WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. July 23, 2006: A reader considers the recent expose of White Plains 20 year cover up of contamination of the city dump and the Department of Environmental Conservation condoning of the dump conditions:

The discussion on this site regarding the White Plains dump has done nothing to advance the debate as to what actions the City should itself undertake regarding any potential contamination.  Ultimately, the question is whether pollution presents a risk to the environment, and to those interacting with it.  That is what the DEC is trying to establish.

For any pollution there are a variety of options ranging from containment and monitoring to removal. In fact, the stringent NY State and federal standards permit soil contamination to be left in place, under circumstances where risk to groundwater or to human health is negligible, or non-existent.  Any suggestion that millions should be spent now – a “zero pollution tolerance” approach “as a matter of policy” – is ludicrous, especially inasmuch as it means the City would preempt DEC’s study of the problem. Even the most zealous federal and state laws do not require this, nor should they. The city dump may be precisely the kind of site where contamination could be “capped” – to prevent any surface exposure; and contained underground – to prevent its leaching into the groundwater.  And the groundwater itself can be monitored for elevated TCE levels.

No one wants pollution – we’d all like it to be removed completely. And there’s nothing wrong with the City studying the issue, or disagreeing with DEC’s conclusions. But it would be irresponsible beyond words for the City to blindly spend millions of our tax dollars addressing a hypothetical problem, especially given the DEC is itself charged with assuring there’s no risk to the environment.

Bill Lalor

White Plains