09/13/11 What's Wrong With This Answer About The PCB's That Innocent Students At Greenwich High School Are Exposed To?

The Town Attorney was asked the following question on my behalf at the MISA Forum at Greenwich High School on September 7, 2011:

"Where can one find the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared

by The Town of Greenwich for the MISA project, as well as the

Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)?

"Are new ones required for PCB remediation?"

Please listen to this recording to hear the official answer.

"No Additional EIS or SWPPP Required"

What's wrong with the answer?

This is not the first time I have asked to see the EIS and SWPPP. Both documents, along with literally hundreds of others, are required by The Clean Water Act. They must be submitted to The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency and The Planning and Zoning Commission where they can be publicly reviewed prior to any vote by any public agency at any public meeting.

• There is no MISA EIS.
• There is no MISA SWPPP.
• There are no required Army Corps of Engineers permits.
• There are no required Environmental Protection Agency permits.
• There are no required CT-DEEP permits.
• Documents required by The Greenwich Town Charter were not submitted.
• Abutting property owners were not properly notified.
• MISA is not eligible for state aid.
• Because The Town of Greenwich started the MISA project without first obtaining all required permits, it is now responsible for all remediation costs on it's own property; on abutting properties; on downstream properties; on coastal properties; and in Long Island Sound, regardless of who put the contaminants on the high school grounds, or when.
• The Town is also subject to fines ranging up to $25,000 per day per violation for as long as The Town has owned the high school property until all remediation has been completed and all permits properly obtained.

Following are the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency "Director's Report Minutes" filed on August 22, 2011:

"Director's Report Minutes, August 22, 2011

"August 2011 Summary Report

"Agency members were reminded that in April 2010, the Agency issued a permit to the Greenwich Board of Education to construct an auditorium and perform parking modifications. At the time of this Agency's review, very little public attention was given both in opposition or support of the project publicly known as MISA (music instructional space and auditorium). Delays caused by multiple design revisions requested by the Agency, and the failure to submit standard checklist materials resulted in the project exhausting the 130-day action period. Faced with the choice of denying the application for incompleteness and timeliness, the Agency instead chose to issue a permit contingent on specific tests being performed in advance of any MISA related improvements commencing on site. Despite stern warnings to the project team and Superintendant of Schools regarding the accelerated pace of the project and minimal attention to environmental affairs, the permit remained idle until a period nearing the end Of May 2011. Weeks prior to the July 2011 start date, tests required to confirm the functionality of the storm basin were conducted and determined that the chosen bio-retention basin would not operate as designed. It was also determined that its construction would require removal of ledge and 20 mature trees. After concluding the basin presented a material modification not previously considered by the Agency, the Director concluded the revised basin would require further Agency review.

"Alternatively, the MISA Building Committee was informed a modification application would not be necessary should they elect to install particle separators in the southern parking area. For reasons not shared with Agency staff, the committee chose to install the particle separators, but has since continued a campaign of blaming the Agency for early project overruns. The Agency was also informed that staff was initially unaware of the Hazmat discovery during the excavation of the western parking area. To date, Staff has found communication of critical information has been slow, and until recently, little attention has been given to the environmental concerns presented by development of this site. The Director is encouraged by recent communication which has followed specific directives provided by the Town finance arm. The Agency staff will remain closely involved in the monitoring of activities related to the extensive remediation effort, but for now will cede regulatory oversight to the appropriate State and Federal Agencies. "

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Effros

Bill@Effros.com

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