| The Cherry Point Superfund Team, with
members from the Navy, EPA, N.C. Division of Waste Management and the Cherry
Point Marine Corps Air Station, has again proven to be a "winning
combination." Proud recipients of the 2003 Secretary of the Navy
"Environmental Restoration – Team" award include Jeff Christopher, MCAS
Cherry Point; George Lane, N.C. DENR- Superfund; Michelle Thornton, U.S.
EPA; Gena Townsend, U.S. EPA; Rodger Jackson, Navy LANTDIV, Doug Bitterman,
CH2MHill; Stacin Martin, CH2MHill; Corey Rich, Tetra Tech NUS and Taylor
Sword, SHAW. Environmentally sensitive waters surround Cherry Point on
three sides. The area serves as a habitat for migratory birds and a nursery
for coastal birds and other marine life. Poor practices in past handling and
disposing of chemicals, wastes and fuels have created a number of complex
contaminated plumes and waste disposal units that are being addressed by the
award-winning team.
This year’s award recognizes the team’s many achievements over the
previous year, including erasing a document backlog created when high team
turnover slowed progress compared to previous years. Other achievements
include, but are not limited to, approving cleanup reports for three waste
units, agreeing on how to handle dissolved lead and low level dioxin
contamination at two operable units and the investigation plans for three
additional units and closing an underground storage tank site. In addition
to site work, the team regularly publishes an outstanding Restoration
Advisory Board newsletter to keep residents and base occupants better
informed about cleanup activities. They also approved the use of an
innovative cleanup method that has reduced contamination by 95 percent in
one year alone and afforded considerable savings over traditional cleanup
technologies.
To learn more about the Cherry Point program, visit the
Restoration Program Web site. To learn more about Superfund in North
Carolina, visit
http://www.wastenotnc.org/ |
