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Community Meeting: Overview of General Environmental Management (GEM)

Community Meeting: Overview of General Environmental Management (GEM). May 25, 2006. Parties Involved. GEM. Environment. REGULATORS OEPA CDAQ NEORSD OSHA Fire Dept. COMMUNITY. General Environmental Management (GEM).

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Community Meeting: Overview of General Environmental Management (GEM)

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  1. Community Meeting:Overview of General Environmental Management (GEM) May 25, 2006

  2. Parties Involved GEM Environment REGULATORS OEPA CDAQ NEORSD OSHA Fire Dept COMMUNITY

  3. General Environmental Management (GEM) • “Our objective is to satisfy our customers needs through safe, cost effective, and low risk waste management programs based on recycling technologies”

  4. Ohio EPA (OEPA) • Goal- “…to protect the environment and public health by ensuring compliance with environmental laws” • Establishes and enforces standards for air water and waste management • Divisions pertinent to GEM • Air, water, RCRA

  5. Cleveland Division Air Quality (DAQ) • “….primary objective to ensure that regulated air pollutants from sources are in compliance with federal, state, and local air regulations….” • Goal: “…to improve quality of life in Cleveland… desirable place to live and work.”

  6. Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) • “Protecting your health and the environment” • Assuring clean water for a greater Cleveland • Industrial pretreatment: “..conducts investigations to identify pollutants… work with industrial customers to achieve pollution prevention goals”

  7. Number of Odor Complaints Month # Month # 2/05 3 9/05 16 3/05 36 10/05 6 4/05 10 11/05 9 5/05 10 12/05 5 6/05 11 1/06 2 7/05 4 2/06 5 8/05 7 3/06 6 #: includes multiple complaints

  8. Violations 2002-2006 Agency NOV Fines/Action OEPA-RCRA 5 None DAQ 8 None NEORSD 18 None Fire Dept 4 Yes OSHA refuse to investigate NOV: notice of violation

  9. Incidents • 6/22/05 Vapor cloud from ethanolamine • 1/6/05 GEM explosion, fire contained • 2/24/06 H2S in sewer lines downstream of GEM • 4/10/06 Fire dept tracks odor to GEM, states concern with vapor collection • 4/20/06 GEM explosion, 3-alarm fire with 5 injuries

  10. GEM’s Response to NOV • Plays ‘blame game’ • Minimal compliance with fire department requests • Duct tape • Questionable vapor collection • No compliance with DAQ NOV • Has not completed stack tests (issued 2004)

  11. Conflicting information • GEM tells DAQ not treating solvent • Gets pre-approval from NEORSD to treat solvent bearing waste • GEM - tells DAQ that fire department could not track source • Lt. Dziak tells DAQ that he found source on GEMs property

  12. Effective Biological Treatment • Aerobic system • Requires oxygen • Carbon dioxide common end product • Must be acclimated to carbon source • Evidence not working • H2S produced (anaerobic system) • Carbon type and amount changed too frequently for bacteria to be acclimated • Full compounds in exiting stream

  13. Compounds in GEM’s Water Jan 23, 24 2006 • Organics isophorone, phenol, benzene, chloroform, phenanthrene, acetone, ethylbenzene, MEK, styrene, toluene, methylene chloride, CS2, 4-methyl-2-pentaone • Inorganics As, Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Se, Zn

  14. NEORSD OEPA 52

  15. Sample health symptoms from organics

  16. Sample health symptoms - metals

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