IN
THIS ISSUE:
Westbrook,
ME Redevelops Properties Along Presumpscot River
On October 1, 2000 the city of Westbrook, ME was awarded
a $250,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Grant,
which was used to assess several properties for environmental
contamination as part of their downtown comprehensive plan
for a “Riverwalk” redevelopment. Riverwalk involves
the construction of office buildings, commercial business,
a riverfront boardwalk, walking trails, greenspace, and a
bike path that will follow the Presumpscot River to connect
with the neighboring Portland, ME bike path system. In April
2003, the city celebrated the groundbreaking for an office
building and parking garage on two adjacent riverfront properties.
Tim Flannery, a local developer who owns Dana Warp Mill,
a renovated mill building across the street from the new development,
constructed the 135,000 sq. ft. office and 550-space garage.
CORE, Inc., a subsidiary of Fortis, Inc., is a for-profit
business that works with employers and health care professionals
to assist disabled or sick employees return to work after
illness or injury. CORE will relocate 375 employees to the
new facility, with plans to expand employment to 425 employees.
They also hold a lease option to expand across the street
into Dana Warp Mill. The city pre-established two tax incremental
financing districts (TIFs) for the office building and garage
to help defray development costs, thus allowing lower lease
prices to CORE. The city leveraged $1 million in federal highway
funds and $250,000 in economic incentives to defray the $6
million cost of the garage construction.
Westbrook Manufacturing Company first developed the property
at 25 Bridge Street in 1868. The company made duck cloth,
a heavy cotton cloth or canvas used for sails and tents. In
1885, the property contained a large 4-story building with
a wheelhouse and repair shop, a weaving building, three storage
buildings, and a small shed. By 1903, S.D. Warren owned and
operated the S.D. Warren and Company Electric Light and Power
Company Station No. 2. By 1909, Dana Warp Mill Corporation
used the property to prepare threads for looms. Graige/Conant
Electric used the two western buildings with the other buildings
used for storage. Between 1922 and 1930, all the buildings
were used for storage with a residence. In 1955, Stultz Electric
Motor Company took over ownership of the property.
The former Foye Mill, on 59 Dana Court, was an 8,000 sq.
ft. brick building constructed in the 1800s as part of the
Westbrook Manufacturing Company. C.E. Noyes used the building
for a tire retread factory. The property was sold in 1984
and the vacant buildings stripped for lumber. In October 1992,
the building burned down leaving only the filled-in foundation.
The two properties, totaling 1.67 acres, are located along
the shore of the Presumpscot River. A Phase II environmental
site assessment revealed PCB levels in three transformers
on the property that exceeded state hazardous waste regulations.
Arsenic, lead, PCBs, and benzo[a]pyrene at concentrations
exceeding regulations were also discovered in the floor drains
of the Stultz building. The environmental consultant recommended
remediation in the form of soil removal for these contaminants
as well as the removal of building debris from the former
Foye Mill. Vinyl chloride was found in the groundwater. Although
the property receives water from the municipal system, a deed
restriction will be filed to prevent future drilling of wells
for drinking water.
To view photos of the site, visit http://www.epa.gov/newengland/brownfields/success/westbrookRiverwalk.htm
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EPA,
Hopi, and Navajo Tribes Finalize Cleanup Plan
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), together
with the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and
the Hopi Tribe Department of Natural Resources, recently selected
a final cleanup plan for the leaking underground tank site
in Tuba City and Moenkopi, AZ.
Representatives from the EPA, Navajo Nation EPA, and Hopi
Department of Natural Resources held public meetings and public
hearings in which the public was invited to comment on the
proposed cleanup strategy for the site. As a result of public
input, the Agency and the Tribes selected two cleanup technologies
designed to remove petroleum contaminants from the soil and
groundwater at and around the intersection of Highways 160
and 264.
The first technology pumps air into the ground water that
attaches to gasoline molecules that are extracted when the
air returns to the surface. The injected air also stimulates
the growth of naturally occurring bacteria that breaks down
petroleum contamination. The second technology enhances this
natural process by injecting oxidizers into the soil and shallow
groundwater.
Thriftway Marketing Corporation, one of three responsible
parties at the site, previously installed the first technology
at two locations and these systems were incorporated into
the final cleanup plan. These methods have proven effective
in cleaning up petroleum contamination at underground storage
tanks across the Southwest.
Petroleum contamination was first discovered in Tuba City
in the mid-1980s. In 1996, the EPA ordered Thriftway, National
Petroleum Marking, Inc., and Sunshine Western, Inc to investigate
underground contamination from leaking fuel tanks and pipes
from the operation of the gas stations. Thriftway is currently
performing all the work at the site on behalf of itself and
all the responsible parties.
For further information, visit http://www.epa.gov/region9/.
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Cleanup
Effective at Kingston, NH Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently confirmed
that the soil and sediment remedies in place at the Ottati
& Goss/Kingston Steel Drum Superfund site in Kingston,
NH continue to be effective and protective of human health.
The study, known as a five-year review, is a comprehensive
evaluation of the soil and sediment remedies at the site.
This is the third five-year review for the project.
In 2002, EPA, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
(NHDES), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) excavated,
treated and placed back on site, 73,000 tons of soil at the
former Kingston Steel Drum/Great Lakes Container Corp. property.
Additionally, more than 9,600 tons of contaminated sediments
from a six-acre portion of the wetland were excavated and
properly disposed of in an approved landfill.
Following excavation of contaminated soils, EPA restored
the wetland with new organic material and young trees to recreate
the marsh area. More than 20,000 cubic yards of wetland material
were imported and more than 1,000 trees and shrubs were planted
in the six-acre area as part of the restoration effort. The
site is the former location of the Great Lakes Container Corp.,
which conducted a drum reconditioning operation from the late
1950s through July 1980. The 1987 cleanup plan set out to
control the source of contamination and stop the migration
of contamination from the site to the nearby wetlands and
lake through the excavation and treatment of contaminated
soils and treatment of the groundwater. Buried drums, underground
tanks, and miscellaneous building debris were also removed
from the site.
The 35-acre Ottati & Goss/Kingston Steel Drum site was
placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983, making
it eligible for federal funding to address contamination at
the site. Previous actions taken at the site include the removal
of approximately 4,000 drums of waste in the early 1980s.
Through the five-year review process, EPA found that the
soil and sediment remedies at the site are currently protective
of public health and the environment. In order for these remedies
to be protective in the long-term, land use restrictions must
be put in place to limit future use of the site to commercial
uses. Upon completion, the groundwater portion of the remedy
is expected to be equally as effective. In the interim, groundwater
at the site is not used.
More information about cleanup activities at the site may
be found at http://www.epa.gov/region1/superfund.
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EPA
Honors Bank of America
January 26, 2004 – Today, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), in commemoration of the 2nd Anniversary of the
Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization
Act, honored Bank of America at a ceremony in downtown Atlanta,
GA. Bank of America was selected due to its initiative in
facilitating the cleanup and redevelopment of a former brownfields
property.
The project, Dynamic Metals Lofts, now under construction,
is located on a former industrial site in downtown Atlanta.
The site is representative of the voluntary response of local
communities to address urban blight and revitalize their neighborhoods
that was envisioned in the legislation.
Bank of America is developing the project in partnership
with the Historic District Development Corporation of Atlanta,
a minority-owned corporation. The $10 million mixed-use building
will house 9 retail units and 7 residential units at the sidewalk
level with two upper floors of 16 residential units each.
The property borders the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic
District, an area where residential, commercial, and light
industrial land uses coexist side by side. Past industrial
uses of the property include a laundry, service station, and
Dynamic Metals recycling activities. The project is slated
for completion in the summer of 2004.
The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization
Act expands EPA’s Brownfields Program. Spurred by new
incentives in the legislation, communities are finding that
many former industrial sites, such as the Dynamic Metals Lofts
property, can now be cleaned up and made attractive for safe,
productive new uses.
For further information, contact Dawn Harris-Young, EPA Media
Relations at (401) 562-8421 or at harris-young.dawn@epa.gov.
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Eleven Companies Agree
to Fund Hazardous Waste Removal
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced
that 11 companies have agreed to continue the removal of hazardous
wastes from the Bayonne Barrel & Drum site in Newark,
NJ, and to reimburse EPA for the cost of overseeing the work
to be performed.
The companies agreed to remove liquids, solids, and sludge
from all above- and below-ground tanks and an on-site oil/water
separator, and remove the tanks and associated plumbing. They
- will also maintain perimeter fencing and gates used for
site security, remove asbestos, and demolish all buildings.
Finally, the companies will assess and properly dispose of
metals and PCB-contaminated ash piles and demolition debris,
and conduct an investigation to further evaluate the extent
of soil and groundwater contamination at the site.
The site operated as a metal barrel and drum reconditioning
facility from the early 1940s until the early 1980s. As part
of the process, caustic cleaning solution was used, generating
a liquid waste. Ashy waste from an onsite incinerator and
sludge were stored at the site, as well as numerous drums
and other items. In 1994 a fire occurred at the site, resulting
in EPA conducting an extensive site inspection that revealed
ash piles, shredded tires, above- and below-ground storage
tanks, contamination in buildings, and tens of thousands of
drums. Many of the drums were deteriorating and leaking, with
some containing hazardous substances. Numerous hazardous wastes
were identified, including highly toxic compounds, such as
PCBs and dioxin, acids and chemicals that could easily ignite
or explode.
EPA addressed immediate risks by establishing 24-hour site
security, and by repairing and installing fencing and gates.
Spending nearly $3 million, the agency removed more than 16,500
gallons of liquid hazardous wastes, 40,000 drums, 700 tons
of tires, several ash piles, and two gas cylinders. In addition,
EPA conducted expansive testing and analysis of other potential
hazards at the site.
Visit http://www.epa.gov/region2/news/2004/04009.htm
to review the companies included in the Bayonne Barrel &
Drum site consent agreement.
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