|
FORE has challenged issues related to unaddressed water issues
at the WCCF site. These include:
- Omissions from the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related
to known soil and water contamination on and adjacent to the site.
- Lack of a confirmed agreement with the Madison Metropoloitan
Sewage District (MMSD) to dispose of contaminated groundwater
during construction
Press releases:
September 4
September 8
September 10
Press Release, September 4, 2003
Contact: Friends of Responsible Energy (FORE)
Scott Meskin
(608) 233-3196
smeskin@pol.net
West Campus Power Plant Site Contaminated
-----------------------------------------
Madison, Wisconsin -- Residents near the proposed 150-MW power plant
on the west side of campus are crying foul over the recent discovery
that soil and groundwater at the site are contaminated and could
pose a significant hazard to human health.
FORE discovered that the proposed power plant site is contaminated,
weeks after the PSC's technical hearings had ended in July. Although
neither MGE nor DNR staff mentioned the contamination during the
July hearings or during the environmental impact assessment process
last spring, FORE found details of the contamination upon the release
of the transcript of the July hearings.
A reference to "dewatering" by a power plant project manager
in the hearing transcripts led FORE to an obscure table, buried
in "Appendix X" of MGE's original application to the PSC.
The "Appendix X" report was prepared by BT2 for MGE and
implied that soil at the site was uncontaminated and claimed that
groundwater did not contain significant contaminants. Yet the actual
raw data in the tables at the end of the document called out both
soil and groundwater contaminants exceeding safe levels.
Soil samples from 6 out of 9 locations on the site revealed arsenic
in amounts more than 3 times the allowable limit for direct human
contact. Carcinogenic benzene related compounds called PAHs were
also found in the soil in amounts more than 20 times the safe allowable
levels. Groundwater samples from the site also indicated the presence
of PCE (Perc) at 60 times the safe groundwater drinking standard.
Perc, or tetrachloroethene, is known as a "volatile organic
compound," meaning that it evaporates easily. It is a solvent
often used in the dry cleaning industry.
"It's preposterous that the final environmental impact statement
never indicated there was any contamination at all on the Walnut
Street site," said FORE member Irene Golembiewski. "In
fact, the EIS bent over backward to describe the site as one that
has been used by the University to grow research crops, and recently
by the F.H. King Students of Sustainable Agriculture to grow organic
produce," she added.
Chamond Liu, another member of FORE, said, "It is alarming
that students growing vegetables on the site were not informed of
the contamination. It is equally appalling that the entire question
of the safety of the site during construction was omitted from the
EIS. No one knows if it is feasible to safely dewater the site,
let alone where contaminated water could safely be discharged to."
On August 8, FORE's attorney Glenn Stoddard relayed these concerns
to the DNR, apparently prompting DNR officials for the first time
to launch a study of the problem. A memo written on August 15 by
Constantine Tsoris of the DNR and obtained by FORE acknowledged
that, "Any dewatering operations will need to consider the
potential to capture and discharge PCE contamination during dewatering
procedures."
FORE believes contamination at the power plant site may originate
from cinders previously dumped at the site, a leaking underground
diesel storage tank at the adjacent UW Walnut Street heating plant,
and toxic chemicals from a former dry cleaning establishment on
University Avenue and Chestnut St.
Additional sources of contamination in the immediate vicinity have
also been identified, and FORE is therefore concerned about whether
appropriate precautions have been taken to protect workers at nearby
construction projects as well as area residents.
Press Release for Monday, September 8, 2003
Contact:Friends of Responsible Energy (FORE)
Scott Meskin
(608) 233-3196
smeskin@pol.net
Crucial Agreement
for West Campus Power Plant Missing
-----------------------------------------------------
Madison, Wisconsin - Citizens opposing the proposed 150-MW west
campus power plant have found that MGE lacks an important approval
which it says it already has.
Contaminated groundwater seeping into the site during construction
must be safely removed in a process called dewatering. After FORE
learned of contaminated groundwater at the site and raised concern
over dewatering during construction to the Public Service Commission
(PSC), MGE attorney Richard Nordeng wrote to assure the PSC that
the local sewerage district MMSD (Madison Metropolitan Sewerage
District) had agreed to accept the dewatering discharge. He cited
MGE's statement in its application that "any groundwater removed
during construction (de-watering) will be sent to MMSD as approved
by MMSD (Appendix G11)."*
However, the actual letter from MMSD to MGE in Appendix G contains
no agreement, but instead says, "We can discuss these disposal
needs if and when they become necessary." And conversations
with MMSD engineers and MMSD Commissioner Caryl Terrell have confirmed
that no agreement exists with MGE for MMSD to accept construction
dewatering discharge.
FORE member Chamond Liu said, "We are outraged that MGE's attorney
has attempted to persuade the PSC that his client has handled the
problem of contamination on the site, when they have in fact done
nothing of the kind."
Before any agreement could be forged, MMSD staff say they would
need to know more about the kinds and amounts of contaminants in
the discharge itself and whether the rate and volume of flow would
exceed the capacity of MMSD's sanitary sewer system.
FORE has requested in writing that MMSD chief engineer Jon Schellpfeffer
clarify MMSD's actual position to the three PSC Commissioners before
they meet on Thursday, September 11, for final deliberation on MGE's
application. FORE's letter states, "We feel strongly that misrepresentations
of MMSD's position should not be allowed to enter unchallenged into
the PSC record, and there remains little time to set that record
straight." FORE's request will be discussed at MMSD's regular
meeting on Monday, September 8.
As reported recently, data from MGE's consultant showed groundwater
PCE and soil PAH and arsenic concentrations at the proposed power
plant site that exceed standards for human safety. The contaminants
apparently arise from dry cleaning chemicals, petroleum residues,
and cinders. "None of this information - the contamination,
the need to dewater, and the uncertainty over whether the contamination
can safely be disposed of - was disclosed in the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS)," Liu added. "As a result the public has
been left in the dark and the Commissioners have insufficient information
to act on MGE's application."
The Sierra Club's Midwest Regional Representative Brett Hulsey concurred,
saying that he wants to "make sure that power plant applicants
submit complete and transparent requests to the PSC that clearly
state these problems up front."
Construction site dewatering is necessary when groundwater runs
close to the surface and large volumes seep into and fill construction
holes. Groundwater at the proposed WCCF site is only 8 to 12 feet
below the surface, so voluminous pumping of groundwater from the
site is anticipated. Ordinary water management permits granted by
the DNR would not allow the dumping of contaminated water into Willow
Creek or Lake Mendota, so another means of disposal must be found.
------------------
* MGE's CPCN Application, 4.2.5.1, page 35.
###
FORE (Friends of Responsible Energy) is a Madison grass-roots organization
that promotes responsible energy solutions. For both environmental
and fiscal reasons, FORE opposes MGE's proposal to build a 150-MW
power plant on the UW-Madison campus.
FORE also believes that MGE political contributions, thus far documented
at more than $370,000 -- most of which was sent back and forth across
state borders -- were instrumental in garnering political support
for MGE's proposal.
Press Release for Wednesday, September 10,
2003
Contact: Friends of Responsible Energy (FORE)
Scott Meskin
(608) 233-3196
smeskin@pol.net
MMSD confirms MGE approval does not exist
----------------------------------------
Madison, Wisconsin - In a letter Monday to the Public Service Commission
(PSC) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the local sewerage
district re-confirmed that it has not agreed to accept contaminated
groundwater from the construction site of MGE's proposed campus
power plant, contrary to the portrayals of MGE and its attorney.
Madison Municipal Sewerage District (MMSD) Director Jon Schellpfeffer
wrote the letter after FORE brought the MGE misrepresentations to
the attention of MMSD. Schellpfeffer wrote, "The District has
not issued a permit to accept groundwater generated due to the construction
of this project." He elaborated, "If and when the District
receives a request to accept groundwater generated due to the construction
of this project, we will review it in accordance with our standard
permitting process for this type of wastewater."
The new letter rebuts MGE attorney Richard Nordeng's attempt to
assure the PSC that MMSD had already agreed to accept the dewatering
discharge. In a filing with the PSC on August 22, Mr. Nordeng claimed
that "dewatering is literally a non-issue." He then quoted
from MGE's original application: "any groundwater removed during
construction (de-watering) will be sent to MMSD as approved by MMSD
(Appendix G11)."
That approval never existed.
FORE member Chamond Liu commented, "Whether the grounds be
ignorance or subterfuge, there is no place for deception in as important
a decision as the siting of a new power plant. Fortunately MMSD
has straightened out the record on this point. All the parties can
now be certain that the matter of contaminated groundwater is an
open problem."
Apparently, the DNR also believed that MGE had made arrangements
for disposing of the contaminated groundwater. In an email on August
15, DNR attorney Charles Hammer stated, "The project sponsors
have decided to direct all of the water associated with dewatering
to the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District for treatment. We
understand there is a letter from MMSD in the CPCN file that states
the willingness of MMSD to accept for treatment the water from the
dewatering effort."
Mr. Hammer was asked for a copy of the letter but could not produce
it. He did not explain how the DNR came to understand that such
a letter existed.
As previously reported by FORE, data from MGE's consultant showed
groundwater PCE and soil PAH and arsenic concentrations at the proposed
power plant site that exceed standards for human safety. The contaminants
apparently arise from dry cleaning chemicals, petroleum residues,
and cinders. The contamination and the question of how to safely
treat or dispose of dewatering discharge during construction were
absent from the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). "The
public deserves better. For the DNR to fail to disclose levels of
PCE more than 60 times higher than enforceable standards and to
be unaware of the accompanying dewatering problem - that's unconscionable,"
added Liu.
The Sierra Club's Midwest Regional Representative Brett Hulsey concurred,
saying that he wants to "make sure that power plant applicants
submit complete and transparent requests to the PSC that clearly
state these problems up front."
Construction site dewatering is necessary when groundwater runs
close to the surface and large volumes seep into and fill construction
holes. Groundwater at the proposed WCCF site is only 8 to 12 feet
below the surface, so voluminous pumping of water from the site
is anticipated. Ordinary water management permits granted by the
DNR would not allow the dumping of contaminated water into Willow
Creek or Lake Mendota, so another means of treatment or disposal
must be found.
------------------
###
FORE (Friends of Responsible Energy) is a Madison grass-roots organization
that promotes responsible energy solutions. For both environmental
and fiscal reasons, FORE opposes MGE's proposal to build a 150-MW
power plant on the UW-Madison campus.
FORE also believes that MGE political contributions, thus far documented
at more than $370,000 -- most of which was sent back and forth across
state borders -- were instrumental in garnering political support
for MGE's proposal.
|
