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EPA TO ATTEND PCB MEETING IN SAIPAN

Release Date: 7/10/2001
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, 415/744-2201

     SAN FRANCISCO   Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will arrive in Saipan today to meet with community residents, CNMI officials and representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss activities at the Tanapag Village PCB Site.

     EPA On-Scene Coordinator Michelle Rogow and EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Vicki Rosen will attend the Wednesday U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public meeting in which the Corps will present the alternatives it has considered, as well as its preferred alternative for the treatment and/or disposal of the PCB-contaminated  soil stockpiled  near the Lower Base Cemetery.  

     "We are here in Saipan to hear the Corps' proposal and also to make sure that the community has a voice in any future actions," Rogow said.  "We will be evaluating the Corps' proposal on the following criteria: technical merit, community acceptance, and legal grounds."
     
     As the federal oversight regulatory authority for the Tanapag cleanup, the EPA must approve any treatment and/or disposal methods proposed by the Corps for the contaminated soil.  The Corps will accept comments from CNMI agencies and the community on its proposed plan during a 30-day comment period, which ends Aug. 3.  The Corps will respond to these comments and submit a proposed plan to the EPA and the public.  

     The EPA will assess the revised proposed plan including its consideration of public comments and responses before approving any treatment/disposal plan.  The EPA encourages community members to submit comments on the proposed plan directly to the Corps and to the EPA.

     The EPA is currently conducting an independent technical and regulatory review/assessment of the Corps' study of treatment and disposal alternatives and its preferred alternative.