Written Testimony
of Susan Shortz,
Citizen of Throop, Pa., President of HELP (Halt
Environmental Lead Pollution) and member of the Citizen Review Committee for
the Marjol Site
For the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing
Regarding S.606, To provide additional authority to the
Office of Ombudsman of the Environmental Protection
June 25, 2002
The Borough of Throop is a small residential
community with a population of about 4,100.
The Marjol Site is a former lead-acid battery recycling facility located
in the Borough. The 43.9-acre Site is
owned by Gould Electronics, Inc. There
are approximately 65 residential homes within 500 feet of the Site boundary and
25 of those homes are within 50 feet of the Site. The Lackawanna River borders the Site to the West. Over 500,000 cubic yards of battery casings
are stockpiled and buried on this site.
There are PCB’s, PAH’s, antimony, arsenic, cadmium and other carcinogens
buried on this site. Lead has been
measured at levels as high as 250,000 parts per million in the soil. In addition, a large volume of soil off-site
became contaminated with lead from Site operations, fugitive dust emissions,
and stormwater runoff. This area is
undermined from previous anthracite deep coal mining. Our county is the site of numerous mine fires and mine subsidence
occurrences over the years and some are still ongoing. In reality it is an illegal, toxic,
hazardous waste dump, in the middle of small town, without benefit of permits
or regulatory controls such as liner, or leachate collection systems.
Several State and Federal site assessments were
initiated between 1967 and 1987 because of elevated airborne emissions and high
soil lead concentrations in the neighborhood.
In 1987 USEPA’s Technical Assistance Team collected soil samples from
on-site and off-site areas. In response
to elevated lead concentrations on-site and off-site in residential areas, the
USEPA issued the CERCLA Order on April 6, 1988. Although the EPA assured us there were only a few homes
contaminated, and they would be out of our lives in two years, this order
resulted in the residential cleanup of 111 homes. The families and community endured soil excavation, tree and
shrub removal, and interior cleaning and carpet removal. Although we later found out, through the
Ombudsman’s investigation, that on environmental threat alone we qualified for
Superfund cleanup on the NPL listing, EPA did not list the site on the National
Priority List. On June 11, 1990 a RCRA
Administrative Order of Consent was signed between Gould and the EPA. For the next ten years, we attended
meetings, watched timelines come and go. And over and over the EPA continued to
say that our site would be cleaned up in two years. Then finally in 2000 we got a glimpse of EPA’s statement of basis
(cleanup order). We were very
disappointed that only a portion of the hazardous waste would be removed, and
most of the hazardous waste would remain on site, covered only by a thin cap. The citizens of our small community had been
fighting to get our site fully cleaned up in a manner that would protect the
health and welfare of our people imputably.
Gould, the owner of the site, has stated since the 80’s that they will
only agree to cap the hazardous waste – not to clean it up. Although the Borough of Throop had spent
almost $1.5 million to prove to EPA that a “cap” is not appropriate, EPA has
refused to listen. EPA has repeatedly
bowed to Gould’s “demands”, has deliberately withheld or covered up information
agreed to with Gould, and mislead us. When we heard about the National Ombudsman,
Robert J. Martin’s involvement in the Tarpon Springs, Florida Site, we went to
Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum and asked for their assistance to get
National Ombudsman Martin to review our case.
Mr. Martin’s presence in Throop, along with Chief Investigator Hugh
Kaufman marked the first time our concerns were listened to and acted upon.
The first Ombudsman hearing took place in August
2000. Following that hearing, interrogatories
were sent. The results were
amazing. We found out there were over
240 potentially responsible parties, including the Federal Government, who had
financial liability for cleaning up the site besides Gould. We further learned that Gould received
millions of dollars from the Government and other private parties, as well as
numerous liability policies. We also
found out the specifics of a secret amendment to the Consent Order, which
changed the requirement of temporary storage of contaminated soil on site to
permanent entombment. Through the National Ombudsman’s geologist, Douglas Bell’s
discussions with our engineering consultants, Gannett-Fleming, we finally found
someone to give credence to our concerns about mine subsidence and the impact
of a potential mine fire on the site.
As the investigation continued we were called to Philadelphia to meet
with EPA Region III Administrator, Bradley Campbell. He listened to our concerns and told us he would wait for the recommendations
from the Ombudsman before making a final decision. Then suddenly in December 2000 a final decision was handed down
on the Marjol Site. It no longer called
for any guaranteed removal, only what would not fit under the cap. It also no longer called for solidification
of the remaining contaminants under the cap.
It also came out before the Ombudsman had an opportunity to complete his
work and make his recommendation to EPA.
Recommendations EPA had promised to listen to. Needless to say we were shocked.
Then on January 5, 2001, this case, and every other National Ombudsman
case, was suspended, until “clear and consistent direction” was received from
EPA Management. EPA Management
initiated blatant interference with the National Ombudsman cases, including
Marjol. Among other things EPA
prohibited the National Ombudsman’s Chief Investigator, Hugh Kaufman, from helping
the Ombudsman and attempted to have an Inspector General official, with a
conflict of interest, review the case.
All of this was done throughout 2001 over the strong objection of
Senators Specter and Santorum. We hit
another stone wall.
The Pennsylvania delegation communicated with EPA
Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, asking EPA to allow Ombudsman Martin to
complete his work on the Marjol Site without further hindrance. The delegation met with Administrator
Whitman on March 8, 2001 and received assurances that Ombudsman Martin would
receive staffing and other resources immediately to proceed with his work. The EPA decision for the Marjol Site was on
hold. Despite promises not to hinder
the Ombudsman, EPA Management and the EPA Inspector General proceeded to
unilaterally detail an investigator from the EPA Office of Inspector General to
perform the National Ombudsman Marjol Investigation. This was done without notice, consultation, or approval of the
National Ombudsman, even though the individual had a known potential conflict
of interest. The Pennsylvania
delegation has continued to try to intervene to get EPA to keep its promises to
them and our community to no avail. As
recently as February 2002, National Ombudsman Martin and his Chief Investigator
Hugh Kaufman held the second round of hearings on the Marjol Case. This time EPA failed to participate in the
Ombudsman process. One of the many new
revelations that came out of that hearing was the fact that EPA has continued
to lie to the community of Throop and active officials by falsely stating that
the Site could not be cleaned up under the Superfund program. And on goes the saga.
The Independent National Ombudsman’s office within
the EPA plays an important role. It
serves as a watchdog for the citizens and as backstop to ensure that the best
decisions are being made for their community.
Trust in the process is heightened when people know they have an ”independent
Ombudsman” to closely examine the agency decisions. My concern is to ensure that the National Ombudsman’s office be
resurrected to allow it to continue to operate in a transparent way and provide
meaningful assistance to local communities, like Throop, when EPA falters as it
has in our case. EPA officials have publicly
assured us of their full support for the National Ombudsman’s efforts. Their actions suggest otherwise. No government official who supposedly works
for us and is paid by us should be afraid to have their decisions subjected to
public and substantive Ombudsman scrutiny.
The National Ombudsman Martin’s work on the Marjol
Site was essential in exposing the following problems. The Ombudsman’s investigation found withheld
documents; secret agreements between Gould and EPA; they questioned the EPA’s
choice of Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) as a remediation process;
they questioned the EPA’s use of authority to allow regulations and permitting
processes to be avoided. I would also
like to mention the questioning of the EPA’s “sound science”, that allows a remediation
of a hazardous waste site, that has lead levels at 250,000PPM as well as Polychlorinated-Biphenyl’s
(PCB’s) and Poly-aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s),to be abandoned in the middle of
a residential community; that is adjacent to the Lackawanna River, and on a
site that has continuing mine subsidence and the potential for mine fires, with
EPA’s official recommendation of only a thin cap.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report
in April and July 2001 concerning the EPA’s handling of the Ombudsman
office. They concluded that EPA did not
provide the Ombudsman with sufficient independence and that the EPA treated
their Ombudsman much less independently than did other Federal agencies. They felt he should be allowed to choose his
own staff, supervise them and manage his own budget. The GAO also said he should report to the Administrator and
Congress like all other Federal Ombudsman.
Senators and Congressman have expressed their support. Citizens and communities all over the United
States have agreed. Thousands of
signatures have been collected, and Federal Register comments were provided in
2001. Yet to no avail. As a matter of fact, all of their recommendations
are covered in Senate Bill 606.
Christine Todd Whitman refused to listen. She mischaracterized the GAO report and used that
mischaracterization to fold the National Ombudsman under the Inspector
General. She has ignored the pleas of
the people. She has ignored the GAO
recommendations. She has ignored the
Senators and Congressman. She has
boycotted meetings and ratified Region III’s boycotting of our recent National
Ombudsman hearing. Please stop this
injustice and help us to regain our faith in the government in a time when it
is most needed. Truth and honesty must
prevail.
The National Ombudsman Office is where we can have
our complaints and concerns heard. He
is a public advocate. Mr. Martin and
his staff, Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Bell, did their best for many communities even
though their hands were tied. I ask
that you meet with Administrator Whitman and ask her to reconstitute the
National Ombudsman Office under Robert Martin and pass S. 606 so that no EPA Administrator
in the future can harm American communities as Christine Whitman has done. You are our last hope.