The Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a pair of workshops as a forum about environmental monitoring equipment and health and safety training.
The workshops will take place at the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Building, located at 9961 Highway 80. The first will be from 6 until 8 p.m., Thursday, April 16, with the second from 6 until 8 p.m., Thursday, April 23.
David Gray, with EPA Region 6, says the forums, dubbed the Camp Minden Superfund Site Environmental Workshops, are about how the EPA and affiliated agencies will collect and monitor air and soil quality in and areas around Camp Minden. Before disposal of nearly 16 million pounds of M6 propellant at the military installation takes place, EPA will collect samples of air and soil as a baseline sample.
“As work continues in the selection of an alternative technology for disposal of material at Camp Minden, we are continuing to develop the necessary plans to support the state’s efforts,” Gray said. “As part of our promise to engage the community – we are releasing a draft baseline sampling plan and asking the community for feedback.”
According to a news release, the first workshop will deal with environmental monitoring and sampling. The second will deal with response preparedness.
“In the first workshop, you will learn about future site activities such as air data collection mechanisms that will be conducted on and around Camp Minden,” according to the news release.
“In the second workshop, you will learn about response preparedness, including how local officials will notify you if an incident occurs, who will respond and some basic actions you should be prepared to take to protect your family.”
Representatives from the EPA, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Military Department will be on hand to discuss and answer questions regarding monitoring and sampling questions, the news release reports.
The draft plan can be found on the EPA’s website. The draft plan gives a detailed, scientific plan on how and where the data will be collected. It gives samples of tables that will contain the results following testing.
For more information, contact Jason T. McKinney, U.S. EPA community involvement coordinator at 1-800-533-3508 or his direct line at 214-665-8132.