During Tuesday’s town council meeting, Mayor Chris Cerino explained the recently negotiated Town-Hospital agreement that would indemnify the Town against a “worst case scenario” where remnants of the 30-year old oil leak on the hospital grounds would taint the town’s water supply.
Cerino read the detailed chronology of events leading up to the 2016 agreement (see attached), and described the negotiating procedures that led to the agreement.
In a series of executive sessions with principals from the town and hospital, along with attorneys, the council, with one dissenting vote, passed a recommendation that the Major sign the agreement. Ward 2 Councilwoman Linda Kuiper and Town Utilities Manager Bob Sipes expressed concern with article 5b of the agreement’s wording:
5b: “In the event that any Contaminant of Concern is detected above the Trigger Levels in a Town production well but has not been detected above the Trigger Levels in any Sentinel Monitoring Well, that shall establish a rebuttable presumption that the contaminants in the production well did not originate from the Oil Spill or the Remediation.”
Their concern was focused on the phrase “rebuttable presumption” in regard to the town having to prove any oil contaminant reaching the water supply belonged to the original oil leak and not other contaminants like those used in the dry-cleaning business.
Cerino and the rest of the town council saw the agreement as the best outcome, giving the Town a solid position in protecting the town’s water and indemnifying financial obligations if a contamination event occurred in the future.
Cerino praised UM Shore Regional Health CEO Ken Kozel for his part in opening up the negotiations.
Note: Both in common law and in civil law, a rebuttable presumption is an assumption made by a court, one that is taken to be true unless someone comes forward to contest it and prove otherwise. For example, a defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent until proved guilty.
Town-Hospital Agreement 6-22-16 (fully executed)
Hospital Oil Spill Chronology: 1987 -1996
DATE EVENT
1987 Hospital begins having tank test failures on site; MDE inspectors make field investigations
1988 Hospital spill continues, more MDE field investigations, no actions taken to contain spill
1989 First two monitoring wells installed; free product immediately detected
June 15, 1990 MDE sends violation letter to Hospital; 1’ of product found in Well #1; Hospital ordered to install recovery system within 30 days
May 13, 1991 MDE cites Hospital for groundwater contamination. Lead paragraph states, “This groundwater contamination is an immediate threat to the production wells of Chestertown. The impact on the production wells would be a threat to the public health and safety of the citizens of Chestertown.”
May 17, 1991 Town is notified of the heating oil spill for the first time;
MDE orders shallow water well #8 shut down
Sept 1991 Mayor Horsey writes to MDE to cite concerns about 1) lack of communication with the Town, 2) size of the heating oil spill, and 3) Hospital/MDE’s ability to contain the spill
1992 Heating oil discharges into Town’s storm drain system; recovery wells found to be rusting and in disrepair; additional well maintenance ordered
June 1992 2’ of free product discovered in MW #20 on the south side of Brown Street. Additional recovery wells installed, which immediately begin removing 75 gallons of oil/day
January 1993 Hospital reports that 35,000 gallons of oil have been recovered
Town estimates cost of losing well #8 at $20,000/year
October 1993 Hospital reports that 49,165 gallons of oil have been recovered
August 1995 Town requests to have Well #8 turned back on;
Request denied due to “the continuing presence of liquid phase heating oil”
July 1996 Hospital reports that 65,000 gallons of oil have been recovered
Hospital Oil Spill Chronology: 2008 – Present
DATE EVENT
2008 University of Maryland Medical System acquires Hospital
2011 MDE/Hospital turn off pump and treat system
2013 Spring 2013 – oil levels “rebound”, system re-activated;
Town learns for 1st time that p/t system had been off for over 1 year
2013 UMMS merger with Shore Regional Health
April 21, 2014 Ken Cozell discusses Ivey Sol remediation proposal at M/C meeting
July 14, 2015 MDE officials hold Public Meeting in Chestertown to discuss proposed Ivey Sol pilot tests with concerned citizens
July 25, 2014 MDE approves Ivey Sol pilot test with modifications requested by the Town of Chestertown
March 4, 2015 Chestertown, through attorney Michael Forlini, sends letter to MDE expressing concerns about Ivey Sol remediation plan
Aug 31, 2015 Ivey Sol injections begin
Sept 2, 2015 Mayor Cerino sends letter to MDE Secretary Grumbles requesting face-to-face meeting, 3-way Consent Order between MDE, Hospital, Chestertown
Nov 2, 2015 Cerino/Sipes/Ingersoll meet with MDE Secretary Grumbles and MDE team in Baltimore, request 3-way Consent Order
Dec 1, 2015 Mayor Cerino attends Kent Co Commissioners meeting, requests Local Courtesy Bill in state legislature to provide Town with financial assurances in worst-case scenario with oil spill remediation. The bill does not pass
May 9, 2016 MDE approves Hospital’s Work Plan for Ivey Sol remediation process
May 7, 2016 Consent Order between Hospital/MDE executed
June 22, 2016 Hospital/Town agreement signed. Hospital indemnifies Town for costs of well replacement in a worst-case scenario, providing the Town can prove that the contaminants came from their spill.
Stephan Sonn says
Is there a chemical fingerprint that can identify the source of a contaminating agent?