Residents can voice their concerns and questions about the process and the environmental contamination being investigated near industrial sites in the McCook Field and Old North Dayton neighborhoods during a Sept. 20 public hearing.
Jerry Bowling III, president of the McCook Field Neighborhood Association, said air sparging is a method the EPA has tried at least twice near the Mahle Behr auto parts plant in recent years, with some results.
“I’m hopeful,” Bowling said Tuesday. “That’s the best way for me to put it. I’m hopeful. Apparently, they have some science that (says) it will work.”
An EPA community involvement coordinator did not respond to a message seeking comment.
The EPA appears to be focusing on what it has said is groundwater contamination around and near the Mahle Behr plant at 1600 Webster St.
The plant has operated since the 1930s, but the site’s current owner, German manufacturer Mahle GmbH, acquired the property five years ago. The facility was once a Chrysler plant.
The U.S. EPA identifies “Superfund” sites as areas contaminated by hazardous waste and considered candidates for cleanup work.
The plant area’s environmental issues have been followed for years. Residents of the McCook Field neighborhood learned of the issues as early as 2002, and Chrysler — the company that first operated the plant decades ago — set up monitoring wells around the neighborhood. The first EPA public meeting on the situation in the area was in early 2007.
The locale — Northeastern Dayton — is neighborhoods with a blend of residential, commercial and industrial uses. The U.S. EPA considers the area around the Mahle Behr site a “VOC (volatile organic compound) plume” site.
The issues are also part of an ongoing federal lawsuit.
In July, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a federal judge’s decision to grant class-action status to a lawsuit filed by McCook Field residents against Behr America Inc., Behr Thermal Dayton, Chrysler and Aramark Uniforms. Behr America Inc. operated the plant before Mahle.
That ruling means the residents’ suit against the companies alleging groundwater and environmental contamination can go forward, the residents’ attorney, Douglas Brannon, told this news outlet.
An official comment period begins Wednesday. People can comment on the issues through several options:
• Attend the Sept. 20 hearing and submit a written or verbal statement.
• Mail statements to Heriberto Leon, EPA (mail code SI-6J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL, 60604.
• Email comments to leon.heriberto@epa.gov or fax them to (312) 697-2754.
• The EPA say comments must be postmarked or received by Oct. 5.
About the Author
