*************************************************************** November 14, 1995 Herald-Times, Bloomington, Indiana DILLIN LOSING PATIENCE WITH CLEANUP EFFORT Federal Judge says he wants schedule of action within 90 days By Jackie Sheckler H-T staff writer A federal judge said Monday that he wants a schedule within 90 days for the Monroe County area PCB cleanup. And he wants quarterly reports thereafter until the cleanup is done, U.S. District Judge S. Hugh Dillin said. Dillin called the early morning conference in his Indianapolis office to dispel a "great silence" surrounding the local PCB cleanup. Dillin summoned the five parties who approved the 1985 cleanup agreement, called a consent decree. The agreement was signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the city, the state, the county and the Westinghouse Electric Co. Dillin noted that it has been 10 years since the agreement had been approved and he wants to see results. City PCB project coordinator John Langley said city officials consider Dillin's actions to be positive. "He is definitely interested in seeing some progress," Langley said. "I think it is a big step in the right direction." Consent decree parties had tried before without success to come to an agreement on a PCB cleanup schedule. But this time, Dillin said, the majority would rule if the five parties could not reach a unanimous decision. "I think this will really help move things along," said Resa Ramsey of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. EPA spokesman Dave Novak also termed Dillin's orders as being positive for the Bloomington community. "He wants to know that things are progressing and I think he also understands where we are coming from," Novak said. Although Dillin said he doesn't want to bankrupt Westinghouse, the judge also noted that the company has "deep packets" which might help pay for the sampling and other EPA work on the local cleanup. The 1985 agreement called for Westinghouse to build an incinerator south of Bloomington to burn PCB-contaminated dirt and other waste. However, officials announced in February 1994 they were shelving that plan and beginning a search for another disposal method, with an emphasis on investigating alternative technologies for cleanup at each local PCB site. The 1985 agreement allows Westinghouse to propose alternatives to incineration. *************************** Reproduced for the COPA BBS **************************************************************