going out to bid and coming back is the big savings in time,” Darling said.
The design phase will also be more streamlined, according to Mike Cirian, Libby field leader for the Environmental Protection Agency.
When a property is selected for cleanup, it must be surveyed in detail so that an architect can draw a to-scale blueprint of the house and yard. The new process will use a high-resolution aerial shot of the property.
“Instead of having somebody measure off everything,” Cirian said, “we can sketch right on the photograph and say ‘here’s where the removal is coming out.’”
The image, which will be on a laptop, will not be as detailed as a blueprint but it will be sharp enough to see landscaping.
“We’re going to see shrubs on people’s yards when we look at this,” Cirian said. “It’s not going to be an architect’s drawing, but we’re going to be close enough. When we’re digging with equipment, we always over-excavate anyway.”
Cirian said that the crews usually dig 3-10 feet outside of the perimeter to make sure all of the vermiculite is removed.
In the past, a complete blueprint of every home was made – even homes that had very little vermiculite. Now less surveying will be performed and contractors will be paid based on estimates.
Cirian pointed out that simple math will tell you how much vermiculite must be removed from an attic if one knows its dimensions.
“Why do we need to draw a full-blown picture of all of this to tell them there’s ‘X’ cubic feet of material to remove?” Cirian said. “We should be able to do that without having these fancy drawings. It’s a cost-benefit thing.”
Less surveying will shorten the number of visits to a home before removal and restoration can begin, Cirian said.
The overall process will change very little, according to Darling. The Corps will work with CDM to develop a cleanup plan, and the coordinator will be the go-between for the Corps and property owners.
The Corps visited Libby this week and is doing some coordinating work from a distance. Darling said they would work beside other agencies in the fall to learn more about the cleanup before making any other changes.
“The EPA wants us to learn the process and streamline that. We don’t want to take apart what is working,” she said. “This fall will be a learning process with us, and we’re hoping we can bring our positive past experience to the table for you.”