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The Capitol City Plume Superfund site is a plume of contaminated groundwater located beneath the western downtown area of Montgomery, Alabama. The contamination was discovered in 1993 by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) which was investigating soil contamination at the Retirement Systems of Alabama Energy Plant in the city. After assessment by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it was proposed for inclusion in the National Priorities List in May 2000. The city of Montgomery managed to keep the site off of the National Priorities list, eliminating the possibility that it could be labeled a superfund site, by taking fiscal responsibility for the site and its cleanup. The mayor of Montgomery called for a creation of the Downtown Environmental Alliance (Alliance), which would be responsible for planning and undertaking the cleanup costs of the contaminated site. The agreement between the city of Montgomery and the EPA is historically significant and groundbreaking because the parties who are going to pay for the cleanup costs have voluntarily joined the Alliance. The city of Montgomery serves as a model to other cities when faced with similar situations.〔 The site does not affect drinking water or the majority of citizens in downtown Montgomery, but soil vapor intrusion and groundwater contamination has been detected and has been found to affect buildings.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0406330 )〕 From October 1, 2015 to November 15, 2015 nominations were being accepted for 10 membership spots in a Community Outreach Group (COG). COG will work with the Alliance and the local community as changes continue to be discussed and implemented. The 10 members of the COG will attend community meetings and aid in generating ideas on how to move forward with the plume site.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.montgomeryal.gov/live/about-montgomery/capital-city-plume-info/community-involvement )〕 == History == The contamination that makes up The Plume was discovered in 1993 during construction of the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) Tower energy plant. In the late 1990s the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) became involved, and in 2000 the EPA proposed that the Capital City Plume Site be put on the National Priorities List (NPL). Although proposed, Capital City Plume never made it onto the NPL because it was never determined whether or not the site was dangerous to the public as well as where the source from the pollution originated and who was responsible, all of which needed to be defined prior to placement on the NPL. The site also managed to stay off of the NPL in part because it could negatively affect the city of Montgomery, especially in the tourism industry since visitors would not want to visit and spend time in an area that has been deemed hazardous to human life. The mayor of Montgomery wanted to keep the city away from any correlation with Superfund sites, so the city actively worked with the EPA and agreed to clean up the site effectively and in a timely manner. The first step the city took was in developing the Downtown Environmental Alliance (Alliance). In the beginning of June 2015 the city of Montgomery sent letters to 12 companies who were possibly responsible for the contamination and encouraged them to join the coalition. Additionally, the 12 companies were encouraged to attend a meeting on June 15th that would bring all parties that were potentially liable for the pollution together at the County Commissioners' Court so that further steps could be discussed. The following companies received letters: Alabama Power Company, Capital Motor Lines, Chevron, USA Inc., Colonial Trailways, Davis Cleaners Inc., Harper-Lee Machine Works, Hormel Foods Corporation, Knox Kershaw Inc./Kershaw Manufacturing Company, Retirement Systems of Alabama, Shell Oil Company, Standard-Taylor Industries Inc., and Swift & Company. The EPA now has a list of 25 businesses that are potentially liable for the pollution, and are being reminded that if they choose not to join the Alliance that the legal process could be much more costly for them. The Alliance includes businesses who the city suspects could be responsible for the contamination, and therefore responsible for the costs of the cleanup and reimbursements to the EPA. The Alliance also includes governmental agencies such as The City of Montgomery, Montgomery County, Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board, the State of Alabama and the Montgomery Advertiser who will be working in accordance with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The Alliance has agreed to pay back 3.5 million dollars to the EPA, which was spent investigating the area over nearly 20 years, however, in January 2015 the EPA dropped the amount it needed to be reimbursed to 2.6 million dollars.〔 Through testing, the EPA found Montgomery Advertisers, state agencies, and other closed businesses as the culprits for the contamination, and therefore liable, however, independent tests from Montgomery Advertisers found different results. The environmental experts that were privately hired by Montgomery Advertisers had vastly different conclusions than the EPA and pointed to nearby gas stations and dry cleaners as the culprits of the environmental hazard. Although Montgomery Advertisers proved their innocence, their President came out and publicly stated that regardless of who was responsible, the issue and focus now had to be on the cleanup and the bettering of the city environmentally.〔 The city of Montgomery accepted public comments for a period of 30 days following their initial acceptance of the terms from the EPA, and during those 30 days, from July 30, 2015 to August 31, 2015, the comments would be considered in any modifications or amendments to the agreement. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Capitol City Plume Superfund site」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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