Federally Funded Batchelder Cleanup

Should Be Complete By Year’s End

By John Voket

This week the federal Environmental Protection Agency is beginning work to remove contaminated materials from the Batchelder site on Swamp Road. The project is the culmination of what First Selectman Pat Llodra called “a 20-year journey” related to the contaminated industrial parcel.

According to the EPA, the cleanup is expected to be completed in approximately two months.

“This is an important step that is happening here,” said Health District Director Donna Culbert. “We’re glad to see movement on a site that has laid stagnant for a long time. And we’re excited to anticipate some level of productive reuse in the future.”

Deputy Director of Land Use Rob Sibley will serve as the municipal contact for anyone who has questions or concerns about the project as this phase occurs and in the future. He said Newtown has “been desperately looking toward this moment as the final step in making Batchelder site viable for future use.”

“The town has worked long and hard to transform a contaminated site to a productive parcel,” Mr Sibley told The Bee following the EPA’s formal announcement.

Mr Sibley explained that there is above and below ground contamination on the site, carrying both immediate health risks and long-term environmental impact.

“The EPA is taking care of above ground contamination which is an immediate health risk, and is the most expensive part of the cleanup,” Mr Sibley said. “Most old industrial parcels have contamination ranging from old tanks to solvents in the ground. But the Batchelder site is unique because of the sheer amount of above ground substance and storage.”

The EPA stated that contamination at the site does not present health risks to the neighboring area; however, town officials would like to remind residents that it is important to remain off the property.

The land use official said initially, federal and state oversight agencies believed the best way to keep individuals off the property was to put a fence around it to deter trespassing.

“But that wasn’t working too well, and did not alleviate the issue,” Mr Sibley said.

Llodra Credited

Mr Sibley said the EPA has determined the current project is a good use of funds and resources, and it may have not happened without the involvement of the first selectman.

“Discussions with Pat [Llodra] have provided a lot of outside the box thinking when looking at the potential of that site,” Mr Sibley said. “The uses that Newtown has looked at must be compatible with the neighborhood as well as what the site can support.”

But nothing could move forward until the contaminated substances stored above the ground were mitigated, local officials agreed.

“I’m pleased we are getting this level of attention and assistance from the EPA,” Mrs Llodra said, while hinting about possible future partnerships with the federal environmental agency once the town is cleared to begin possibly utilizing part of the site for commercial or municipal purposes.

“We are actively looking to return this property to the tax rolls,” Mrs Llodra said.

The Batchelder site was a former aluminum smelting facility that was in operation from 1947 to 1987, when the property was abandoned. The operations included smelting aluminum and using oil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to heat the facility building and run the smelters.

The EPA said this resulted in the generation of large piles of fine metal waste product called baghouse fines and dross. These piles are contaminated with high levels of metals including cadmium, lead, tin, chromium, copper, zinc, and nickel, as well as PCBs.

Safety Hazards

There are also numerous safety hazards on the property, including buildings in disrepair, open pits, broken glass, old machinery, and debris piles. A six-foot fence topped with barbed wire, encircling the entire facility, was installed and warning signs were posted to prevent access to those hazards.

Town officials warn residents to obey the No Trespassing signs.

Several remediation projects in the past have been implemented to address some contamination concerns. In 1997, EPA conducted a removal action at the site, which included the removal of a lead-contaminated soil pile, asbestos-containing roofing shingles, drums, containers, and aboveground storage tanks.

An updated Health Consultation, which is a document evaluating the potential health affects, of the Batchelder property was recently completed by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Their evaluation concluded that the site could present a public health hazard to trespassers because of the high levels contaminants in the waste piles and because of the safety hazards on the property. The state DPH fully supports an Environmental Protection Agency Removal Action that will reduce or eliminate the public health and safety hazards present at the site.

Ms Culbert said the town has worked to periodically repair the fencing and repost signs when the barriers and signs have been breached or altered by trespassers.

Activity during the first phase of cleanup will be most prominent around the former Charles Batchelder Company facility. Noise from these activities should not be excessive, but there may be some noise generated from stabilizing the building.

The EPA will be conducting air monitoring until work is complete and federal contractors and agency officials have demobilized from the site.