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26 <br />ATTACHMENT 4 <br />Pinkney reported that UNC's communications with the Bingham neighbors have <br />improved. They had held two meetings with Preserve Rural Orange (PRO), including a <br />tour of the facility. They plan to meet every other month and provide email updates to <br />PRO and the neighboring residents. <br />CFE members asked a number of questions about the facility and its operation. Pinkney <br />and his colleagues answered questions and offered to follow -up with more details about <br />the wastewater spills, the wastewater treatment process, pharmaceuticals used at the <br />facility, and potential impacts of groundwater withdrawals in the area. <br />CFE members thanked Mr. Pinkney and the other representatives from the University. <br />UNC Responses to CFE Questions about the Bingham Facility <br />The following are UNC`s responses to questions asked by CFE members on March 8 <br />where the UNC representatives needed additional information before answering. <br />Now that UNC has decommissioned the incinerator at the Bingham Facility, <br />where are those items being incinerated? <br />(UNC) Answer: We are no longer using the incinerator on the Bingham Facility <br />site, but we have not yet decommissioned it, although we do plan to do that. <br />The items that would have been incinerated there in the past are now being sent <br />to the same facility that incinerates medical waste for UNC Health Care, <br />Stericycle in Haw River. <br />2. What is UNC's estimate of the volume of each of the four recent spills from the <br />Bingham Facility (to compare with estimates presented by Preserve Rural <br />Orange)? <br />(UNC) Answer: Here's a brief summary of the recent spills /leaks at the Bingham <br />Facility and their results: <br />• Pipe leak, Nov. 18, 630 gallons of highly treated wastewater seeped into the <br />ground. <br />• Leak from large holding pond, confirmed by DENR inspection Dec. 14, <br />undetermined amount of highly treated wastewater reached Collins Creek. <br />This was the first Notice of Violation from DENR. We reported the leak to <br />DENR to be at a rate of 1 gallon per minute based on capturing and <br />measuring the water coming out of the underdrain, but since we don't know <br />if that was a constant rate, when the leaking began or how much of the <br />water was groundwater or from other sources, we cannot accurately calculate <br />ej <br />