GE/Housatonic River Site in New England
Serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont & 10 Tribal Nations
Floodplain Properties
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The cleanup agreement requires General Electric to investigate and cleanup PCBs and non-The cleanup agreement requires General Electric to investigate and cleanup PCBs in the soils of specific properties that lie within the Housatonic River floodplain downstream of the Lyman Street Bridge. These floodplain areas have been identified using historic information concerning flood conditions along the river and hydraulic models of the river floodplain showing where PCB concentrations in soil are predicted to equal 1 ppm. The floodplain properties identified in the cleanup agreement are presented on the following Figure: Housatonic River Floodplain Properties Under Investigation. (PDF) (1 pg, 875K, about PDF)
The cleanup agreement identifies three different categories, or Removal Action Areas (RAAs), of floodplain properties:
- Floodplain Current Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach- Actual/Potential Lawns;
- Floodplain Non-Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach (Excluding Banks);
- Floodplain Residential Properties Downstream of Confluence - Actual/Potential Lawns.
As further discussed below, remediation is complete at the Floodplain Current Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach- Actual/Potential Lawns RAA and at the Floodplain Non-Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach (Excluding Banks) RAA.
Remediation of the Floodplain Residential Properties Downstream of Confluence - Actual/Potential Lawns RAA is currently anticipated to be performed concurrent to Rest of River remediation activities, if any.
Floodplain Current Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach - Actual/Potential Lawns - The 1½-Mile Reach is defined by the Lyman Street bridge (upstream) and the confluence with the West Branch (downstream). This RAA consist of the non-bank portion of 37 residential properties. The riverbank and river bottom portion of these properties are excluded from the RAA and were remediated pursuant to the 1½ Mile Reach Removal Action.
GE and EPA agreed that the investigation, and subsequent remediation, if necessary, would be performed in the following four phases:
Phase 1: From Lyman Street to Elm Street (2 residential properties)
Phase 2: From Elm Street to Dawes Avenue (4 residential properties)
Phase 3: From Dawes Avenue to Pomeroy Avenue (26 residential properties)
Phase 4: From Pomeroy Avenue to the confluence (5 residential properties)
This allowed for the floodplain remediation to be coordinated with the adjacent 1½ Mile Reach Removal Action, which was performed by EPA, pursuant to the Consent Decree.
Under the Consent Decree, GE collected additional samples in this RAA from 2002 through 2005. No remediation activities were required on the two Phase 1 residential properties. Soil remediation and restoration activities were performed at two of the four Phase 2 residential properties between August and October 2007. Soil remediation and restoration activities were performed at twenty-one of the twenty-six Phase 3 residential properties between June and November 2005. Soil remediation and restoration activities were performed at four of the five Phase 4 residential properties between May and December 2006. For the entire RRA, GE removed and properly disposed of 10,810 cubic yards of soil from twenty-seven residential properties. The remaining ten properties did not require soil remediation to meet the residential Performance Standards.
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 Floodplain Current Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach- Actual/Potential Lawns 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.
Floodplain Non-Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach (Excluding Banks) - As noted above, the 1½-Mile Reach is defined by the Lyman Street Bridge (upstream) and the confluence with the West Branch (downstream), including Fred Garner Park. This RAA includes non-bank portions of 10 non-residential properties along this reach where such portions are located within the floodplain. Excluded from this RAA are those properties associated with the Former Oxbow Areas RAAs. In addition, the riverbank and river bottom portion of these properties are excluded from the RAA and were remediated pursuant to the 1½ Mile Reach Removal Action.
As with the residential floodplain properties, GE and EPA agreed that the investigation, and subsequent remediation, if necessary, would be performed in the following four phases:
Phase 1: From Lyman Street to Elm Street (3 non-residential properties)
Phase 2: From Elm Street to Dawes Avenue (1 non-residential property)
Phase 3: From Dawes Avenue to Pomeroy Avenue (0 non-residential properties)
Phase 4: From Pomeroy Avenue to the confluence (6 non-residential properties)
This allowed for the floodplain remediation to be coordinated with the adjacent 1½ Mile Reach Removal Action, which was performed by EPA, pursuant to the Consent Decree.
Under the Consent Decree, GE collected additional samples in this RAA from 2002 through 2005. No remediation activities were required on the three Phase 1 non-residential properties. Soil remediation and restoration activities were performed at the one Phase 2 residential property between August and October 2007. There aren’t any non-residential properties located in Phase 3. Soil remediation and restoration activities were performed at five of the six Phase 4 non-residential properties between May and December 2006. For the entire RRA, GE removed and properly disposed of 3,375 cubic yards of soil from six non-residential properties. The remaining four properties did not require soil remediation to meet the applicable Performance Standards.
In April 2010, 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 7, 2010, 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 May 17, 2010, EPA issued GE a Certificate of Completion for the Floodplain Non-Residential Properties Adjacent to 1½-Mile Reach (Excluding Banks) 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.
Floodplain Residential Properties Downstream of Confluence - Actual/Potential Lawns - This RAA begins at the confluence with the West Branch and extends in a downriver direction. This RAA includes the Actual/Potential Lawns of the following residential properties where such areas are located within the floodplain: approximately 12 residential properties between the confluence and Woods Pond Dam and any other residential properties downstream of Woods Pond Dam with Actual/Potential Lawns present in the floodplain that are found to contain PCBs at concentrations greater than 2 ppm.
The Floodplain Properties do not include river sediments and riverbank soils, as well as other floodplain soils downstream of the confluence (i.e., non-residential areas and residential areas that are not Actual/Potential Lawns).
As specified in the Consent Decree, GE shall investigate each property, determine the spatial average PCB and non-PCB contaminant concentrations in the property soils at various depth intervals (down to a maximum of 15 feet), and either remove the soils or install an engineered barrier over the soils if the soil spatial average concentration exceeds the standards presented in the Consent Decree. Remediation of the Floodplain Residential Properties Downstream of Confluence - Actual/Potential Lawns RAA is currently anticipated to be performed concurrent to Rest of River remediation activities, if any.