Stauffer cleanup plan on hold -- for now

The EPA and Stauffer will re-evaluate the mound-and-cap plan after protests from residents and lobbying by a congressman.

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

In a major turnaround, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Stauffer officials have agreed to postpone the controversial mound-and-cap cleanup plan for the Stauffer Superfund site until further testing is completed.

And, officials said Friday, if that testing shows that the mound-and-cap plan wouldn't work, they might revise or abandon it altogether.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis has worked behind the scenes for several weeks to forge the agreement.

"The idea, basically, is to call a time-out and do the additional science," said John H. Hankinson Jr., EPA's Region IV administrator in Atlanta.

Many area residents have criticized the EPA for arriving at a remedy before performing important geological and groundwater studies. The 130-acre toxic waste site, which once held a phosphorus-processing plant, is on the Pinellas-Pasco border.

EPA officials originally pushed forward with a legal order, called a consent decree, in federal court to lock Stauffer's owners into paying for the proposed cleanup plan. They contended the studies could be completed after the order was signed.

"Additional studies could demonstrate the need for a vastly different and potentially more expensive remedy, which is not contemplated under the revised consent decree," Bilirakis wrote in a letter to Hankinson on Friday.

A community advisory group formed two weeks ago made a request for withdrawal of the consent decree its first order of business.

"I'm very happy to hear they're going to do additional testing that should have been done years ago," group co-chair Mary Mosley said. "Now we're on the right track."

Mosley and many other area residents want the radioactive waste on the site hauled away.

The cleanup plan now on the table calls for piling 300,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil on-site and then covering it with layers of plastic, dirt and grass. Its estimated cost is at least $9.4-million.

Stauffer Management president Brian Spiller said he anticipates the geological studies will confirm the mound-and-cap plan would work.

"If, as we expect, the additional studies prove the remedy we selected (the mound-and-cap) is appropriate, we will again move forward with the consent decree," Spiller said. "There may be some modifications required to the plan. I wouldn't expect them to be substantial."

Although EPA and Stauffer officials have committed to supporting withdrawal of the consent decree, the U.S. Department of Justice also must agree. Hankinson said he was confident that would happen.

After fuming for more than a week over the walkout of two EPA officials from a June 5 Stauffer hearing in Tarpon Springs, Bilirakis began meeting with Stauffer, EPA and state officials, as well as with the leaders of community groups.

Said Mosley: "Congressman Bilirakis has really done the right thing by this community. But for him and the ombudsman's office, this would have gone through."

In a series of hearings called by the EPA ombudsman's office -- a small, watchdog arm of the federal agency -- chief investigator Hugh Kaufman raised a number of concerns about the mound-and-cap plan.

Kaufman criticized the EPA for failing to perform tests critical to the success of the plan, including geophysical studies for sinkholes; groundwater studies; and treatability studies to ensure the remedy would last.

Fears about sinkholes were heightened when dredge material piled nearby triggered a sinkhole last year. Kaufman warned if a sinkhole developed beneath the Stauffer piles, contaminated soil might drop into the area's drinking water supply.

Despite the lack of tests, Kaufman contended, the EPA has until now advanced a plan to allow the polluting company to pursue the cheapest remedy.

"The EPA was clearly hellbent on going in the wrong direction," Kaufman said. "Congressman Bilirakis turned that around."

Kaufman is convinced the mound-and-cap plan will ultimately be scrapped. The site's geology is too fragile, he said, and there is no evidence that mound-and-cap would work for a radioactive site.

But Spiller said even if ground tests showed a propensity for sinkholes in one area, the piles could be moved to a more stable location on-site.

Spiller estimated the testing process will take 10 months to a year. That doesn't mean the overall cleanup process has been delayed, he said, because the tests were the next stage even if the consent decree were approved.

Spiller said the agreement to withdraw the consent decree is a testament to the company's commitment to proper cleanup.

"This is quite a precedent-setting thing for us," Spiller said.

Normally, he said, a company would not agree to perform such tests without an approved consent decree.

Hankinson said he wants to see the test results before proffering an opinion on the cleanup remedy.

"I'm going to wait and see what the science says," Hankinson said. "I felt comfortable with the remedy we proposed . . . but I think it's important for me to keep an open mind about what the science tells us."

Hankinson also hopes withdrawal of the consent decree might help repair the relationship between the EPA and local residents. Last week, the Pinellas-Pasco Technical Advisory Group, a citizens watchdog group, sent a scathing letter to EPA Administrator Carol Browner alleging that EPA Region IV officials have routinely misled the community.

"These issues often become charged," Hankinson said. "I hope we can work with the community to regain its trust."

-- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or at farley@sptimes.com.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.