Sites in Reuse in Massachusetts
Click on the image above to see a larger map with site locations.
Atlas Tack Corp.
The Atlas Tack Corporation site, located in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, includes 20 acres of land and wetlands. The original facility, constructed in 1901, manufactured tacks and steel nails until its closing in 1985. Operations discharged acids and metal-processing wastes into drains and an on-site, unlined acid neutralizing lagoon next to saltwater tidal marshes that extend into the Buzzards Bay Estuary. Waste disposal practices resulted in contamination of soil and ground water. In 1990, EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL). Beginning in 2004, EPA conducted cleanup activities at the site including demolition of on-site structures, removal of contaminated soil, site and ground water monitoring, and site restoration. EPA completed cleanup activities in 2007. EPA restored wetland areas on site to their pre-industrial condition and made enhancements to the wetlands to preserve the natural, scenic habitat. EPA assisted the community with determining appropriate future uses of the site which included commercial and industrial reuse as well as ecological and recreational reuse of the wetland areas.
Updated 1/2013
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Cannon Engineering Corporation
The Town of Bridgewater and a local propane distribution business have undertaken an unusual effort to clean up and redevelop the six-acre Cannon Engineering Corporation (CEC) Superfund site in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Beginning in the 1970s, CEC transported hazardous wastes as well as stored and burned hazardous wastes at the site. Mishandling of the waste and various reporting violations led to the closure of the facility in 1980. In 1982, the state removed contaminated sludge and drums from the site. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. In the mid-1990s, Osterman Propane Distribution (Osterman) relocated to the former CEC facility. Osterman stores and distributes propane at the site, and sells gas appliances and related equipment. In 1998, Omnipoint Communications Enterprises, Inc. began leasing a portion of the site and constructed a cellular communication tower. EPA continues to monitor the site by conducting a review of the cleanup actions every five years to ensure the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.
Updated 1/2013
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Fort Devens
The Fort Devens Superfund site, once a military base with extensive contamination, is now part of a large-scale redevelopment effort in central Massachusetts. Soil and ground water contamination resulted from military activities at the site since 1917. In 1989, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL). The closure and cleanup of the site attracted numerous public and private sector organizations that recognized the redevelopment potential of part of the site. Redevelopment authority MassDevelopment has brought warehouses and distribution centers, manufacturing and industrial space, and research and development facilities to the site. Several federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Defense, have put almost 600 acres of the site back into productive use. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) used another 836 acres of the site to expand the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. The successful partnership between EPA, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, the State of Massachusetts and MassDevelopment in support of redevelopment has contributed to increased employment opportunities as well as increased revenue for the local community.
Updated 1/2013
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Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex
The Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex Superfund site, a former U.S. Army military installation, covers approximately four square miles and includes portions of the towns of Maynard, Stow, Hudson, and Sudbury, Massachusetts. Established in 1942, the site served as an ammunition depot, an ordnance test station, a troop training and research area, and a laboratory disposal area. EPA identified contamination resulting from use of pesticides and other chemicals on portions of the site and added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990. The U.S. Army worked with EPA to remove contaminated soil, cover an on-site landfill with a cap, remove underground storage tanks, and monitor ground water. Currently, several entities own portions of the site. In 2000, the Army transferred 2,230 acres of the site to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS established the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge on the transferred land. In 2005, USFWS completed construction of walking trails within the refuge. In 2008, USFWS completed restoration of Russell Bridge. In 2010, a visitor center and other park amenities opened at the refuge. USFWS used green building techniques when constructing the visitor center, which includes a geothermal heating system and solar panels. The visitor center welcomes visitors Thursday through Sunday. The refuge provides recreational opportunities including hiking, canoeing, guided tours of the military bunkers on site, hunting and fishing. USFWS’s future plans for the refuge include educational demonstration areas, restoration of on-site bunkers, an urban education area and a rail-to- trail project at the abandoned railroad on the south side of the refuge. In 2002, the Army transferred four acres to the US Air Force (USAF). USAF uses the area for operation of a radar and weather station. In 2003, the Army transferred approximately 72 acres of the site to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA uses the land for its operations and training missions. FEMA has cleared six acres for use as a temporary antenna field.
Updated 1/2013
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GE/Housatonic River Site
The GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River site includes a 254-acre former manufacturing facility, filled river oxbows, neighboring commercial properties, Allendale School, Silver Lake and other areas contains contamination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other hazardous substances released from the General Electric Company (GE) facility located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The Site also includes the Housatonic River and floodplains from Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Long Island Sound. The portion of the River beginning two miles south of the GE facility is referred to as Rest of River, and a cleanup decision on Rest of River is currently pending. A Consent Decree entered in federal Court in 2000 specified the cleanup of all other areas of the site. Since 2000, extensive cleanup of the Site has occurred with 17 of 20 cleanup actions outside the river completed and the remediation of Silver Lake (the 18th cleanup action) currently underway. The remaining two cleanup actions outside the river are expected to be completed within the next 5 years and two miles of the Housatonic River have also been cleaned up. ----- As part of on-going cleanup activities, the community has prioritized the reuse of the former GE facility, located in the heart of downtown Pittsfield. Funded by a Superfund Redevelopment pilot grant, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA) developed a reuse plan that outlined opportunities for sports fields and an office park. In 2004, GE built a three-acre recreational facility on site for the community, including a baseball diamond, soccer field, jogging track, equipment storage, fencing and lighting. From 2005 through February 2012, PEDA received ownership of 50 acres of the site for the development of the William Stanley Business Park. The William Stanley Business Park provides commercial and industrial space for area businesses. The Park’s first tenant, a financial services company, constructed a 170,000 square-foot building from 2011 to May 2012, with an official opening of the building in June 2012. Also, in 2010, Western Massachusetts Electric Company installed an 8-acre solar power facility, using two acres of the site and six acres from an adjacent property. In addition to the land transferred to PEDA, there are two large employers that continue to operate on the GE-owned portion of the 254-acre facility. Several land uses have continued on the non-GE owned portion of the site (excluding the Rest of River), including an elementary school, approximately 86 residential properties, approximately 35 commercial properties and a city park.
Updated 1/2013
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Hatheway and Patterson
The 40-acre Hatheway and Patterson site in Mansfield, Massachusetts includes the area where Hatheway and Patterson Company operated a wood preserving facility from 1953 until 1993. Wood treating operations used pentachlorophenol (PCP) in fuel oil, creosote, fluoro-chrome-arsenate-phenol salts, chromated copper-arsenate, fire retardants and other chemicals. Releases of chemicals used during operations resulted in ground water contamination, as well as contamination of Rumford River’s fisheries and wetlands. The site received $20 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to conduct soil, ground water and surface water cleanup activities. Expedited cleanup allowed for portions of the site to be put into reuse right away. Currently, the portion of the site located near the Mansfield train station includes a 119-space commuter rail parking lot. Users of the lot can take advantage of a free shuttle service provided by the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority to and from the train station.
Updated 1/2013
For more information:
- 2011 Return to Use Demonstration Project (PDF) (2 pp, 317K, About PDF)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
Industri-Plex
A unique public/private partnership has resulted in the redevelopment of the Industri-Plex Superfund site. A regional transportation center, a major commercial and retail district and a wetland preserve now occupy the site, located in Woburn, Massachusetts just 12 miles outside of Boston. From 1853 to 1969, several manufacturers produced chemicals, insecticides, munitions and glue products made from raw and chrome-tanned animal hides at the site. As a result, large waste piles of animal hides, heavy metals and other hazardous chemicals collected on site. In 1983, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA and the State of Massachusetts constructed several protective covers over contaminated portions of the site to allow for productive reuse of the areas. Following cleanup activities, several public and private sector improvements took place at the site including a new interstate highway exchange, public roads, a 200,000 square-foot shopping center, an office park and a hotel complex. Restored wetlands and grass-covered hills provide scenic open space at the site. EPA recognized the site’s successful redevelopment with prestigious Phoenix Award in 2000. Then in 2001, the 34-acre, $10-million James Anderson Regional Transportation Center opened at the site. The center relieves congestion on several highways leading into Boston and eases the commutes of many area residents. ----- EPA supported another redevelopment opportunity at the Industri-Plex Superfund Site from 2008-2009 resulting in the construction of a Chipotle Restaurant and a 27,000 square foot Bob’s Discount Furniture Store. EPA and the state approved the transfer of the existing developed property to a developer. The developer worked with EPA and the state to record institutional controls for the property at the registry of deeds and to prepare work plans to protect the remedy, public health and environment during redevelopment. The developer also worked closely with EPA and local government tearing down the existing building and transforming the property. Both stores were open by September 2009.
Updated 1/2013
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Materials Technology Laboratory (USARMY)
The Materials Technology Laboratory (USARMY) Superfund site, better known as the “Arsenal”, is located in Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1816, the U.S. Army began their operations at the site and employed 10,000 people by the end of World War II. The Army used the site for a variety of military- and war-related activities, including weapons and ammunition manufacturing and storage, as well as nuclear reactor and molecular and atomic structure research activities in the 1960s. In 1987, the Army discovered contamination during a site inspection. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1994. Cleanup activities removed contamination and demolished an on-site nuclear reactor. From 1996 to 2005, the Watertown Arsenal Development Corporation (WADC), helped to facilitate redevelopment of 30 acres of the site. Harvard University purchased the area and constructed a mixed use complex called Arsenal on the Charles, which incorporates the style and architecture of the original brick buildings in the area. The complex includes apartments, retail stores, restaurants, a child care facility, a fitness center, corporate offices and various other businesses. The Arsenal Center for the Arts, also located within the complex, serves as an important cultural asset to the community with a theater, gallery space, artists’ studios, and other resources and services. The Commander’s Mansion, a historic landmark, occupies a 7.2 acre area of the site and provides a space for meetings and formal functions. The popular Squibnocket Park is located on an 11-acre parcel along the Charles River and provides biking and walking trails, as well as access to the Watertown Yacht Club, a privately-owned marina that has been operating since 1940. The Army restored wetlands along the Charles River and EPA deleted the site from the NPL in 2006.
Updated 1/2013
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New Bedford
The 18,000-acre New Bedford Harbor site includes sediments contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. At least two manufacturers in New Bedford, Massachusetts, used PCBs while producing electric devices from 1940 to the late 1970s. Operations discharged industrial wastes directly into the harbor and indirectly into the harbor via the city's sewage system, contaminating the tidal estuary habitat of the harbor from the upper Acushnet River into Buzzards Bay. In 1983, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL). Ongoing cleanup activities include dredging and capping of contaminated sediments as well as soil excavation and wetland restoration at shoreline properties. The site received $30 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to support cleanup activities. Following the completion of cleanup activities, New Bedford will reuse EPA's 6-acre shoreline dewatering facility, located on the City’s working waterfront, as an intermodal transportation facility. The facility will include 350 feet of berthing space for freighters or commercial fishing vessels, a 55,000 square foot warehouse and a rail spur connecting to the City's rail yard. Cleanup activities in 2009 led to the discovery of a shipwrecked vessel in the harbor. Archeological investigations dated the vessel between the late 1700s and early 1800s. In 2011, EPA completed demolition of the 11-acre Aerovox mill, located along the Acushnet River, providing the City with additional space for future redevelopment. Local residents use the harbor for recreational activities such as rowing.
Updated 1/2013
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Norwood PCBs
The 26-acre Norwood PCB site is located on Route 1 in a commercial area of Norwood, Massachusetts. Beginning in 1942, several businesses have manufactured and maintained electrical components at the site. Operations continued until site owners subdivided the site in the mid-1980s. During site investigations, EPA identified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the soil and groundwater on site as well as in sediment of a nearby brook. In 1986, EPA listed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL). Cleanup activities at the site have included excavation and consolidation of contaminated soil and sediment beneath an asphalt cap, demolition of on-site structures, construction and operation of a ground water treatment facility from 1996-2001, and implementation of a long-term ground water, surface water and sediment monitoring plan. In 2008, the site property owner and developers finished construction of a 56,000 square feet commercial/retail space. Developers located the new buildings adjacent to the “permanent cap area” and brought in additional pavement to enable use of the permanent cap area as a central parking lot, thus increasing the thickness of the asphalt cap remedy.
Updated 1/2013
For more information:
- 2012 Return to Use Demonstration Project (PDF) (2 pp, 595K, About PDF)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
South Weymouth Naval Air Station
The South Weymouth Naval Air Station consists of 1,442 acres in the towns of Weymouth, Abington and Rockland, Massachusetts. Historically, military operations at the site included aviation training, aircraft maintenance and refueling, personnel training, housing and administrative support services. Waste disposal activities also took place at the site and included three landfills, a tile leachfield used for the disposal of battery acid and burn pits for fire training. After sampling confirmed on-site contamination in 1991, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. The base closed under the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) and cleanup began in 1997. The local reuse authority, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration have received over 600 acres of the site. Redevelopment negotiations between the Navy and private developers took place from 1997 until 2011, when a private developer purchased the remaining site acreage. The $25 million transaction provides the developer, LNR Property Corp., with land to complete redevelopment work on a new mixed use community at the site called SouthField. Following its completion, SouthField will include 2,800 homes, 2 million square feet of stores and offices, a golf course, athletic fields and other facilities.
Updated 1/2013
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Sullivan's Ledge
The Sullivan’s Ledge site includes a 12-acre former quarry that operated until 1921. In 1935, the City of New Bedford assumed ownership of the site and converted it to a dump for hazardous materials. Waste disposal activities occurred at the site from the 1940s until the 1970s when the City closed the dump and backfilled the disposal areas. The state of Massachusetts identified soil contamination at the site and EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984. EPA identified additional contamination in ground water and wetland areas which extended into the neighboring golf course. Cleanup activities included placing a cap over the site, removing contaminated soil and sediment, restoring wetlands and removing contamination from the golf course. EPA conducted cleanup activities in a way that allowed the continued use of the golf course during the cleanup process.
Updated 1/2013
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Wells G & H
The Wells G & H Superfund site includes 330 acres of land and contaminated ground water in Woburn, Massachusetts. Historically, operations at the site included dry cleaning, solvent storage, truck terminals, drum disposal and plastics manufacturing. In 1979, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection discovered significant levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in two municipal supply wells, known as Wells G and H, and subsequently closed the two wells. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Response actions have included the excavation and removal of debris and contaminated soils, on-site treatment and incineration of contaminated soils, and extraction and treatment of contaminated ground water. EPA found soil and shallow ground water contaminant levels at the former Aberjona Auto Parts property below the human health risk for skin contact, but the ground water did not meet drinking water standards. In 2002, the City of Woburn’s Redevelopment Authority began exploring reuse options for the site. Recommendations included office and retail space, nature and walking trails, wetland restoration and an ice skating rink. In 2002, a developer seized the opportunity, purchased the property and began implementing plans to clear the junkyard of dismantled cars and transform it into an ice skating arena. Completed in 2008, the successful new ice arena not only adheres to the site’s ground water use restrictions by relying on publicly-supplied water, but it also provides enhanced recreational opportunities for community members in a region that places a high value on the sport of ice hockey. The site owner also leases other portions of the property to small businesses that support local needs, such as a dog care facility, bus storage yard and an auto supplier shop. Following sediment cleanup activities, the City plans to reuse part of the site for ecological and recreational purposes, complete with wildlife viewing platforms and hiking trails.
Updated 1/2013