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William S. Peters <br /> Peters Enterprises <br /> Page 3 of 4 <br /> contaminant migration from the Chevron site to the Kwikee site. EHD <br /> views this as a working hypothesis that should be demonstrated and <br /> tested through development of a detailed site conceptual model (SCM), <br /> which will be discussed further below. <br /> • To interpret the increased contaminant concentrations detected in sample <br /> KF-3 as contradicting EHD's January 2002 suggestion that higher <br /> contaminant concentrations may be in soil east of the well stretches the <br /> importance of the rather modest concentration increase. Hydrocarbon <br /> concentration data can be noisy and influenced by such factors as <br /> proximity to source, temperature in air and ground water, purging and <br /> sampling techniques, flow direction, and ground water elevation to name a <br /> few. The data must be carefully examined and the controlling factors <br /> identified to evaluate cause and effect. The results from one sampling <br /> event, in an area of known contamination, are hardly definitive. As an <br /> example, the last time the ground water elevation was near its 24 May <br /> 2002 level was on 14 February 2001, during an extended period of the <br /> DPE unit operation on the Chevron site. During this event, when ground <br /> water flow was presumably toward the west, TPH-g concentrations <br /> increased from 679 ppb to 2,520 ppb in KF-3. The data from this one <br /> event would clearly contradict the model proposed by UEC if only data <br /> from single monitoring events are considered. An example of using long- <br /> term trends would be EHD's interpretation of the sudden decrease of <br /> contaminant concentrations between November 1997 and May 1998 as a <br /> result of a ground water elevation increase of approximately 8 feet, with <br /> the water table going over the well screens. Drowning of the wells may <br /> have been the most important factor in the apparent cleaning up of the <br /> dissolved hydrocarbons. Data from a number of sampling events must be <br /> obtained to show data trends and associate the trend with the controlling <br /> factors. <br /> • The reiterated statement from First Quarter 2002 Report shows that UEC <br /> recognizes that the ground water seepage velocity is slow, and that effects <br /> from the DPE remediation effort will take considerable time to document. <br /> The seepage velocity can be expected to decrease exponentially with <br /> distance from the pumping influence. Interestingly, the statement pre- <br /> interprets occasional contaminant increases during operation of the DPE <br /> unit as to not be inconsistent with the contention that the contaminants are <br /> from the Chevron site. Thus, whether the DPE unit is in operation or not, <br /> an increase of concentrations can be favorably interpreted! Again, the <br /> results from a single monitoring event cannot demonstrate a trend. <br /> • At this time, EHD cannot concur with UEC's contention that the site be <br /> closed with no further action or that responsibility for the contaminants be <br /> transferred to the responsible party for the former Chevron site. <br /> EHD believes the Kwikee site requires further characterization. EHD has been <br /> informed that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board <br />