Stay Updated, Get Involved - Lower Neponset River, Boston/Milton, MA

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Announcements and Key Topics

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund. The law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, EPA steps in to address risks to human health and the environment using funds appropriated by Congress, like the funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This site is one of many across the country to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invested $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites on the National Priorities List. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will be used to initiate the remedial investigation, which will include conducting site reconnaissance, property and boundary surveys, historical and cultural resource surveys, collection of topographic and bathymetric data, and collection of sediment, surface water and soil samples.

A recording of the workshop can be found here.

Public Participation/Meeting Information Materials

Community involvement is the process of engaging in dialogue and collaboration with community members. The goal of Superfund community involvement is to advocate and strengthen early and meaningful community participation during Superfund cleanups.

EPA offers regular opportunities to learn more about the Superfund process and cleanups in your area. Please check back often for the latest update and/or to sign up for our e-mail alerts to stay informed!

As a note, meetings are held either virtually or in person. Translation services can be made available upon request. If you have any further questions or special needs, please email R1Neponset@epa.gov.

2025

  • July 9, 2025
    Lower Neponset River Superfund Site Public Hearing
    Time: 6:30 p.m.

    The EPA is asking for your feedback on the recommended cleanup alternative for the Phase 1 Reach of the Lower Neponset River Superfund Site provided in the Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA).
     
    The EE/CA generally contains the following information:
    • A summary of contamination at the Site and past cleanups.
    • Identification of areas and waste volumes that may require cleanup.
    • Cleanup alternatives for the Phase 1 Reach of the Site.
    • An evaluation and comparison of each cleanup alternative based upon effectiveness, implementability, and cost.
    • The EPA-recommended cleanup alternative.
    • Request for public comment.
    A 30-day public comment period will begin on June 13th, 2025 and extend through July 13, 2025.

    A virtual public hearing will be held on July 9, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

    Public hearings provide an opportunity for the public to provide oral comments on proposed EPA actions. All oral comments received becomes part of the public record. During the hearing, EPA representatives can acknowledge, but not respond directly to, comments voiced by community members. Agency responses to oral testimonies will be included in the responsiveness summary.

    Live Translation/interpretation services are available if needed. Please contact Kate Melanson at melanson.kate@epa.gov by July 1, 2025 if you require translation. Requests made after July 1, 2025 will not be able to be accommodated.

    Register in advance for this meeting:
    https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/lYrGOQWySw2GV2UgjNZymQ

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Upon registering, please add to your calendar.

    June 2025 Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) - Public Comment Period and Public Hearing Community Site Update Factsheet (pdf) (2.4 MB)  
  • March 25, 2025
    Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) EPA Phase 1 Data Review Community Meeting Presentation

    EPA's TASC program provides independent technical assistance through an EPA contract to help communities better understand the science, regulations, and policies of environmental issues and EPA actions. Under the TASC contract, a contractor can provide neutral facilitation or mediation services to a CAG at no cost to the community. TASC also can provide assistance and training on relevant technical issues. TASC technical assistance can be used to help the CAG itself (through use of its facilitation or capacity-building assistance or to educate members on technical issues). A CAG also can act as a conduit for providing technical assistance to the greater community.

    Note: TASC services are not a grant. There are no funds awarded to the recipients of the assistance services. These services are delivered under a contract that is funded, administered, and managed by EPA.

    TASC's Goal: Help communities understand complex environmental issues and ensure meaningful community involvement in environmental decision-making.

    TASC does this by:
    • Providing access to scientists, engineers and other professionals to review and explain information to communities through an EPA contract.
    • Developing a range of informational materials to help communities understand complex environmental information under an EPA contract
    TASC will have another upcoming meeting with main goal of presenting what is a detailed summary of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) document. The purpose of the past and future presentation community meetings is so that members in your neighborhood can understand the technical information detailed in the EE/CA memo document. TASC will host another public presentation much like the one community members attended on March 25, 2025 to summarize and present the cleanup alternatives in a clear and accessible manner.

2024

2023

2022

2021

Site Fact Sheets and Community Updates

Community Involvement Plan

The Lower Neponset River Superfund Site Community Involvement Plan (CIP) is a site-specific strategy to enable meaningful community involvement throughout the Superfund cleanup process. EPA conducted a series of interviews to collect feedback for the CIP, followed by a 45 day public comment period. The CIP was finalized in November 2023.

A copy of the final CIP can be accessed here: Community Involvement Plan (pdf) (20. 3 MB)

Community Advisory Group

What is a Community Advisory Group (CAG)?

A Community Advisory Group (CAG) is made up of representatives of diverse community interests. A CAG is designed to serve as the focal point for the exchange of information among the local community and EPA, the State regulatory agency, and other pertinent Federal agencies involved in cleanup of the Superfund site. Its purpose is to provide a public forum for community members to present and discuss their needs and concerns related to the Superfund decision-making process. A CAG can assist EPA in making better decisions on how to clean up a site. It offers EPA a unique opportunity to hear-and seriously consider-community preferences for site cleanup and remediation. However, the existence of a CAG does not eliminate the need for the Agency to keep the community informed about plans and decisions throughout the Superfund process.

The Community Advisory Group (CAG) has continued to form itself and held meeting #8 on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at the Shops at Riverwood (Community Room) in Hyde Park, MA. The CAG meetings are currently taking place during the 3rd Tuesday of each month typically in-person (highly encouraged) with the option of joining virtually from 6PM to 8PM - Location to be announced ahead of meetings. A total of three subcommittees have been formed which include: the Organizational Committee, the Technical Committee and the Outreach Committee.

NOTE: The CAG needs a variety of additional members from all four communities adjacent to the Site (Hyde Park, Mattapan, Dorchester, and Milton), but in particular would love to have additional folks from Mattapan, Milton and Dorchester to join/volunteer as EPA prepares to engage with the CAG and community throughout the cleanup process. If you have any questions or have interest in joining to be a member of the Community Advisory Group (CAG), please reach out to me via email at: purnell.zanetta@epa.gov or R1Neponset@epa.gov.

Upcoming CAG Meetings

The upcoming Tuesday, June 17th 2025 Lower Neponset River Superfund Site Community Advisory Group (CAG) Hybrid meeting will be held from 6PM to 8PM:

Join in-person location:

BCYF Hyde Park/Hyde Park Community Center (Municipal Building)
1179 River Street
Hyde Park, MA 02136
(Lower-level meeting room)

Community Advisory Group (CAG) Agendas

Other Projects: Short-Term Cleanup Actions

Remedial Actions handle complex sites needing long-term responses. Remedial actions manage releases that do not pose an urgent threat to people's health or the environment and do not require immediate action. Remedial actions involve complex and highly contaminated sites that often require several years to study the problem, develop a permanent solution, and clean up the contaminated waste. These are the sites that most people think of when they hear about the Superfund program.

Removal Actions address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt responses. Emergency actions eliminate immediate risks and ensure public safety. Examples of such emergencies are chemical releases at a facility or during transportation. EPA may respond to help state and local authorities deal with these emergencies quickly.

Reuse Assessment

The Lower Neponset River Superfund Site Reuse Assessment Report identifies reasonably anticipated future land uses at the Site to guide for EPA's cleanup decision-making process and inform land use planning activities by state and local governments and other interested parties. The report provides background information and identifies current land use, ownership and demographic considerations at the Site as well as stakeholder perspectives and feedback gathered in 2022 and 2023.

A copy of the Reuse Assessment Report can be accessed here: Reuse Assessment Report (pdf) (5.3 MB)

Community Resources

Community involvement is the process of engaging in dialogue and collaboration with community members. The goal of Superfund community involvement is to advocate and strengthen early and meaningful community participation during Superfund cleanups. There are a number of resources including:

Site News Archive

News Releases

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Last updated on June 13, 2025