Fort Smith Board upset with Whirlpool communication

The Fort Smith Board of Directors are not at all happy about what they see as poor communication from Whirlpool related to the company’s pollution issue around its former Fort Smith manufacturing plant.

Whirlpool submitted a remediation plan Monday (April 8) to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The plan calls for on-site controls, including "Groundwater In-situ Treatment via Chemical Oxidation (treatment of groundwater) and Institutional Controls." Off-site controls include institutional controls and "monitored natural attenuation (MNA)."

The plan was first reported by The City Wire, but Whirlpool sent the plan only to ADEQ. When several members of the Fort Smith Board were asked on Monday to respond to Whirlpool's new remediation plan, they could only provide preliminary responses, with each stating they may have additional comments after reviewing the plan in more detail.

Following are comments from the Directors about the new plan and the communication of the plan.

• Keith Lau, Ward 1 Director:
"They said the soil was so packed, they couldn't remove the contamination…It's basically this, it's a game of cat and mouse. They're just trying to get away with as little as possible. The first one was the institutional controls, now they come back with plan two. We need to see what the ADEQ has to say and what Erin Brockovich says about this and that's where we need to settle in.

"I can't see me ever voting for institutional controls. I just can't see me doing that. Not with this information. They're not addressing my big concerns. What about those people's property values?"

• André Good, Ward 2 Director:
"I just hate being caught off guard like that. Other than that, it seems a little passive to me, I'd like to see a little more teeth in it. It just seems like more of the same."

• Mike Lorenz, Ward 3 Director:
"They really kind of made it appear that the extraction wasn't possible. That's kind of the way this whole thing has gone, it continues to change every time we see something. I'm just glad to see this document being this thorough.

"It's interesting that they made an effort to say that it's nearly impossible to remove it from this type of soil but this clearly says it's a viable option and a fairly easy option. The most frustrating thing for me is we're being presented with this now instead of in the beginning.

"The way this should have been handled is whenever they approached the Board, they should have said we are working on a final remediation plan. That would have eliminated everything that's happened thus far. It all goes back to communication. The lack of communication has been a problem from the beginning."

• George Catsavis, Ward 4 Director:
"Evidently, I think after the last Board meeting, Whirlpool didn't take too kindly to some of the questions they were asked and I think this was their way of showing the Board that (Whirlpool) can go around you all instead of going through and dealing directly with us. I mean, I just think they were upset with how things went and this is their way of, ‘OK. We'll show you. We'll go straight to the media.’ Sort of piss on the Board, is the impression I got of that.

• Pam Weber, Director-at-Large Position 5:
"My initial reaction is they're negotiating with ADEQ so that they can do the least amount of remediation allowable by the law.

"I am concerned that we are going to have a neighborhood that's affected, the property values are affected and that may not ever survive without adequate remediation.

"And I'm also concerned that we've got a gap in our economic development quarter there and a big industrial complex that future buyers are going to be concerned over. So I want to make sure that those issues are taken care of with any remediation plan that's approved. So that's sort of where I am.

"I'm very concerned about ADEQ's ability and Whirlpool's desire to communicate with us and that we did not get a copy of that before you got a copy. They could have sent it to all of us at the same time, especially with the last 10 years of no communication."

• Kevin Settle, Director-at-Large Position 6:
"You know, I got it late last night. I started reading it. I've been at work all day. So I still need to finish my reading before I comment on it.

"I do not like that at all (that The City Wire was provided the document before the Fort Smith Board of Directors). I think the city should have been notified along with the media at the same time, not that the media finds out and we have to find out from you guys. So I'm not happy about that at all.

"I just need to read it a little more.”

• Philip Merry, Director-at-Large Position 7:
"Maybe my best honest answer for you is I don't know what the plan is. I have not seen it. I have not read it yet. It may have been on The City Wire, I haven't had a chance to read it yet. But I have not seen it and I look forward to reading it and seeing it.

"I will share with you this: I always want the media to be well informed, freedom of the press, I believe in all of those things…but it sure seems like they would have, the ADEQ would have included us. How can I respond to your question right now not having the benefit of what it is they decided to do? So maybe we should add that to our list of recommendations to the ADEQ – focus on this. After 32 years, perhaps consider a remedy and communicate with all factions."

(Editor’s note: The City Wire did not simply receive the report from the ADEQ. A request was made by The City Wire to ADEQ to obtain the report as soon as possible after Whirlpool filed it.)