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Site Type: Long Term/National Priorities List (NPL)  |
NEW BEDFORD SITE |
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| NEW BEDFORD and FAIRHAVEN and ACUSHNET and DARTMOUTH, Massachusetts |
Bristol County
| Street Address: | ACUSHNET ESTUARY |
| Zip Code: | 02740, 02719, 02743, 02748 |
Congressional
District(s): |
04 |
| EPA ID #: | MAD980731335 |
| Site ID #: | 0100743 |
| Site Aliases: | New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site
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| Site Responsibility: | Federal, State |
| NPL LISTING HISTORY |
| Proposed Date | 07/23/1982 |
| Final Date | 09/08/1983 |
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Site Description
Complete information on the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ne/nbh
Follow this link for Site Description information
Threats and Contaminants
Follow this link to information on PCBs at the New Bedford site.
Cleanup Approach
Follow this link to New Bedford cleanup plans.
Response Action Status
| | information on the cleanup process and approach can be found via this link to the site history. |
Environmental Progress
Follow this link to information on PCBs at the New Bedford site.
Current Site Status
1. Full scale dredging continues
Full scale dredging started in 2004, and will continue annually beginning in late summer. The $15 million annual funding level allows approximately 40 days of dredging each year. In 2008, full scale dredging was conducted in the cove area between Sawyer Street and Coffin Avenue adjacent to the new Riverside Park (formerly Pierce Mill).
Previous to the start of full scale dredging, a number of pilot studies, hot spot, early action and accelerated cleanups were performed with a total of approximately 160,000 cy of contaminated sediments and soils remediated to date (inclusive of both the hot spot and upper and lower harbor operable units).
2. Excavation of Aerovox shoreline
In early summer 2008, EPA and the Corps of Engineers excavated highly contaminated shoreline sediments immediately adjacent to the vacant Aerovox mill on Belleville Avenue in New Bedford. The area of sediment remediated was approximately 100 feet in width and in some areas contained percent levels of PCBs and solvents. The excavated sediment was stabilized at Aerovox with portland cement and trucked in water tight containers to EPA's Sawyer Street sediment storage facility. An extensive air monitoring program at both the Aerovox and Sawyer St locations showed that the project was performed safely without cause for concern to the local abutters. EPA will continue to monitor airborne PCBs and VOCs at the Sawyer Street facility (as well as groundwater) while these sediments are temporarily being stored. Please note that the air monitoring results for this project are posted at the New Bedford Harbor web site - www.epa.gov/ne/nbh - under "Air Data."
3. Underwater capping pilot study
Using clean sand and gravel generated by the port of New Bedford, a 20 acre underwater cap pilot project was implemented in summer 2005 to cap PCB-contaminated sediments near the Cornell-Dubilier mill. The 80,000 cy of clean sand and gravel came from the port's excavation of a CAD (confined aquatic disposal) cell, for disposal of contaminated navigational sediments in shoaled channel areas. Using this clean sand and gravel to cap instead of dredge the moderately-contaminated sediments in the Cornell-Dubilier area will accelerate the remediation of this area by many years, and save Superfund approximately $15 million. Post-cap monitoring, including sediment chemistry and bathymetry mapping, continue to indicate that the pilot cap is performing as planned. Please note that the post-cap monitoring results to date are posted at the New Bedford Harbor web site - www.epa.gov/ne/nbh - under "Pilot Underwater Cap."
4. State enhanced remedy navigational dredging continues
The New Bedford Harbor team continues to play an important role assisting the city and state in facilitating the innovate state enhanced remedy (SER) dredging process. The SER allows the city/state to use the permit exemption provisions of CERCLA in their ongoing implementation of the port’s navigational dredging. The third phase of SER navigational dredging is being implemented in 2008 and 2009; dredged material to be removed from the navigational channels and docking areas in early 2009 will be placed in the port's "CAD cell #2" (which was excavated in summer 2008).
Some of this navigational dredging is being performed to allow future recreational rowing in the upper harbor, as well as to allow future Brownfield's redevelopment of a portion of EPA's Sawyer Street facility.
5. An accelerated cleanup of the entire Aushnet River area north of Wood Street was completed in March 2003, with additional saltmarsh and upland plantings in June 2003. EPA prioritized this effort due to the very high PCB levels along the shoreline in this area (up to 46,000 ppm), along with the fact that two shoreline parks and many residences abut the shoreline in this river stretch. Two temporary dams were built to dewater this stretch of the river, to allow the contaminated sediments to be excavated in near-dry conditions. Annual sampling of this remediated area continues to monitor whether recontamination from unremediated adjacent areas of the harbor will be a problem: to date this monitoring has shown that recontamination is not a significant problem, but that certain subtidal areas adjacent to unremediated areas of the harbor have experienced increased sediment PCB levels. (This annual monitoring also identified a previously-heavily vegetated shoreline area in Acushnet with elevated PCB levels which the 2002-2003 cleanup had missed. This shoreline area was then remediated separately in December 2005, with restoration saltmarsh planting completed in spring 2006.)
6. In August 2002 EPA issued a change to the 1998 harbor cleanup plan using a process known as an Explanation of Significant Difference (ESD). This ESD, which follows an earlier ESD issued in September 2001, eliminates CDF "D", the largest of the four CDFs (confined disposal facilities), and instead sends the dredged sediment slated for it to an offsite landfill. This ESD as well as other site information is available for review at the New Bedford Free Public Library (reference section) and at EPA's Boston records center. Both ESDs are also available online at the New Bedford Harbor web site (www.epa.gov/ne/nbh) under "Technical Documents."
Other cleanup progress to date includes the excavation and restoration of the "Early Action" shoreline area in Acushnet in May 2001. This was a highly PCB-contaminated shoreline near a residential area. Temporary fencing was also installed at two other shoreline locations in New Bedford to minimize exposure to contaminated shoreline sediments until these areas are remediated.
Also, the construction of a clean corridor for submerged NSTAR power cables was completed in 2002 (to allow future remedial dredging). In addition, related work for the dewatering facility discussed above included the removal of 13 abandoned fishing vessels and dredging of PCB-contaminated sediments at a nearby property to allow a necessary waterfront business relocation, and the relocation of two combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that discharged to the dewatering area.
Follow this link to return to the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site homepage or use your browser's 'BACK' button.
Site Photos
the reader is referred to the Photo Gallery
Links to Other Site Information
Maps and Photos:
Newsletters & Press Releases:
Federal Register Notices:
Administrative Records:
Administrative Record Index, OU 01 Upper and Lower Harbor, Record of Decision (ROD), September 25, 1998 (2,203KB)  | | |
| Administrative Record Index and File, OU 01 Upper and Lower Harbor, Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), September 27, 2001 | | |
| Administrative Record Index and File, OU 01 Upper and Lower Harbor, Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) August 2002 (394KB) | | |
| Administrative Record Index, OU 02 Hot Spot, Record of Decision (ROD), April 6, 1990 (Opening file 4.11 MB with links to other PDF files) | | |
| Administrative Record Index, OU 02 Hot Spot, Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), April 27, 1992, Amended June 2008 (Opening file 259 KB with links to other PDF files) | | |
| Administrative Record Index, OU 02 Hot Spot, Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), October 30, 1995 (360 KB) | | |
| Administrative Record Index, OU 02 Hot Spot, Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment, April 27, 1999 (1,654 KB) | | |
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Reports and Studies:
Decision Documents:
| Record of Decision, Upper and Lower Harbor Operable Unit, September 25, 1998 | | |
| Explanation of Significant Differences for the Upper and Lower Harbor Operable Unit, September 27, 2001(1.4MB) | | |
| Explanation of Significant Differences for the Upper and Lower Harbor Operable Unit, August 2002 (394KB) | | |
| Explanation of Significant Differences, OU 2 Hot Spot, April 27, 1992 (1.09 MB) | | |
| Final Explanation of Significant Differences, OU 2 Hot Spot, October 30, 1995 (3.89 MB) | | |
| Record of Decision, OU 2 Hot Spot, April 6, 1990 (4.33 MB) | | |
| Final Draft Amended Record of Decision (ROD), April 27, 1999 (6.1 MB) | | |
View Records of Decision (RODS) on-line (EPA HQ)  | | |
Other Links:
Site Repositories
New Bedford Free Public Library, 613 Pleasant Street, New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 991-6280
EPA New England Records Center, One Congress Street, Boston, MA 02114 (617) 918-1440
Contacts
| EPA Remedial Project Manager: | David Dickerson |
| Site Responsibilities: | Upper and Lower Harbor |
| Address: | 1 Congress Street, Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023 |
| Phone #: | (617) 918-1329 |
| E-Mail Address: | dickerson.dave@epa.gov |
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| EPA Remedial Project Manager #2: | Elaine Stanley |
| Site Responsibilities: | Upper and Lower Harbor |
| Address: | 1 Congress Street, Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023 |
| Phone #: | (617) 918-1332 |
| E-Mail Address: | stanley.elainet@epa.gov |
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| EPA Community Involvement Coordinator: | Jeanethe Falvey |
| Address: | 1 Congress Street Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023 |
| Phone #: | (617) 918-1020 |
| E-Mail Address: | falvey.jeanethe@epa.gov |
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| State Agency Contact: | Joseph Coyne |
| Address: | |
| Phone #: | 617 348-4066 |
| E-Mail Address: | joseph.coyne@state.ma.us |
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