Excavation Work Completed

Planned soil excavations in both Area I (the former Gasoline Underground Storage Tank Area) and Area II (the former Fuel Oil Underground Storage Tank Area) took place the week of July 22 through 26.  (see Community Update #1, December 2001 for details on the Corrective Action Plan and a site plan).

Excavation in Area II to remove soils that were presumed to be the source of groundwater contamination in this area revealed the presence of a previously unknown drywell.  This drywell appears to have received wastewater from both the former showroom area and the stone house.   The soils in and around the drywell were heavily stained and field screening methods showed the presence of volatile organic compounds in these soils.  Discovery of this drywell explains the presence of groundwater contamination in this area of the site.

The drywell and surrounding soils were completely excavated and contained at the site. Samples are currently being analyzed at a laboratory to characterize the contamination prior to disposal.

AS/SVE System Activated

The Air Sparging/Soil Vapor Extraction System (AS/SVES) in Area I was activated on July 29, and startup monitoring shows that it is effectively removing contaminants from the subsurface.

Upcoming Activities Schedule

Decommissioning of the on-site supply well has been rescheduled to the week of August 19, pending VTDEC review of the video survey of this well.  Marin Environmental, the contractor for the site, has reported to VTDEC that the well appears to be slowly filling itself in.VTDEC regulations require that abandoned water supply wells be filled with a cement grout from the bottom to the top.

Marin personnel will be visiting the site regularly over the next few

months to perform maintenance activities and to collect data and samples in Area I that will allow the effectiveness of the AS/SVE system to be evaluated.

Other Site Issues

The parties are continuing discussions regarding the institutional controls and financial assurance issues.  The 1999 Settlement Agreement that provided the funds for the current cleanup activities also provided the state a lien on the property to secure cleanup costs in excess of the settlement fund amount.  Liens on the property also secure the tax liability to the Town of Woodstock and other commercial debt of Gerrish Corporation.  The parties hope to renegotiate the 1999 Settlement agreement to simplify the security arrangements for all parties, and to provide a more robust form of financial assurance against the possibility of the cleanup costs exceeding the funds available.  Insurance, bonding, maintenance of a balance in the settlement fund or a combination of these may be used as the financial assurance mechanism.