Several weeks ago, Fairfield First expressed our concerns regarding the disposition of Fill Pile as well as the lack of transparency and outright mendacity of former Town officials with our post The Elephant in the Room. Since then, the Town of Fairfield received a second Notice of Violation (NOV) from CT DEEP on January 6th, 2020 escalating long held concerns that the entire reclamation yard Fill Pile may need to be removed.
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the Town a notice on January 17th, 2020 indicating that PCB Levels of 230 PPM exist at the Fill Pile site. The EPA letter made it clear that PCB Contaminated Materials at the Fill Pile will need to be removed as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 15 U.S.C. 2605(e) and the PCB Regulations at 40 CFR Part 761. So it has been made clear that the Town’s clean-up efforts will now need to meet both Federal and State remediation standards. You can learn more about the EPA’s PCB site remediation guidance here.
In her January 24th community update, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, stated:
“I realize some residents read the latest article on the second Notice of Violation (NOV) and thought that this was something new. In fact, it came as no surprise as we were informed this was coming when we met with the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) back in December. We have been working directly with DEEP to comply with the NOV’s.
What is new, is that just this morning I received a NOV from the Environmental Protection Agency with regard to the PCBs in the fill pile. As I receive more detailed information in consultation with the towns environmental counsel, DEEP and the EPA, I will provide an update to town residents as soon as possible.
We have four licensed environmental professionals (LEP) who visited the fill pile last week and are preparing environmental action plans to submit to the town that meet DEEP and now EPA standards.
Next week, I will be meeting to review those remediation plans and will choose one LEP to assist the town with this process. Next week our environmental attorney will be accompanying members of my administration for a meeting with DEEP to discuss not only the fill pile but also the proposed remediation plans for sites throughout our town. As soon as I have more detailed information to share, I plan to hold a town hall meeting with state and local environmental and health experts, to give an update to our residents, and to answer questions or concerns you may have.“
What’s more, First Selectwoman Kupchick added:
“In the meantime, I am fully cooperating and in communication with law enforcement officials to make sure we bring to justice all who compromised the health and safety of our residents and town employees. While this process is taking longer than I would like, my top priority is to make sure it’s handled properly and with strict adherence to the law.“