PCB landfill draft permit reviewed
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region
5 is accepting written comments on a draft permit that would allow
Georgia-Pacific’s Fort James Operating Co. to use a new PCB
disposal area within an existing industrial waste landfill located
on the west side of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
If approved, the landfill will be able to accept
additional contaminated sediment dredged from the Lower Fox River.
A public comment period is scheduled to close
September 12. A public meeting will be held August 23, at the Brown
County Library, 515 Pine St. Comments may be provided in person
at the meeting, via e-mail sent to r5tsca@epa.gov,
or by using a form included in a fact sheet that is being sent to
more than 3,000 area residents, officials and community leaders.
The fact sheet is available at www.epa.gov/region5/sites/foxriver.
Before deciding on whether to approve the landfill,
EPA will consider all comments received. Most helpful are comments
that provide new information or evaluate the technical merits of
EPA’s draft permit. EPA could issue a permit, decide not to
allow use of a newly constructed disposal area (cell), or add conditions
to the permit to improve the cell’s performance or safety.
EPA is aware that some residents want the Agency
to consider other options for the dredged sediment. EPA and Wisconsin’s
Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) thoroughly evaluated other
options prior to issuing the cleanup plan and determined landfilling
was the best option. Therefore, EPA is not considering other disposal
alternatives at this time. EPA can only consider those disposal
sites for which it has received an application. |
