Special Bd. of Aldermen — 10/26/15 Page 2
We hope that the City agrees to this approach, but if you do not, we will have to frank conversation with both
the City and the State regarding what the move forward with formally placing the site on the Superfund
National Priorities List or NPL which is basically the list of Superfunds sites that across the country.
We have worked diligently in partnership with the City to develop a plan that could clean up the site and return
the site to productive use. EPA alone has spent over $4 million dollars at this site since it was proposed for the
NPL back in 2000 which includes but is not limited to EPA’s payroll, State cooperative agreements and past
cost for the time critical removal actions that we have done at the site. EPA’s comment period closed on
September 7", we received about 18 comments from residents and/or City officials that were opposed to the
consolidation and capping of material on-site and would prefer off-site disposal.
That is pretty much all my opening comments. If you would like to have us proceed with the presentation?
Gerardo Millan-Ramos, EPA Remedial Project Manager Well good evening everyone and thank you for
hosting us here tonight. What | am going to present is a very, very brief presentation that is like a summary or
a nutshell version of what we consider the main points that we have laid out in previous meetings, both public
meetings and meetings with neighbors at neighbor’s requests just to make Sure we are on the same page.
So the Mohawk Tannery Site basically these are the main things | would like to briefly cover tonight before we
get into questions and answers. The first topic would be a summary of the recent past activities that we have
had. | will also be showing maps and figures to make sure we all understand where exactly this site is and
adjoining properties, the contaminants of concern that we are talking about and EPA’s recommended
alternative as we have laid out in an amended Engineering Evaluation Cost Analysis (EE/CA).
Starting with the recent past and future events, back on July 25™ we had a public information meeting here at
the City Hall and we basically presented the EE/CA amendment. Then on August 29" we had the request of
some neighbors and an informal meeting with them to provide more technical information and answer some
questions that neighbors had. Then we closed the comment period for the EE/CA on September 7" and now
actually tomorrow we are having a site tour with a group of neighbors, again at the neighbor's request.
Ms. Taylor We'd also like to invite any of the Aldermen to attend that as well. It is at 5:00 at the site tomorrow.
Mr. Millan-Ramos Yes 5:00 at the site tomorrow. The idea of that tour is to show the main features of the site
and a general overview of what it is that we propose to do there. Then on March 29" that is when we foresee
the approximate date of finalizing our Action Memo. The Action Memo is our decision document that formally
documents what is it that we will do at the site, in full detail. It will be a public document once it is finalized.
We are certainly working and striving to do it as soon as possible, but that is the internal deadline we have set
ourselves.
We envision that if everything runs smoothly, construction would be starting the Summer of next year. To put
again in perspective where the site is in relationship to all the properties and the neighborhood, this is a very
good figure that shows, highlighted in green, you see two parcels there. Those two parcels in green is what we
call the Mohawk Tannery Site. Further to the north, immediately adjacent to it to the north you will see a
property highlighted in blue, that is the Fimbel Door property. It is a separate piece of property that houses a
landfill that has the exact same waste that is on the site. Further north of that property is a City-owned
property that houses asbestos that was primarily from the construction or found after the construction of the
Broadway Street Parkway.
Ms. Taylor Can you just point to where the lagoons are?
Mr. Millan-Ramos Sure | am going to try, let’s see if | can use this pointer here. The lagoons in the site are
right here where | am moving the cursor and | realize it is kind of hard to see. That’s where the former lagoons
are and those of you who will be able to join us tomorrow will see that of those two lagoons, only one is really a
