EPA, responsible parties say Tremont barrel‑fill remedial design at 100% draft; site prep could start mid‑September

Adrian Palmecki, a community and global coordinator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, briefed the commission on the Tremont barrel‑fill site’s cleanup status and timeline. He said the EPA conditionally approved a 95% remedial design on June 4 and the responsible parties submitted a draft 100% remedial design on Aug. 3. Palmecki said: "We received a draft 100% remedial design report on August 3 from the Bridal Group, the potential responsible parties for the site."

Bridal‑group representative Bob Ruhl said the city and partners have completed two rounds of baseline groundwater sampling and have not observed appreciable changes in contamination in the last decade, which supported the push to begin nonintrusive site‑preparation work. Ruhl told commissioners that, with EPA concurrence, equipment and staging could move in as early as mid‑September and that "site prep will include... upgrading the roads, putting in fencing, putting in our staging areas for the barrels, putting in our administrative trailers" before any drum removal. He said drum removal could begin as early as December if the EPA approves the final design.

City and county stakeholders, including first‑responder representatives, will be engaged in tabletop exercises and on‑site familiarization before active remediation proceeds. Commissioners thanked the presenters and emphasized coordination with local emergency services and community stakeholders ahead of physical work at the site.