Community Advisory Group

eNewsletter APRIL 2017

Benning Road CAG works with Pepco and DDOE on Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment (BHHRA) and Preliminary Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (BERA)

The Community Advisory Group (CAG) was formed in 2012 and began work in January of 2013. The CAG was formed as a result of a 2010 Consent Decree signed by Pepco and the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Pepco is required to submit an annual report on its activities to the Federal court every May.

The CAG is committed to advising Pepco on the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) of the Benning road plant. The investigation includes both landside and waterside components. The CAG includes representatives from civic associations, ANCs, and environmental groups active within the footprint of the plant. The group meets once a month and its meetings are open to the public. All meeting dates are posted on Facebook (The Community Advisory Group: The RI/FS Benning Road Power Plant Study).

The CAG’s mission is to ensure that there is consistent community engagement and participation throughout the implementation of the RI/FS. DDOE and Pepco meet each month with the CAG to answer their questions and provide regular updates on the work. The ultimate objective of the work is to restore the site, help reduce pollution to the River, and protect the communities around the former plant.

Currently, the RI/FS study is continuing with additional field investigation studies. A request WHAT’S INSIDE: has been made to update previously submitted preliminary Baseline Human Health Risk Dr. Janet A. Phoenix Page 2 Assessment (BHHRA) and preliminary Baseline Justice Department & EPA Ecological Risk Assessment (BERA). These studies Page 3 serve to help us understand the baseline health CAG Members issues of the community and the ecology around Page 4 the former plant. (Continue on Page 2) RI/FS Timeline Page 5 RI/FS Next Steps Page 6 Dr. Janet A. Phoenix was recently appointed Chair of the Technical Services committee of the Community Advisory Group’s Technical Services Committee

Dr. Janet A. Phoenix was recently appointed Chair of the Technical Services committee of the Community Advisory Group’s Technical Services Committee. Dr. Phoenix is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Dr. Phoenix is also the Chair of the DC Environmental Health Collaborative (DCEHC) a loose coalition of organizations working to identify and prioritize environmental health risks in the District of Columbia. The Collaborative was established in 2007, and is a project of the Coalition for Environmentally Safe Communities, a national non-profit organization. Dr. Phoenix was the recipient of a Health Policy Fellowship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She received her MD from and her MPH from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

(Continued from Page 1) A preliminary BHHRA and BERA were submitted to DOEE in April 2015. These documents were revised and finalized in response to DOEE comments in February 2016. The preliminary risk assessments were based on the results of Remedial Investigation field activities completed between January 2013 and December 2014. Both risk assessments concluded that additional field investigation is necessary to address remaining data gaps and uncertainties.

Once the additional field investigations are completed, the preliminary BHHRA and BERA will be revised to include the results of these investigations. As requested in DOEE’s January 16, 2016 letter to Pepco (RI Path Forward Letter), the revised risk assessments will incorporate new Site data and additional landside exposure scenarios. The CAG will keep you informed through this community newsletter in the coming months.

Learn More About the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study at the Benning Road Facility: http://www.benningservicecenter.com/library/documents/BenningRIFSFactSheet.pdf.

April 2, 2016 Pepco Public Presentation on the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study: http://www.benningservicecenter.com/library/documents/BenningRIFSCommunityUpdate.pdf.

Page 2 The Justice Department and EPA Reach Clean Water Act Settlement with Pepco to Reduce Pollution to

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in January of this year a settlement with the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) for alleged violations of PEPCO’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit at its service center on Benning Road. The filed its complaint in October, 2015 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia after Anacostia Riverkeeper filed a notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act and alleged violations of the limits set in PEPCO’s NPDES permit for the Benning Road facility for metals: copper, zinc, iron, and nickel; and total suspended solids (TSS).

Under the settlement described in the consent decree filed with the court this January, PEPCO will implement a number of measures to reduce metals in stormwater entering into its drainage system including the installation of best management practices (BMPs) such as booms and filters at each drain leading into the system, enhanced inspections, enhanced staff training, and other measures. PEPCO will install an in-pipe treatment system to further treat the stormwater, which discharges into the Anacostia River. Further, PEPCO will pay a civil penalty of $1.6 million and has agreed to eliminate stormwater discharges from another stormwater outfall from the facility with a mitigation project using vegetation and a holding pond to capture and treat stormwater that currently drains from the Benning Street facility into the Anacostia River. They will pay an additional penalty of $500,000 if they fail to put this last project into operation.

Page 3 Community Involvement and CAG Members

At the outset of the RI/FS a community involvement plan was developed to guarantee community input into the RI/FS process. The groups consist of neighborhood associations, ANCs, and environmental groups active in the area. The CAG meets every month with Pepco and DOEE officials to discuss the investigation. The CAG worked with Pepco on the design of the April 2, 2016 presentation that was held at River Terrace Elementary School. CAG meetings are open to the public and meeting information can be found on the CAG Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CAGBenningRoad. Current CAG members are as follows:

Chair: Johnny Gaither n  Maria Johnson n Marc Battle* River Terrace Community Community Pepco Organization n  Justin Lini n Richard Jackson* Vice Chair: Geraldine Bell Advisory Neighborhood DOEE Parkside Civic Association Commission 7D n Fariba Mahvi* n  Javier Barker n Dr. Janet Phoenix Pepco Civic D.C. Environmental Health n Association Collaborative Chris Taylor* Pepco n n  Rhonda Chapman Irv Sheffey n Groundwork Anacostia The Sierra Club, Jim Foster River, DC Washington, DC Chapter Anacostia Watershed Society n  Dorothy Douglas n Trey Sherard Advisory Neighborhood Anacostia Riverkeeper Commission 7D n David Smith n  Kathy Henderson Deanwood Citizens Facilitation provided by Advisory Neighborhood Association Kennedy Communications: Commission 5D n Chester Speight, Jr. n  Ron Lester n David Holmes MPD 6th District Citizens Facilitator Advisory Neighborhood Advisory Council n Commission 6A  Jessica C. Pinkney n Greg Stewart Assistant Facilitator n  Latisha Atkins Advisory Neighborhood Ward 7 Council of the Commission 7C District of Columbia n VACANT n  Gwendolyn Hunnicutt Advisory Neighborhood Friends of Kingman Park Commission 5C *AD HOC member

Page 4 Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Timeline

(December 2011 — November 24, 2017)

September 8, 2017 May 24, 2017 Pepco’s Submission of Draft Final Pepco and DOEE Submit RI Report Status Report to the Court Subject to timely completion of field work

May 31, 2017 November 24, 2017 Completion of RI Phase II Field Work Pepco’s Submission of Draft FS Report Subject to the issuance of permits Not more than 180 days after completion of RI field work (or 120 days after approval Page 5 of treatability study report, if required) Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Next Steps

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