Gilford calls on EPA to look at Liberty Hill

The Board of Selectmen have again insisted that all the coal tar dumped off lower Liberty Hill Road should be removed from the ground as well as asked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to participate in addressing the contamination of the site.

In a certified letter, the Selectboard has reminded John Regan of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services that residents of the neighborhood clearly prefer that all the contaminated material and soil be excavated and removed from the three affected house lots.

At a public meeting earlier this month DES indicated that of four "remedial action plans" prepared by KeySpan Energy Delivery, the corporate successor to the firm that dumped the coal tar back in the 1950s, it favored removing 83-percent of the contaminated material and soil and containing what would remain. Regan explained that the cost of removing 83-percent of the material was more than twice the cost of removing it all. Moreover, he said that excavating the site and hauling the material would take two years and require 6,035 truckloads, which would have an adverse impact on the neighborhood.

In its letter the board did not address the question of cost, but dismissed concerns that the project would adversely affect the neighborhood, calling the impact "acceptable."

Town Administrator Evans Juris said that he had spoken with Regan, who offered to invite a representative of the EPA to a public meeting in Gilford.

Regan said yesterday that DES has managed the clean-up and monitoring of more than 900 hazardous waste sites in the state while the EPA is responsible for the 21 Superfund sites. He said that while DES consults with the EPA on most hazardous waste sites, it considers designating sites as Superfund sites "a last resort," reserved for those where responsible parties cannot be identified, the risks to human health and natural resources are severe and immediate and conditions are particularly challenging.

Since the Superfund program began in 1980 it has listed 1,562 sites, of which 319 have been cleaned up, leaving 1,243 active sites and another 61 proposed to be listed. Site are listed by a "hazard ranking system." A panel, working in closed sessions, scores sites according to the risk they pose, with eligibility for the "national priorities list" requiring a minimum score.

According to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington lobby, funding for the Superfund program has dwindled since 1995. Budgeted appropriations have shrunk by 35-percent in real dollars and costs recovered from responsible parties have plummeted from $320-million to about $60-million.

Because the lower Liberty Hill Road site was in a residential neighborhood, Regan said "it is a significant site for us." At the same time, he pointed out that KeySpan Energy Delivery has not only accepted its responsibility for addressing the contamination but also shown itself willing to cooperate in dealing with it.

In addition, Regan reiterated that no pathways of exposure have been identified after three years of sampling, testing and monitoring.