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May Meeting Will Allow Opportunity for Public Input on GE/Housatonic Model Calibration Report

Release Date: 03/31/2005
Contact Information:

Contact: Dave Deegan, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1017

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2005; Release # dd050303

Members of the public will be able to present comments to an independent scientific Peer Review Panel evaluating the Model Calibration Report for the GE/Housatonic River Site. The panel will meet on May 4-5 in Lenox, Mass.

The Model being evaluated by the panel is one of the tools which will be used to assess various cleanup alternatives for the “Rest of River” phase of cleanup activity at the site. The peer review meeting is being convened for a panel of independent experts to deliberate on the Model Calibration Report, addressing questions contained in the Charge for the Model Calibration. Following the panel members formal input, EPA will consider and respond to recommendations and comments from the Peer Review Panel members, prior to finalizing the Model Calibration Report.

The Model Calibration Peer Review Meeting will take place on Wed. and Thurs., May 4-5, 2005 in the Main Dining Room of the Gateways Inn located at 51 Walker Street in Lenox. Interested members of the public will have an opportunity to address the panel on questions laid out in the Charge on May 4, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Following the opportunity for public input and expert testimony, the Panel will begin its own deliberations on the issues raised in the Charge, and from that point forward no additional public comment or input will be allowed. However, the panel’s deliberative session is open to the public for observation.

Individuals who wish to provide comment at the Model Calibration Peer Review Meeting must register by April 27, 2005.

The full text of the Charge for the Model Calibration, the Model Calibration Report, EPA’s Peer Review Handbook and Appendix J to the Consent Decree, as well as other related documents including a list of the Panel Members and public comments on the Model Calibration Report received during the comment period are available on EPA’s website, www.epa.gov/NE/ge by clicking on the red button “Current Public Comment Periods.”

Public comments must be related to the questions posed in the Charge for the Model Calibration. Each entity will be allotted an equal amount of time, not to exceed 30 minutes, to comment. Members of the Peer Review Panel may ask questions of public commentors; however time for question and response does not count against the commentor’s allotted time. Everyone who has registered will be informed by phone or e-mail by April 29 on the maximum amount of time that they will have to speak.

EPA has retained SRA International, Inc. to independently administer the Peer Review process. To register to comment, please provide your contact information no later then Wednesday, April 27, 2005 to:
Beth Nerrie, SRA Housatonic Peer Review
Telephone: (800) 922-1566
Fax: (703) 516-9108
Email: [email protected];
Online Registration: http://punix1.sradev.com/ge_housatonic

Copies of the Model Calibration Report and the full text of the Charge for the Model Calibration, as well as other information on the site are available for review at the following locations:

• Berkshire Athenaeum Public Library Reference Depart., 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield MA
• Simons Rock College of Bard Library, 84 Alford Rd., Great Barrington MA
• Cornwall Public Library, Pine St., Cornwall CT
• Kent Memorial Library (Kent Library Association), 32 North Main St., Kent CT
• Housatonic Valley Association, Cornwall Bridge CT
• EPA Records Center, One Congress St., Suite 1100, Boston MA
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, 436 Dwight St., Suite 500, Springfield MA
• Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm St., Hartford CT