TIVERTON -- New England Gas Co. has 21 days to respond to the state Department of Environmental Management's recent criticisms about the gas company's reports on its investigation into soil contamination in North Tiverton.
The state agency called the investigation "limited" and said the soil-sample collection and testing methods used by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin -- the engineering firm hired by the gas company -- were "inadequate." The DEM also said the gas company should test all properties, about 150 homes, in the next round of testing rather than the couple of dozen houses it planned to do.
"The general tenor [of DEM's comments Tuesday] is more information is needed [from the gas company]," said Chris Medici, the gas company's director of communications, in a telephone interview. "And we're doing just that. We are going through each comment line by line and preparing an appropriate response."
Medici would not respond to specific points made by the DEM, such as why the Vanasse reports did not include information about the former Fall River Gas Co., which is suspected of using the area as a dumping spot in the 1960s for hazardous waste from its coal gasification plant. New England Gas's parent company, Southern Union, bought Fall River Gas more than three years ago.
He said the company does not "want to rush to judgment on any comment given."
He also said the gas company is reviewing all the comments submitted, which includes statements from the state Department of Health, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the town's engineering firm, the neighborhood group ENACT and other representatives of North Tiverton residents.
Cynthia Fuller, a consultant for the state Department of Health, makes the following points in the report just released by the DEM:
The conclusions made by the risk-assessment firm hired by the gas company were "premature." The firm has said walking, ingesting home-grown vegetables, digging subsurface structures and being in contact with soil would not have a significant impact on human health.
The way in which the risk assessment firm calculated the exposure most of the residents could be expected to have in the future with the soil known to be contaminated was "inconsistent with approaches generally used by the DEM" and "not realistic."
"Given that evidence of manufactured gas plant waste is prevalent in soil throughout the neighborhood, the gas company should consider focusing on appropriate response actions for the entire neighborhood...."
The engineering firm hired by the town -- EA Engineering, Science and Technology -- also said the risk-assessment firm's report used a methodology different from the one used by the DEM and the EPA. EA Engineering states: "These variances from standard protocol have had the effect of underestimating risks in most cases. The [risk assessment] should be revised to reflect standard practices."
Rick Sugatte, of the EPA, wanted the gas company to explain why the number of soil samples collected -- 515 -- was different from the number of soil samples sent to the lab for analysis -- 60. Sugatte called that an "apparent discrepancy."
Paul Revere, a lawyer hired by residents Sheila and Dennis Reis, also submitted his views for the DEM report. He asked why the gas company "failed to address iron cyanide wastes which are a marker for the presence of manufactured gas plant wastes ...."
Revere also wrote, "I believe that the DEM needs to send an information request to [the gas company] to require it to disclose any and all information which they have regarding the disposal of [the former Fall River Gas] wastes in Tiverton.
"... I find that the gas company's failure to provide any information from their own files on the study area is incredible if not part of a fraudulent attempt to cover up its involvement in Tiverton...."
In its official response yesterday, the gas company wrote, "New England Gas Co. remains committed to this process. We also wish to reiterate how seriously we are approaching this matter .... We will continue in our efforts to help develop an appropriate plan for the Bay Street area."
Alisha A. Pina can be reached by phone at 253-1200 or by e-mail at apina(at)projo.com.
