affidavit of susan patz
TRANSCRIPT
lo.~ . 1
UNITEO ST.\TES OISTRICT COURT FOR TliE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
li~ITEO ST.\TES, on behalf of the Environmental protection 'gency,
.. Plaintiff,
Civil •ction No, ~
mLt.IV' D'VIS, SR. r ELE,~OW. MVIS, \flLLl-'11 D'VIS, JR.
o\lfO No\fi!CY 0.\VIS
oefendanta .
Ull OO.VIT or SU8U P•TI ,
STU£ llr H'S"C"USETTS
0 Cfl!NTY or KI OOLESEX
1. "Y na11e 11 suaan Pata. 1 baea thh affidavit upon
pereonal knovled11• and 11y revlev of gcwerMent and other
recorde.
z. t _... a llydro;eolOCJ ht •ployad by the \Iaate Kanage
Nent oiv hion, Superfund "ranch, lte;lon I, United Statal
tnvlro""'antAl Protection J.gency (!Po\). 11y reaponlibllltlea
inclu"'e '1\anaging National Priority Lilt quperfund altea
and providlno tectanlesl aupport for enfore..ant actlvltiea.
0
). tty education and related profeedond experience
is as follows l 1 received a Bachelor of Schnee degree in
Biology from 4as llinCJtOn university in 19'74 and a Kaatar of
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·. ~ 'rts de~ree in Geology frO"'I aoston university in 19"4·
have been eoa.ployed by EP~ since 198).
4. since 198), 1 have l'ftanaged Rel'tladial tnvestigation/ .
reaaibility study activities at the following aites' oavia
Liquid uaste, stamina Hilla, saco Tannery Pita and Tinkham'•
Garage. s • .;inca october, lctU 1 have been aalionad the raapon- \
dbility of conducting !P~'• Re11edlal tnveatioation/Paalibil
ity study at the nav h Liquid waate Site (•stte•l located on
Tar~tiln Jt.OIId in S•dthUeld, ttho48 taland.
~. 1 have been on the Site anywhere frCJII 1 to 5 daya a
weak to aupervbe acttvitlea and to cCJ~Munlcate vlttl the
Davia fa11lly, in particular uuu.. oavta, sr., who owna a
portiOn of the property on which the site i.e located, and wtt.o
rapreaenta navla fa•ilY .,...bare .'!'ho own ~her propart)' upon
which the site alta. 1. The site has eened •• a landfill and a• a liquid
waste 4hpoaal facility. It contains three lar;e unlined
dhpoaal pits coverlno s-1n acres. BP' haa photo• indicating
that dru"'• and bulk chnicals went into the cUapoaal pita.
EP' haa alao found over ·6nO I'Sru•• on the Site, of which over
2'i0 dru11a contained Uquld and/or aolid waate prOI!uctar aany
of these dru•• ha"• sufferei'S corroalon and have lea\ad wast•• ~
!· into ttte ;round. EP' la currently conducting teat pitting and
expects to fin1 •ore dru••· lt . Tl'!.e c;ite pre•ente unique prot>leM•• .,t present , E"P-.
is eo•pletin; the collection of field data for the lte..dlal " .'i ;
we have not done ~ · :
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:.~ a preli~ttary rislt assessment, but early data concerning
volatile organiz cO'IIpounds shows high levels of contamination
on-site in the soU, sedime nts, surface and groundwater. con
tamination persists distally frCJift hazardous waste source
areas in both surface vater and groundwater. Vegetative ·
stren in the form of dying trees and algal blOO'I is seen
downgradient of vane areas. The surface water exhibits an
oily eheen and ,iecoloration, and it 1a odorous.
'*· Surface water, and the OYerburden and groundwater
aquifere are conta,ainated at t._e Site. The interconnection
between aquifen 11u8t be analyzed, 8() that conta-..inant path
ways are eatabUehed '"" the volu:ae of the cont•inanta quan
tlfie<l,
; 0 10. TO date, EP' has dtlcOYered 2:0 organic ch..icala oft
dte, aOfle knovn carcinogena. ~ few of tbe orgenica detected
in tlle north end aouth diapoaal pit areaa on-aite by IP~ in
U84 ant1 148~ include• trichloroethene t•, 100 ppb in north
pit), tetrachloroetllene (17 , 001) ppb in aouth pit, 82,000 ppb
in north pit), bensene (18 ppb in north pit), ethylbensene
(71,000 in aoutll pit, ltt,oon ppb in nortll pit), toluene
(181),r)On ppb in south pit), tot8l xylene• u,ooo,onn ppb in
aoutll pit, \li),OOn in nortll pit), Mphtllalene Ul,nno ppb in
aoutll pit), and chlorofof"'ll (11;20 ppb in north pit).
1\ . EP-. ard tlle State of 1th011e IalenrJ have •l•o l!h
covered contamination in residential willa •dj•cent to the
Site. Forty-four b011e•, each with private drinking water
well5, lie vith i n one 11ile tn the north of the Site.
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. 12 . Prior to U8S, tvo t\0'1188 north, and within 1/2 mile
of the Site had their private drinkint;~ wells closed as a
result of ch4r.ftical contamination found by the State of Rhode
Island. The state provided thoae h()l'fteS with bottled drinkin~
water.
11. tn the eprinQ of 1985, EP1\ conducted testa and ana
lyzed aalftplea vltich revealed that three •ore privata drinkinQ
walla north, and vitt'iin one half •11• of, the site showed
new, higher levels of ch..ical conta•llnation which exceed
!P' healtlt atSvhoriel en1/or which pose an uucceptable
cancer rialt to inhabitants. '• a result, EP' closed thoae
three l!rinltin; walla 8'"M these ha.ea receive bottled ISrinkin;~
water fr011 the state of Rhode talantl.J u. In adtUtion, IP' haa recently diaccwered, after
teatino and tnithl analyail, private drinlting wlll C•lao
not ttr...,ioualy cont..lnated) which EPk •ay cloee after
cot~pletino an internal toxicology review of the contaaination
deligned to ace••• the health ri•k• which the cont"inantl
po•• to relldente.
1-;. ou• to ttl••• finding• in UIS of new cont•lnation
in drinking vella, all of the velll lying north of ttle Site
rl'llaln Jill potential receptor• of conta•irwtion. EP' teeta
ehow that Ctlnta,.ination continue• to apread north and eaat of
the site.
U . 'ny delay in tt'te Rt/PS will 111ean a delay in l•ple
•enting re"'erHal action designed to prevent the conta•dnation' ~)
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-s ~n1·_............ froon spreading further nortt\, to the potential receptors,
the environ"'ent and wells north of the Site.
17. EP-' has not deterl'fti ned how 11uch waste was dumped On lmf. . II
_)
the Site, but volutnes were substantial. There r ..ainl a ~igh
volu~t~e aM concentration of waste on-aite.
19 . The Site shows considerable contPllnation in ita
surface waters . Hhile da11age to wethnda and wildl Ue ia
unltnovn, pending the con~~pletion of the Rt/rs, it aay be
conait!erable. The Site lies in a aajor wetlands, with the
nortl, rUapoaal pit drainin; directly into the wetlanda. The
Site also creates a potent tal haaard for •tillwetar Reser
voir, a 11owngradient lake used for recreational purpose.
19. tn adt!itlon to t"• liquid wastes on-alta, the Site
contains an enorttoua tire pile. The DeVil f•ily atorea,
diapoeee of, and re-cycle• tire• on the Site. letiutea of
the nu•ber of tire• piled on the Site run up to l5 •Ulion.
The tire pile ie 60 feet high at place.
21'). The tire• are adjacent to pit areal where IP~ hae
found walta conta•inante through analyal• of groundwater,
aurface water, eoll and aedlaent , ..plee.
21. IP' and CDH have dhcovered barrell of liquid waate
in area• within and adjacent to a llnown diapoaal pit area.
"•nv barrell were covered by tire• ancl/or burled underground.
EP~ ha111 uncovered over 30 auch barrall containing waate by
creatli"'O hnes tt-trouoh the tlrea on the overlap area.
22. EP' has uncovered the•• barrel" by u•• of a crane,
which lifts tires off of the pile and place• thM on a truck I
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for ternporary transfer to another location. Uith the use of
the crane, EP' has created two clear access lanes into the
tire pile. These access lanes l'lave allowed EPA to conduct
aa"'lpling and testing under the tire pile, aa vall as to
inspect for the presence of barrels.
23. EP' began movi~ tires vith the use of a crane on
June 11, U8S and finiehed vith the crane in late August.
24. 't present, t,_e Davia fully operates a tire shred
ding operation in one corner of the southern disposal pit.
That shredding operation has created a pile of shredded
tires vhich covers portions of the southern dhpoaal pit.
TO insure tltat E1!t' ha8.. cortductett a tborough •trs, IP' through
COf1 plane to teet in the soil now covered by the pile of
ahre<ided tires on tlle southern cUapoeal pit.
2:~. t:P' ltaa conduct~ a rew:wal act ion to abate a dan
;eroua con4ition at the Site. IPA r•cwed 19 barrela frc.
under, and in, the tire pile, while another §91 dru•• were
fouM on the Site and were ataged in the aouthern diapoaal
pit area. Thea• drullla, aO'Ie full and othera partially
full, were placed in OYer-packa and/or ataged in a contain
11ent area created by t:P' on the Site. IP' haa aaintalned
24 hour security on the Site.
21i. J1any dru•• reftlain in the tire pile and buried
below the ground aurface.
2'7. Since l)ctoher 1, U84, EP' and the State of Rhode
Island have entered lnto a contract uMer which EP~ has
assu~t~e~ the lead role in inveatigating and re~~edylno probl"a
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at the Site. 't present, the EP.\ rederal R£11 contractor,
Ca!'llp, Dresser and Kc1t.ee c•cOH•) ia conducting the 'RI/P'S at
the Site. CDM and EP~ have placed teat pita and walla over
approd•ataly SO acrea on the Site.
28. EP.\ and CDrl have achaduled the field work for th- · .
RI/P'S to and .on Septftbar Zl, with continuing o~oing aoni
torino of aurface water, after that, •• wll the poaalbUtty
of returning for additional taatlng and a•pllng.
29. The written report which will praaant the ..tar
tal learned a~ developed in the RI/r& la acheduled for
praaantatlon by COM in Jaruary, 1916. DA haa achaduled the
atoning of the aecorcf of oectaion for thla Bite in June,
1986, v1th r-1•1 ••U•1ty H91nn1ng 1-•ll•te1y theredter. )
10. O¥ar the couraa of the U/PI, IPA and CDII peraonnel
have had conatdarabla 4Uflculty both in obtat•llng aoo..a to
the lit• and tn conducting the acttwltlaa neceaaary fOI'
••pllng and teatlng on the lite becauae of the dtrecttwea
and actlona of the oavta f•Uy, particularly Mr. DaYla,
sr. n. t h8Ve docuaanted incidenta where ...bera of the
oawta faally have dented ~ccaaa to, and/or obatructed the
field work of, IPA and COM peraonnel tn the proceaa of ca.
plating ltl/PS taaka on the following date•• october 26,
1914f NOY..,ber 21, and 28, lt841 April JO, ltl5• June 25, and
26, 1985.
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3,1... More recently, the navis fa~T~ily obstructed our
crane operation on 'ugust U, lS, U, 19, 21'), and 21, 1985.
''3 an e)(a:nple, '1r . Davis, Sr. agreed to discontinue any
furt~er disposal of tires in the northern and southern dis
posal pits on Hay 1, 1945. On Hay 2, 198S, I observed a
truck unloat1ing tires in the southern dhpoaal pit on the
Site.
ll. On September 6 and l'i, 1985, Kro Davia, Sr. told
•• that he would not grant EP' or COf1 accaea to do required
field work on the -property, adjacent to the road entering
the Site, running fro. Tarkiln ltoad eaat to the kiln on the
property.
)4. ,. an additional axnpla, on or about Kay JO, lt85,
ttr. oavia, sr. agreed to •Y request that whUa 1ft. vat co~
ductlng our field work ln the tlra pile, he would not flll
the ace••• lanes vhlch we were creating with tiree • . on ~uguet
u, a •nber of the Davie fnUy directed two tire truck• to
du.p full loade of tire• into the ace••• lanee.
l~. In addition to tlle incident• deacribed abOYe, nra.
oav h told •• today on septnber 24 that U IP.\ goea to court
to obtain ace••• to tlle areaa adjacent to the ace••• road on
septMber 25, the navis fa•Uy vUl ahut down the entire IP.\
....o! operatlo.,, prohibiting all EPA and CDH peraonnel fr011 enter
ino the ~;tte. Thia will •ean that teat pitting, water well! 'llO.,ito"dno, establhh!lent of water table elavattona, and
eurveyino scheliulad for septe111>er 2~ does not occur.
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-·to deny access to all EP' and COf1 personnel if EP~ atte'ftpted
to ~ain access to the disputed area.
]I;. This new threat to deny EP' and COH access to the
Site further colftplicates and jeopardizes timely completion of
the JU/FS. '"Y colftplete shutdown of the 1U/FS field vork
will obviously leave !lOre work tnco:aplete •• of Septem.ber 27,
U85, creating further difficulty in obtaining slots for con
tract Laboratory analyda, uong other problMe.
17. The act tone of uUU•• oevie, 9r. in 'uguet, 1985
are only 11ore recent e'lta•plee of the aanner in which ttr.
oavte, 4Jr. and his fa•llY have conaletently harassed person
nel at the Site, ~taNpt.S IP' wor~, blocked EP' acceea to
the Site, ancS 11ade the Ett''• teak at the Site •ore dt.fflcult,
tl•e-coneu•dng, aM ••penatve.
1"· t hr~e received first-hand intonation frOII red
dents and other lndividuah fal'lliliar with the Site auooeatina
tt\at ttu•ping of liquid waatea haa occurred on either aide of
the road leadino into the Site. (the road apparently Uea on .
tt'le land belonging to "illia• oavia, Jr. and Nancy oavia).
which show dvi~ vegetation at various points on both
of the access road, and 1 have personally viewed area•
appear to have suffered frMI du•plng of wastes.
let. To ensure a thorough RI/FIII bV diacOYering all ,. sources of hazardous substances and addresaino all potential ... :,1
threats of release, and to esta?lhh bac'c:ground leveh and ·:i infol"111ation concerning soil on the Site, EP' •uat do approxi- :.·1·
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."\ "'ately tilree days more of te11ting and s ampling. This tel'ltino
aM sal'llplino will occur at random points on the Site, as
well as at points adjace nt to the road and in the known dis
posal pit locations.
40. SaiTlplino vest of the kiln, adjacent to the accaaa ·
road vill not i nterfere with the use of the road, or with
the on-going tire operation. The necessary anpllng requires
the usa of three foot hand auger to obtain soil corea.
41. Jn addition, E'' needs to have the accaaa lanes,
staging areas and decontafllnation zones, roed, •onitorin;
walla and dhpoaal pit areas r ..arn unobstructed and dia
turbett ao a1 to ensure tt\at tt\a intarority of the IUH ta
preserved, aftli eo that IP' can h8Ye access to tt\a teat pita1:) and aa•pla pointe in these areas in the future for taatiftQ
or r•edid excavation.
42. The area• which EPA requeete to be left uncSiaturbed
tl\rough the c~pletion of !luperfund work on the Site are ••
follOWII
a) The north dhpoaal plt and. a 20 foot perl•eter bOr
der around it.
b) The aouthern diapoaa\ plt and a 20 foot peri•eter
border around lt. The aouthern dlepoaal plt le bounded by ....,
the prl"mary road to the north an the aecondary road to the
east. To the aouth and west the plt ia bounded by a 3
foot el'flbankment . tncludve in the aouthern dlapoad plt 11\I t))e stagino area upon vhlch dru•• containing waate are
atored.
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e) "11 "'onitorino wells, totalling 'i8, present on the
Site.
d) The deconta"'ination zone, sltuated between the north
and south disposal pit.
e) The two EP.\-created access lanes in the tire pile.•··
43. Both the northern and eouthern ·diepoaal pit areas
contain highly eonta~dnated aoile. tn addition to tl'rlia con
ta•ination, 2Sl laaldno dru11a found in the aouthern diapoaal
pit and u~er the tlt·e pile are staged in a portion of the
eoutl'lern diepoaal pit. Thaae dru•• have been place4 in an
oversized barrel to aU,dnate further releaaaa of aubatancea
into tl'r.e enviroMent . ... It la t•portant to reatrlct all acceaa
into the aouttter dlapoaal pit to avoid potential rupturing of1:) dru111 (ant! " consequent releaae of contalllnenta) or daatruc
tlon of tlla contalPIIIent area by helrly equipt~ent.
44. '1oreover, the rnedial action (clean-up r..-dy) at
tl\e !'lite will ..oat likely inclutte excll'lation of a lar"• quan
tity of conta~~oinated aoila in the pt.t. Any dlaturbance of
the apecified area• in the fom of attcUtional ..terlala re
quiring re'lovllll vlll i•pair EP~'• •billty to relocate anp
ling point• and will lncreaae the tl•e, effort, and coat of
future vork on the Site.
41i. '11 !llonltoring vella 11uat r ..ain for uae in future
aa•pling to deter11ine whether conta•lination contlN.Iea to •ove
north t<Nard potential receptor• and to detetwiM the effec
tlveneas of re•el1hl aetiona.
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41i. F.:P' will use the decontarllination zone if futhar
sampling of the removal barrels occurs, and may use it during
tt\e relftedial action.
47. The access lanes into the tire plle are pathway• to
a cactle of drums discovered unt1er the Urea. EP~ will uee.: ·
the accese lane• to rraove buried drurl8 which r•ain o~aite.
413. The 20 acre area which EP' haa requeated re111i n
undiaturbed 11 a aaall portion of the propertiea owned by the
DaYle family in salthfield, Rho4e leland and we do not foreeee
that reetrlctlno acltlvlty in the requeated area• will inhibit
the oavla fa'lily tire operation.
4t. the long ht8tory of cUfflculty with willln oavla,
llr. on the Site, and COII'Ienta he haa ••de to ••• lead •• to
bellwe that ttf!e 1t11tue quo at the Site will not be ••lr.
talrtef1 once IP' no longer hal a rlaily preaence at the lite.
51). The irweatlgatlon and •••••••nt of a hasal'doua
waate aite ia e lengthy, co-aplex proceaa requiring repeated
lite vilite and eaae of ace•••· unU•ited acceaa without
interference to tl\e Site il required for IP' ataff and con
tractor• to perfor-. the required technical atudlee.
Sl. The need for full ace••• to c011plete the urs ia
underecorld by1 .
a. the conta•ination docu•ented at the Site and the
present release and threat of releaee of hasardoul vaatea
b. the ranlting of the Site as one of the voret in
the nat ion1
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c. the contamin..tion of local drinking vater auppU•••
an~
d. the loc~tion of tl'le hazardoua waste dhpoaal dte
at the heaoiwaters of the Stillwater Reaervoir, which ia ··uaed
for recreation downstreaon of the Site.
S2. EP.\ c:.tnnot c:O'Ilplete the RI/rs without the •••plea
frO'Il the areaa adjacent to the accea1 road. EPA haa a atat
utory •antiate to docuflllent all aource areal of conta~~oinanta,
including the nature a~ extent of conta~~iunta .
5). one aurface water aattple. fr011 a pond in an area
adjacent to the acceae· road, ttle area which nr. Dwia haa
pre'lented EP' fr011 entering, haa ahown trace levela of con
I ~ t•lnanta.
1\4. ~~' hal achedulett and budgeted to CO'Iplete Uel"
actlvitiea at the Site by Sept..ber 27, 1915. 'ny furtl'ler
dally will create the neceaaity to enter- into an Mended
contr-act vith the appropriate contractora, thereby cauaing
EP' conliderable expen•• and delay. rurttaer, any delaya in
ot)taining •••plea vill •ate tl•ly analyaia of thoae aa,plea
by the Contract Laboratory l•poalible. IPP. aaplea go to a
Jriational Contract Laboratory, which analyaea ••plea fr011
hazardous vaete sitae acroae the country. The Contract Lab
oratory cannot guarantee ita ability to analyse the •••plea
until November. The RI/PS written report 11 acheduled for
January, 1986 and it vill be eerioualy delayed if tl\e ••plea
are not obtained for analyeh until later thh fdl .
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55. Any delay will allow further apreading of the
contuinanta on, and fro•, the Site. 'fhia will further
'eopardile thoM lhing north of the Bite, u well u the
Da•i• faaily, and thou indi•iduala wrking on the Bite.
56. 'I'M che•ical coJII)Ounda referred to in paratraph 10
conatituta baaardoua aubatancaa within tbl Manin9 of lection
101114) of CIRCIA, 42 o.a.c. 19101(14). 11orao..r, tooting of
the contenta of M•aral of the dn•• referred to in paratrapb
1, aleo ra•eal tbl preaen~ of baaardoae aabatancea.
ri...uy, tooting of tho contan~o of tbo dr,.. wblch IPA
otogod ln tbo ooatbarn diopooo1 pit, u daacrl- in
:J parqrapb 25, r••••l tbl priMDW of haurdou •Mtuoee.
57. 'lbo aivratinn of baoardoao oabotanoaa iato tbo ooll
aad troan4weter below the lite, Md t:ht •ltratioa of
baaarto• aubatucn toward t.hl drlllkiDI water wella,
•tlando and ltill•tar ..oonoir · to tbo oortb _. _.t of
tbl lltl conatlt~atea a rele... of baaardo• aabat&DCn into
- an•lronoant u defined by -Uono 101(22) and 104(a)(l)
of cUCLA, 42 o.a.c. 119101(22) and tt04Callll.
51. llany of tba haurdoao oabotancaa fo..,. in drlnkinv
•t•r wella to thl nortb of the Site are identical to
baaardo\11 aubatancea which IPA baa found on tbl lite.