Document Rjaav1YkDQqKmr7VDrbxrzQvz
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
Date: From:
Dept: Tel No:
08-Apr-1993 05:26pm CDT LISA M DRAKE LMDRAK 0CCMAIL @SSWMB CMISSS
TO: TO: TO:
CAHILL, KEVIN S. @A1 @A1STL SRARCH 0CCMAIL @SSWMB 0CMISSS AHSMIT @HP 0SSWMB @CMISSS
CC: CC: CC: CC: CC:
WASSELL, LOREN W. @A1 0A1STL GLCSOL @CCMAIL @SSWMB 0CMISSS GDINGE @CCMAIL @SSWMB @CMISSS LMDRAK 0CCMAIL @SSWMB @CMISSS MCMORR1 @CCMAIL @SSWMB 0CMISSS
Subject: RE: Operation New Spirit *
------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded From: KEVIN S CAHILL at DEC Date: 3/24/93 10:27PM To: LISA M DRAKE at MONMAC44 *To: GARY F BARTON at MONESHOl *To: DIANE B HERNDON at MONESHOl *cc: ANDREA H SMITH at HP *cc: KEVIN S CAHILL at DEC *cc: LOREN W WASSELL at DEC *cc: LAURENCE J O'NEILL at DEC Subject: RE: Operation New Spirit
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I am trying to set an urgent meeting for Tuesday, April 13 at 9 a.m. to meet
with the Operation New Spirit folks to ask questions specific to their proposal
for funding and help on this urban gardening project in E. St. Louis. I have
spoken to them regarding the testing and they say SCS will test for lead,
asbestos, NPP and pH. They wish they had enough money to test for contaminants
in waste oil that they know used to be spread on the road. There are several
issues and questions here and we need to get these resolved. 1) Time is of the
essence to Operation New Spirit so they can implement activities 2) Maggie
Morris and her group want to donate $5,000 of Pledge Award money to the group
for aid in buying a gardening tractor 3) those of you with more expertise than
I need to be present in the meeting to ask the questions regarding testing of
the soil. Sue Cohler of SIU will bring a map wioth her to the meeting. Please
make every effort to attend. I will get a location later.
Lisa Drake
I do not wish to throw cold water on what on the surface appears
to be a good opportunity, however, there are some details of the
operation that should be addressed prior to embracing the
program.
The information provided to me calls for soil testing in or around the Metro East to characterize the soil before gardening commences. A recent request was made of Monsanto to perform the testing in East St. Louis.
You may recall that heavy manufacturing has occurred in the Metro East for over one hundred years, with the W.G. Krummrich plant
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in operation as a Monsanto facility since 1917. Past disposal practices were not quite as enlightened as today. 'Poking holes' should not be undertaken lightly. Can we determine exact locations of the proposed testing? In addition, residents are likely to inquire as to why Monsanto is testing the soil. The underlying assumption may be that a problem exists. Secondly, I am unclear as to the plant's long term responsibilities. The plant has an active community relations program, and this certainly could become a component, however, more information is required to determine how we leverage the program to the benefit of the plant. Finally, I would be interested in learning of the success of the St. Louis Central West End project, which also focuses on community gardening. I look forward to receiving more details regarding this project. KSC
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