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EPA, Tinker discuss plan for NPL Site

  • Published
  • By Brion Ockenfels
  • Tinker Air Force Base Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  In a public meeting held Aug. 14 at the Midwest City Library, Tinker Air Force Base officials provided a detailed plan to take no-further-action for Soldier Creek Groundwater Operable Unit three of Tinker's National Priorities List Site, or Super Fund Site.
   The Air Force made the recommendation because no contamination attributable to Tinker has been found in OU3 and no threat to human health or the environment exists, according to base environmental officials.
   The meeting was hosted by Col. Mona Lisa Tucker, 72nd Air Base Wing vice commander, and base civil engineer environmental experts. Officials discussed the proposed plan and recommended no-further-action for OU3, one of four operable units that make up the Bldg. 3001/Soldier Creek NPL Site.
   After welcoming attendees, Col. Tucker opened the meeting by highlighting Tinker's active and successful partnership with its neighbors.
   "Tinker's continued commitment to the environmental clean-up process and achieving environmental excellence has transformed the base's environmental program into one of the best in the Air Force," she said.
   "In May, the base received recognition in Washington, D.C. by the Air Force and Department of Defense for having the best overall environmental program," Col. Tucker added.
   With a base the size and scope of Tinker, it really takes everyone from top to bottom to make these (environmental) programs a success, Col. Tucker said.
   Before turning the meeting over to Albert Agiular, Environmental Restoration chief, Col. Tucker thanked members of Tinker's community-based Restoration Advisory Board.
   "Thank you for giving tireless hours of your time, being the conduit to the local community and for reviewing the thousands of documents used to make clean-up decisions," she said.
   Mr. Aguilar said the main purpose for discussing the plan and holding a public meeting was to encourage public participation in the clean-up process and to ensure that the legal requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compen-sation, and Liability Act, also known as the Super Fund Act, were satisfied.
   "We've taken great care to collect thousands of data points over the last 25 years from hundreds of monitoring wells used to characterize groundwater flow," Mr. Aguilar said.
   He said current technology allows base officials to detect minute quantities of pollutants attributed to Tinker's past or present operations and that none have been found in the OU3 area attributable to the base.
   "The data used to characterize the site indicates there is a ground water high," Mr. Aguilar said. "That keeps groundwater flow from migrating off base. This is called a groundwater flow divide, which runs just north of the Tinker boundary to Interstate-40, keeping groundwater flow in a south westerly direction."
   Additionally, Tinker environmental experts said, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA have looked extensively at the groundwater data collected in and around OU3.
   "We've looked at data encompassing recent years and compared the data to previous findings to determine that groundwater pollutants from Tinker have not migrated," Mr. Aguilar said.
   Assuring the audience, Mr. Aguilar said the plan for no-further-action to OU3 does not mean the Air Force will stop monitoring the area.
   He said the Air Force has been operating a groundwater treatment system since 1994 to extract contaminated groundwater associated with the Building 3001 OU.
   The system uses extraction wells to recover contaminated groundwater that is then pumped to a treatment plant. The treated groundwater is circulated back for reuse in industrial processes.
   The Air Force is currently collecting additional groundwater data for use in an evaluation of the system, according to Mr. Aguilar.
   Additionally, extraction wells located in the vicinity of Tinker's Industrial Waste Water Pre-treatment Plant exist to recover contaminated groundwater. The extraction wells help reduce contaminant concentrations in the short term while a final remedial decision for other base cleanups sites are being made.
   "The base accumulated tens of thousands of data points used to scientifically characterize Tinker's environmental footprint, cleaned up contamination and transformed Tinker's environmental program into the best in the Air Force and the Department of Defense," said Cathy Scheirman, Environmental Division chief.
   Tinker has reduced that footprint dramatically.
   According to base environmental experts, using the 1994 baseline for many chemicals classified by the EPA as part of the toxic release inventory, Tinker has identified ways to reduce the uses of those chemicals by 91 percent, and base officials strive to go after the last nine percent.
   The Air Force, in consultation with the EPA, will select the final remedy for OU3 after reviewing and considering all input submitted during the 30-day public review period, which began July 20.
   Information about OU3 and the proposed plan is available online at www.tinker.af.mil/library/environment or in the Administrative Record file located at the Midwest City Public Library.