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JSA report: no VOCs detected; committee told two wells showed new manganese hits
Summary
Franklin City committee heard a JSA environmental update that found no volatile organic compounds or hydrocarbons, noted two recent manganese detections and several iron and sulfate hits, and recommended resampling; the committee approved the report by voice vote.
Franklin City Committee members heard results from a JSA environmental monitoring report during their meeting (date not specified), which found no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) or hydrocarbons but recorded two recent manganese detections and several low iron and sulfate “hits.” The committee approved the JSA report by voice vote.
The JSA presentation, delivered by Joe Spear, said the recent manganese results were detectable but not clearly quantifiable under JFLEX testing and did not show associated “daughter” chemicals that would indicate a wider contamination trend. "I don't think the manganese is an issue," Spear said, adding that the detection could reflect mobilization from soil or a disturbed well casing rather than a release from the landfill.
The report noted one well with elevated sulfate and five wells with iron detections described as relatively low. Spear told the committee that high iron readings often indicate a failing well casing or internal pipe corrosion rather than an aquifer-wide contaminant. He recommended retesting the two manganese wells and expanding monitoring outward where Waste Management has acquired properties, since new monitoring wells are commonly installed when ownership changes.
Committee members asked technical clarifying questions. When asked whether the manganese was in a free form, Spear replied, "It's ionic. So it is, it is 2 plus." The presentation also reviewed long-term sampling: JSA has been handling the well reporting since about 2006 and the committee retains charts with data stretching back to the 1990s; Spear said he plans to truncate historical tables that are no longer material to current trends.
Spear explained monitoring procedure changes when properties are acquired: old drinking-water wells are abandoned under drinking-water rules and new monitoring wells are installed and targeted to specific aquifers and depths (sometimes as nested wells) for more useful landfill monitoring. He said that if evidence of a plume appeared, sampling would expand according to the statutory process and the requirements waste managers must follow.
A committee member moved to approve the report; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The transcript records the motion as an approval of "Jill Spears' report" (name cited during the motion), and the committee recorded the outcome as passed by acclamation (no individual roll-call tallies were provided in the meeting record).
