EPA to Review Cleanups at 14 New England Superfund Sites this Year
BOSTON (Jan. 19, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct comprehensive reviews of completed cleanup work at 14 National Priority List (NPL) Superfund sites, including three federal facilities, in New England this year. The sites, located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the environment.
"Ensuring completed Superfund site cleanup work remains protective of human health and the environment is a priority for EPA," said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro. "By completing reviews of the cleanups every five years, EPA fulfills its duty to remain vigilant so that these communities continue to be protected."
The Superfund Sites where EPA will conduct Five-Year Reviews in 2022 are listed below. The web links provide detailed information on site status as well as past assessment and cleanup activity. Once the Five-Year Review is complete, its findings will be posted to the website in a final report.
Five-Year Reviews of Superfund sites in New England to be completed in 2022:
Auburn Road Landfill, Londonderry, New Hampshire
www.epa.gov/superfund/auburnroad
Beede Waste Oil, Plaistow, New Hampshire
www.epa.gov/superfund/beede
Dover Municipal Landfill, Dover, New Hampshire
www.epa.gov/superfund/dover
Gallup's Quarry, Plainfield, Connecticut
www.epa.gov/superfund/gallup
Kellogg-Deering Well Field, Norwalk, Connecticut
www.epa.gov/superfund/kellogg
O'Connor Co., Augusta, Maine
www.epa.gov/superfund/oconnor
Peterson/Puritan, Inc., Lincoln/Cumberland, Rhode Island
www.epa.gov/superfund/peterson
Union Chemical Co., Inc., South Hope, Maine
www.epa.gov/superfund/union
Winthrop Landfill, Winthrop, Maine
www.epa.gov/superfund/winthrop
Federal Facilities
Hanscom Field/Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, Massachusetts
www.epa.gov/superfund/hanscom
Natick Laboratory Army Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts
www.epa.gov/superfund/naticklab
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
www.epa.gov/superfund/portsmouth
Five-Year Reviews of Superfund sites in New England to start in 2022 and to be completed in 2023:
Fletcher's Paint Works & Storage, Milford, New Hampshire
www.epa.gov/superfund/fletcher
Shpack Landfill, Norton/Attleboro, Massachusetts
www.epa.gov/superfund/shpack
Background
Throughout the process of designing and constructing a cleanup at a hazardous waste site, EPA's primary goal is to make sure the remedy will be protective of public health and the environment. At many sites, where the remedy has been constructed, EPA continues to ensure it remains protective by requiring reviews of cleanups every five years. It is important for EPA to regularly check on these sites to ensure the remedy is working properly. These reviews identify issues (if any) that may affect the protectiveness of the completed remedy and, if necessary, recommend action(s) necessary to address them.
There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment at sites and conducting post cleanup monitoring of sites. EPA must ensure the remedy is protective of public health and the environment and any redevelopment will uphold the protectiveness of the remedy into the future.
The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and endeavors to facilitate activities to return them to productive use. In total, there are 123 Superfund sites across New England.
More information:
Superfund and other cleanup sites in New England: https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleaning-new-england
EPA's Superfund program: https://www.epa.gov/superfund