The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General issued an alert this week related to contamination at the former Amphenol site in Franklin, saying information on the EPA’s website is not up to date, and that the situation in Franklin is not under control, as it was presented to be.
The federal agency has complete oversight of the cleanup of the former Amphenol site, and the contamination that has leaked south and east from the property.
Now, that agency’s oversight — the inspector general — is saying the agency is misleading Franklin residents.
The agency’s Cleanups in My Community website says both human health exposure and contaminated groundwater migration are "controlled" at the Amphenol site, but auditors with the inspector general argue they are not, and are requiring that regional staff update the website by July 12, according to a letter dated Thursday from Tim Lovingood, director of land cleanup and waste management for the EPA’s Office of Audit and Evaluation, to Cathy Stepp, the EPA’s region 5 administrator.
Stepp was in Franklin just a few weeks ago to meet with small groups and the overall community about the progress and listen to concerns.
She oversees the agency’s work in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. She spent at least two days in Franklin meeting with stakeholders, including representatives of the If It Was Your Child community group, the county health department, other parents of children who have had cancer and city leaders. If It Was Your Child formed in an effort to get answers as to what was causing increased childhood cancer rates in the county, and raised concerns about contamination.
The warning issued Thursday says region administrators, including Stepp, have had information since 2018 that suggest the Amphenol site should no longer be classified as "controlled."
"The OIG is alerting you to this matter because impacted communities rely on the EPA’s Cleanups in My Community website," the letter said.
"At that website, individuals can gather information about local sources of pollution to make informed decisions, such as for a home purchase or sale. The OIG is issuing this report because the EPA should convey the most accurate, reliable and up-to-date information on matters related to public health."
Staff from the EPA’s inspector general were in Franklin in May and interviewed EPA staff who were working at the site at that time and met with the public.
The goal of the EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action Program is to complete and achieve final cleanup status at contaminated sites, according to the letter. One way the EPA monitors success of a cleanup is using milestones that mark progress.
The EPA became aware last fall that the status of the milestones was improperly indicated as “controlled” and was no longer current or accurate, the letter says. The site’s project manager acknowledged to the OIG that the website had not been updated with the correct status of the site, but never changed it.
Two managers overseeing this site explained that the status would not be updated until after testing and analysis are complete.
"This plan is not consistent with the EPA’s guidance and does not provide the public with a complete picture of the EPA’s work to address current contamination at the site," the letter says.
"Individuals may consult the EPA’s website and use the outdated information to make decisions about whether, when and how they may want to take protective measures to limit their exposure while living, working and playing near the site."
Low levels of contamination have been found at the site.
The EPA promised Franklin residents earlier this month that resolving the contamination issue is a top priority, and outlined specific projects ahead to remove the pollutants.
EPA leaders came to Franklin to conduct the latest in a series of public meetings meant to educate the public, answer questions and outline progress and next steps.
This summer, work will begin to remove sewer lines along Forsythe Street. Contamination has been found in the dirt surrounding the pipes. Amphenol must pay for crews to dig up the street, excavating and removing contaminated soil and replacing the line. Some sewer pipes will be relined, and some pipes that connect homes to the city’s sewer system will also be replaced.
The EPA outlined the steps in a meeting on June 5, the third such meeting in less than a year.
Contaminants that were thought to have been contained on the site since the 1990s had actually escaped the property and traveled less than a quarter of a mile along the sewer under Forsythe Street, as far south as Ross Court. The Bendex Co. was formerly at the site but the cleanup is now the responsibility of Amphenol.
Tests of groundwater and soil gases have shown the presence of contaminants, such as TCE and PCE. These volatile organic compounds are contaminants that can have harmful health impacts in high levels but are also found in common household items, such as de-greasers, cleaning solutions or recently dry-cleaned clothes.
The EPA’s investigation extended to include vapor intrusion, which is whether the vapors got into the air, and into homes. That resulted in work being done to 15 of 43 homes in the target area. The study area has grown since last year.
The target area is determined based on where the data shows that contamination may have leaked through the soil, along the sewer line backfill, and in an underground plume south and southeast of Amphenol. Fifteen of those homes, or 36 percent, needed remediation work. Extensive testing showed that six homes needed indoor air vapor mitigation systems to remove any vapors that may seep through the basement, slab or crawl space.
Daily Journal editor Michele Holtkamp contributed to this story.
