Conservation Commission Issues Order of Conditions to DCAM for Cleanup of State Hospital Site

After nearly two hours of discussion and review, the Medfield Conservation Commission unanimously voted to approve and issue the Order of Conditions Tuesday to the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) so it can continue its remediation work of the C&D area of the . 

The Order of Conditions (OOC) was required before DCAM could begin remediation work detailed in its Notice of Intent (NOI) and the Department of Environmental Protection's Immediate Response Action plan (IRA). 

Medfield officials, residents and the State Hospital Environmental Review Committee (SHERC)  with DCAM's plan for a "temporary solution" to cap oil and remove contaminated soil from the Charles River and along its banks in the C&D area of the state hospital site because it will waste resources and time.

Medfield resident and state hospital abutter, Bill Massaro, said his concern is that DCAM's temporary solution may turn out to be a permanent one, which would not be in the town's best interest. 

“[I] believe there is no need [for a temporary solution because the] contamination is decades old and is not actively eroding into the [Charles River],” Massaro said. “The major concern is fear that what DCAM is proposing as a lower-cost, temporary measure, needing to be done now during low-water, [levels] would actually turn out to be permanent. The property is slated for turnover to the Department of Conservation/Recreation and it is entirely possible that neither they nor DCAM will have future funding to allow the appropriate cleanup, if [the town does] not push for it now.”

Massaro detailed the issues the town faces with DCAM's Notice of Intent and DEP's Immediate Response Action plan in a report to Medfield Selectmen chair Osler Peterson. 

Despite those concerns, the Conservation Commission elected to issue the OOC to DCAM , which culminated Tuesday with DCAM getting the green light to proceed with the "temporary" remediation plan stated in its Notice of Intent. 

DCAM's temporary plan, according to Massaro is as follows:

"DCAM’s proposed NOI/IRA [is] to cover a small area of oil contamination in the [Charles River] and riprap (basically big chunks of stone armoring) to be put along 200 feet of the bank to keep the asbestos and other contaminants in the river bank from eroding into the river. A swath about 50 feet wide and 200 feet long behind the riprap at the water’s edge would be removed/regraded and replaced with clean fill. A membrane cap covered with 3 feet of more clean soil would be placed over this new riverfront bank  and some, not all, of the remaining 3 acres of C&D Area contaminated soil. The in-river Aquablok cap was supposedly chosen because rapid approval from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was required to meet the DEP's IRA deadline, and a dredging permit would have taken too long to secure."

The Conservation Commission reviewed changes and revisions to the OOC at Tuesday's meeting and spent much time reviewing the Findings of Fact, with ConCom member Deborah Bero stressing the importance of making clear the commission was permitting the work as represented by DCAM during the public hearings as being "temporary in response to the result of the Immediate Response Action plan and not work that would be intended to remediate the site as a permanent solution under the MCP."

Town Counsel Mark Cerel said Bero's clarification may be accurate, but legally, the Findings of Fact would have little relevance to any legal action or appeal made because ConCom is operating under state regulations and not local bylaws. 

"You’re not going to have a direct review by a superior court judge, which would call into play the facts and whatever else is in the record to support the facts," Cerel said. "If there were to be an appeal to DEP, there would be a completely new proceeding so you don’t need to get hung up in great detail on the facts."

Despite Cerel's explanation, ConCom chairman Michael Perloff proceeded to read and review the Findings of Fact aloud before the commission ultimately approved it in the OOC. 

ConCom also discussed the role of an Environmental Monitor that would be employed by DCAM during cleanup and would perform routine inspections on the stability and effectiveness of the temporary solution after its completion. This work would include monitoring the aquablock cap in the Charles River and confirming that ConCom’s OOC is being met by DCAM.

Members from DCAM were in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting and upon ConCom’s approval of the OOC, said it would “review [the OOC] before agreeing to it but there shouldn’t be any problems.”