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Applying a Watershed-Level, Risk-Based Approach to Addressing Legacy Mercury Contamination in the South River, Virginia: Planning and Problem Formulation

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10807039.2014.844053

1549-7860

Ralph G. Stahl, Donald Kain, Paul Bugas, Nancy R. Grosso, Annette Guiseppi‐Elie, Michael R. Liberati,

Environmental and Social Impact Assessments

ABSTRACT In 2001, the DuPont Company and various Virginia regulatory agencies (Virginia) established the South River Science Team (SRST) as a multi-stakeholder and collaborative program to address legacy Hg contamination of the South River, Virginia. Specifically, the SRST began to apply a watershed-level risk-based assessment process to evaluate the potential impact of a former DuPont facility adjacent to the South River. Mercury had been found in facility soils in 1976 spawning numerous chemical and biological studies. However, prior to 1999, with the exception of a structured, long-term fish monitoring plan developed by Virginia, these studies were conducted by diverse, independent organizations resulting in limited scientific oversight and implementation, or interaction with the public. This article focuses on some key findings (e.g., defining/refining the issues, setting up the team, the role of the different stakeholders in making the process work) from the problem formulation and planning phase of this multi-stakeholder effort. The SRST effort draws heavily on the concepts of problem formulation (PF) and planning (as described by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to guide the overall risk-based approach. PF is one of the most important steps in the process and, if done correctly can lead to a well-conceived and implemented assessment. Keywords: watershedmercuryrisk assessmentSouth RiverVirginia ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of the authors are employees of the DuPont Company, which provided financial support for their efforts in this process. We thank a number of our co-workers on the SRST for their continued interest in and work on the team. They include Amy Owens, Ted Turner, Bill Van Wart, and Calvin Jordan (Virginia DEQ); Steve Reeser and Larry Mohn (Virginia DGIF); Dr. Doug Larsen (Virginia Department of Health); John Schmerfeld and Anne Condon (US FWS); Mike Jacobi, Betty Ann Quinn, and Joel Hennessey (USEPA); Jack Eggleston and Katie Skalak (US Geological Survey); Bob Luce (Friends of the Shenandoah River); Mike Newman and Dan Cristol (College of William and Mary); Bill Hopkins and Don Orth (Virginia Tech); Dean Cocking and Tom Benzing (James Madison University); Doug Graber-Neufeld (Eastern Mennonite University); Richard Jensen (Unique Environmental); Jim Pizzuto (University of Delaware); John W. Green, Robert Hoke, Erin Mack, William Berti, and Rich Landis (DuPont); J.R. Flanders, Todd Morrison, Greg Murphy, Ceil Mancini, and Scott Gregory (URS Consultants). We also appreciate the help and support of numerous undergraduate and graduate students from the various academic institutions who have participated in the team and/or have been directly involved with field and laboratory work on the SR and SFSR. Disclaimer: Any conclusions from this work presented herein are those of the authors and do not represent official policies of any organization. Financial Disclosure: Some members of the SRST, including academic researchers, consultants, and those individuals serving as "expert panelists" received financial compensation for their efforts from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (DuPont).