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Former Filled Oxbows
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During the late 1930s and early 1940s, a portion of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield was rechannelized by the City (with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers) to straighten that stretch of the river for flood control purposes. The rechannelization process isolated former bends in the old river channel, creating a number of oxbows. These ponded or swampy oxbow areas were subsequently backfilled with various materials, including industrial wastes. A total of 11 former oxbow areas have been identified near the GE facility in Pittsfield. One of the 11 former oxbows (Oxbow H) is located within the GE Plant Area, and it is covered under the East Street Area 2 - South Removal Action Area (RAA). The other 10 former oxbows are included in the RAAs described below.
Former Oxbow Areas A and C - This Removal Action Area (RAA) occupies approximately 8 acres on seven privately-owned parcels, beginning approximately 250 ft downstream of the Lyman Street bridge, and includes two former bends in the river channel, Oxbows A and C, that were filled as described above. Former Oxbow Area A occupies a large open field along the south side of the Housatonic River, north of Elm Street and Newell Street. The majority of this area is undeveloped and covered with grass and low brush, although commercial businesses occupy a portion of the parcels containing the former Oxbow Area A. Former Oxbow Area C is located immediately northeast of Former Oxbow Area A, along the south side of the Housatonic River, near the end of Day Street. This area consists mostly of an undeveloped field surrounded by trees and brush. The Former Oxbow Areas A&C RAA does not include the banks of the Housatonic River. The banks of the river along this RAA are included in the 1½-Mile Reach Removal Action.
GE sampled this RAA in accordance with the Consent Decree and EPA-approved Pre-Design Investigation Work Plans. GE submitted Conceptual and Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plans and a series of addendums, revisions, and supplements from January 2005 through October 2006.
The remediation approved by EPA in the aforementioned Work Plans, and conducted by GE at this RAA, primarily consisted of the removal and proper disposal of 5,985 cubic yards of soil, and the backfilling and restoration of the affected areas. These activities were primarily conducted between July and November 2006. In May 2008, GE submitted a Final Completion Report and certified that all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities) were completed and that the soil-related Performance Standards were attained. On May 21, 2008, Massachusetts DEP sent a letter to EPA concurring that GE completed all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities). On June 3, 2008, EPA issued GE a Certificate of Completion for the Former Oxbows A & C RAA and transmitted the Certificate of Completion to GE, along with an approval letter for GE’s Final Completion Report.
GE is currently performing all required Post-Removal Site Control Activities, including inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities, as required by the Final Completion Report.
Lyman Street Area - This Removal Action Area (RAA) occupies approximately 17.5 acres and generally bounded by the Housatonic River banks to the south, the East Street Area 2-South RAA to the east, East Street and several commercial properties to the north, and Cove Street to the west. Lyman Street bisects the RAA into two areas. The portion of the RAA east of Lyman Street consists of the GE-owned former Lyman Street parking lot, which was historically paved, and an undeveloped parcel owned by Western Massachusetts Electric Company that has high tension electricity transmission lines. Former Oxbow Area D underlies the GE-owned former parking lot and Former Oxbow Area E is located within the Western Massachusetts Electric Company property. The portion of the RAA located west of Lyman Street consists of recreational and commercial properties and is where Former Oxbow Area B is located.
The Lyman Street RAA does not include the banks of the Housatonic River. The banks of the river east of Lyman Street are included in the Upper ½-Mile Reach Removal Action and the banks of the River west of Lyman Street are included in the 1½ Mile Reach Removal Action.
GE sampled this RAA in accordance with the Consent Decree and EPA-approved Pre-Design Investigation Work Plans. GE submitted a Conceptual Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in March 2004, a supplement to the Conceptual Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in January 2005, an Addendum to the Conceptual Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in May 2005, a Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in September 2005 and an Addendum to the Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in April 2006. EPA conditionally approved all of these Work Plans.
The remediation activities for this RAA were conducted in two phases. GE performed the remediation and restoration activities at the properties west of Lyman Street between August and September 2006. This included the removal and proper disposal of 3,260 cubic yards of soil, and the backfilling and restoration of the affected areas. GE performed the remediation and restoration activities at the properties east of Lyman Street between May and November 2007. This included the removal and proper disposal of 830 cubic yards of soil, the installation of 133,260 square feet of a vegetated engineered barrier, and the backfilling and restoration of the affected areas. For the entire RAA, GE removed and properly disposed of 4,090 cubic yards of soil.
It is anticipated that GE will submit a Final Completion Report in 2009. In the interim, GE is performing Post-Removal Site Control Activities, including inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities, in accordance with a draft Post-Removal Site Control Plan. A final Post-Removal Site Control Plan will be included in GE’s Final Completion Report.
Newell Street Area II - This Removal Action Area (RAA) occupies approximately 8 acres immediately west of Newell Street Area I and is generally bounded by the Housatonic River to the north, Newell Street and residential property to the south, and Sackett Street to the west. The RAA consists of land that included Former Oxbows F and G and low-lying areas associated with the Housatonic River that were filled as described above. Approximately 3 acres of this area is composed of the GE-owned former Newell Street Parking Lot, which was historically paved. The remaining GE-owned portions of this area are undeveloped. The non-GE-owned portions of this area consist of a City-owned stormwater drainage right-of-way, an undeveloped parcel owned by the Western Massachusetts Electric Company that has high-tension electricity transmission lines, and two other undeveloped properties. The Newell Street Area II RAA does not include the banks of the Housatonic River. The banks of the river along this RAA are included in the Upper ½-Mile Reach Removal Action.
GE sampled this RAA in accordance with the Consent Decree and EPA-approved Pre-Design Investigation Work Plans and supplements. GE submitted Conceptual and Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plans and a series of addendums, revisions, and supplements from July 2004 through May 2006, all of which EPA conditionally approved.
The original Work Plan documents called for soil removal and installation of a vegetative engineered barrier; however, due to the discovery of buried drums and capacitors during soil excavation activities, additional investigations and removal activities were conducted during which discernible containers and associated soil were excavated. Remedial activities for the area were initiated in July 2005 and were substantially completed in June 2006. A total of 155,750 square feet of engineered barrier was installed and 21,860 cubic yards of soil was removed, including 17,745 cubic yards generated pursuant to the original Work Plans and 4,115 cubic yards generated during the supplemental container removal activities. Additionally, 461 overpack drums were transported off site for disposal, including 89 with liquid-filled drums and 372 with capacitors. Further evaluation was conducted on undeveloped paper roads as described in an October 2008 design addendum, in which GE proposed the removal of a small quantity of soil. This soil removal is expected to be performed in early 2009.
It is anticipated that GE will submit a Final Completion Report in Spring 2009. In the interim, GE is performing Post-Removal Site Control Activities, including inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities, in accordance with a draft Post-Removal Site Control Plan. A final Post-Removal Site Control Plan will be included in GE’s Final Completion Report.
Newell Street Area I - This Removal Action Area (RAA) occupies approximately 11 acres on ten commercial/industrial properties and three recreational properties located along Newell Street. The RAA consists of land that includes Former Oxbow I and low-lying areas associated with the Housatonic River that were filled as described above. The RAA is generally bounded by the Housatonic River to the north, Newell Street to the south, the Hibbard School playground to the east (also known as the Lakewood Playground, note that the northwest corner of that playground falls within this RAA), and Ontario Street Extension and the GE-owned former Newell Street Parking Lot (Newell Street Area II) to the west. The Newell Street Area I RAA does not include the banks of the Housatonic River. The banks of the river along this RAA are included in the Upper ½-Mile Reach Removal Action.
Sampling of this area was completed in accordance with the requirements of the Consent Decree and EPA-approved Pre-Design Investigation Work Plans and supplements. GE submitted Conceptual and Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plans from January 2002 to June 2004, all of which EPA conditionally approved.
The remediation approved by EPA in the aforementioned Work Plans, and conducted by GE at this RAA, primarily consisted of the removal and proper disposal of 14,810 cubic yards of soil and installation of 66,840 square feet of engineered barrier. These activities were primarily conducted from September 2003 through June 2006. Minor remediation activities were also performed on one parcel from November 7 to November 9, 2007. In July 2008, GE submitted a Final Completion Report and certified that all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities) were completed and that the soil-related Performance Standards were attained. On August 21, 2008, Massachusetts DEP sent a letter to EPA concurring that GE completed all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities). On August 27, 2008, EPA issued GE a Certificate of Completion for the Newell Street Area I RAA and transmitted the Certificate of Completion to GE, along with an approval letter for GE’s Final Completion Report.
GE is currently performing all required Post-Removal Site Control Activities, including inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities, as required by the Final Completion Report.
Former Oxbow Areas J and K - This Removal Action Area (RAA) is located approximately 2,500 feet upstream of the Newell Street bridge (which marks the upstream end of the Upper ½-Mile Reach). The Former Oxbow J component of the RAA is approximately 6 acres in size, and is located along the north side of the Housatonic River, south of East Street, and between Fasce Place and Commercial Street. Former Oxbow Area J is composed of both recreational and commercial properties. The Former Oxbow K component of the RAA encompasses approximately 2 acres and is located along the south side of the Housatonic River across from Former Oxbow Area J, near Ventura Avenue. Former Oxbow Area K consists of undeveloped recreational properties and one residential property (that consists of two tax ID parcels). Both the riverbank and non-riverbank portions of the affected parcels are included within this RAA.
GE sampled this RAA in accordance with the Consent Decree and EPA-approved Pre-Design Investigation Work Plans. GE submitted a Conceptual Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in March 2005, a Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in September 2005 and an Addendum to the Final Removal Design/Removal Action Work Plan in April 2006. EPA conditionally approved all of these Work Plans. Between July and November 2006, in accordance with the EPA-approved Work Plans, GE performed the required remediation and restoration activities, which included the removal and proper disposal of 1,955 cubic yards of soil.
In May, 2008, GE submitted a Final Completion Report and certified that all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities) were completed and that the soil-related Performance Standards were attained. On May 21, 2008, Massachusetts DEP sent a letter to EPA concurring that GE completed all actions required by the Consent Decree (excluding Post-Removal Site Control Activities). On June 3, 2008, EPA issued GE a Certificate of Completion for the Former Oxbows J & K RAA and transmitted the Certificate of Completion to GE, along with an approval letter for GE’s Final Completion Report.
GE is currently performing all required Post-Removal Site Control Activities, including inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities, as required by the Final Completion Report.