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NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT

News Stories

Former District project taken off EPA’s National Priorities List

By Ann Marie R. Harvie

USACE, New England District

Published May 11, 2018

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Clean up work at the Hatheway & Patterson Superfun site in Foxborough/Mansfield, Massachusetts, December 6, 2009. The completed project was recently taken off the EPA's National Priorities List.

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One of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Sites the New England District restored has recently been taken off their National Priorities List (NPL).

The Hatheway & Patterson Superfund Site, located in Mansfield and Foxborough, Massachusetts was taken off the list during an announcement March 15. “Deleting Hatheway & Patterson from the NPL is an exciting moment, marking the completion of many years of cleanup work and returning the site to the towns for future planning,” said EPA Regional Administrator Alexandra Dunn during the announcement.

The Hatheway & Patterson Site was a 40-acre former wood treatment facility. When the company went bankrupt in 1993, it left the soil on the site contaminated with chemicals that included dioxin, pentachlorophenol, arsenic and organic solvents.

The EPA asked for the New England District’s assistance in completing a remedial action that through excavation, offsite disposal and on-site cap construction, would clean up the site. Work included excavating 43,500 tons of contaminated soil and shipping it off-site to a hazardous waste landfill.

According to the EPA, hazardous material within approximately two acres of the site located in Foxborough were consolidated and placed under an asphalt cap. Long-term monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and fish tissue were performed regularly. In addition, operation and maintenance of remedial components including the cap was reviewed together with monitoring data during 5-year reviews to determine whether the cleanup was effective. Work began in August 2009 and completed in September 2010. Sevenson Environmental of Niagara Falls, New York, served as contractor on the project.

New England district’s Hatheway & Patterson Superfund Cleanup Team received the 2011 National Notable Achievement Award for Superfund Reuse/Revitalization for Region 1 (New England). The team also included members of EPA Region 1 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

EPA proposed to delete the site from the NPL on December 2017. After a 30-day comment period, the agency determined the comments did not affect EPA’s determination to remove the site.

Now that the site has been taken off the list, the property can be reused by the towns. “The cleanup of the Hatheway & Patterson Site means the return of this property to productive use, the surrounding environment restored and the nearby neighborhood protected,” said Massachusetts DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg.

Portions of the site are already being reused by the towns, according to the EPA. In Foxborough, a 119-space commuter parking lot is located on part of the site, which serves the town’s commuter rail station. The town of Mansfield also uses part of the site for emergency vehicle storage and office space.

The Pawcatuck River Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study

This proposed plan is presented to facilitate public involvement in the review and commenting on the remedy selection process for the Nantucket Memorial Airport (NMA) Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS.)
The Army Corps of Engineers is proposing a No Action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for the Munitions Response Site-1, Project Number D01MA049901 at NMA located on Nantucket Island, MA. The proposal was prepared using the Guide to Preparing Superfund Proposed Plans, Records of Decision, and Other Remedy Selection Decision Documents (USEPA, 1999).
The final decision for NMA Site-1 site will be made after reviewing and considering all information submitted during the public comment period. The proposed decision may be modified based on new information or public comments. The public is encouraged to review and comment on the proposed plan.
The FUDS program addresses the potential explosives safety, health, and environmental issues resulting from past munitions use at former defense sites under the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Munitions Response Program, established by the U.S. Congress under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program.
FUDS only applies to properties that transferred from DoD before October 17, 1986 and the first priority of USACE is the protection of human health, safety, and the environment.
The Army is the executive agent for the FUDS Program, and USACE is the lead agency for investigation/reporting and remedial decision-making at this munitions site with regulatory support provided by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

Updated: 05 December 2016