MassDEP to Visit Medfield State Hospital Site Thursday

Medfield Board of Selectmen chair Osler “Pete” Peterson posted an e-mail from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), confirming receipt of the request to appeal the to the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM).

Peterson said the e-mail was forwarded to him by one of the parties who had appealed the Conservation Commission's Order of Conditions.

"The MassDEP e-mail went to those who appealed, not to me and/or the town to my knowledge," Peterson said. "The town did not appeal [and] therefore [is] not officially a part of the appeal."

The Conservation Commission issued DCAM an Order of Conditions in August for remediation work on the former site to address oil in the Charles River and contaminated soil along the banks of the Construction and Demolition Debris (C&D) area of the property. Town officials are not in favor of DCAM's proposed work because it does not result in permanent removal of the contamination and instead calls for a "capping" of the oil in the river to prevent it from spreading beyond the current area.

The following groups and organizations agreed with town officials and as a result, filed protests of the Order of Conditions to MassDEP: Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Trustees of Reservations and a 10-member resident group from Medfield that Bill Massaro, resident and abutter of the state hospital property is the spokesperson of.

In response to the protests and appeals by these groups, MassDEP has scheduled a meeting and site inspection, according to the e-mail posted on Peterson’s blog.

MassDEP has invited the following groups and organizations to participate in the meeting: Medfield Conservation Commission, DCAM, CRWA and the 10-resident group. The meeting will begin Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at the site of the former Medfield State Hospital. Exact location is unknown at this time.

"The purpose of the meeting is to determine whether DCAM's Conservation Commission-approved plan fails, as we stated in our appeal, to protect the river, riverbank, fisheries, wildlife, environmental, conservation and recreational interests as required by the Wetlands Protection Act," Massaro said.

Massaro said “it appears” several issues may have contributed to a possible delay in the start of the remediation work.

"These appeals, recent heavy rain, and our state and federal representatives' interest and support appear to have delayed DCAM's proposed start of the C&D work from this low-water season, ending Oct. 31, until June of next year,” Massaro said. “We still have major concerns with the appropriateness and adequacy of the currently approved plan.”

The primary goal of these appeals is not to delay the project, according to Massaro, but rather to obtain satisfactory remediation of the site. 

“The appeals/protests seek either a DEP issuance of a superseding order of denial, overturning the Medfield Conservation Commission’s approval or a superseding order, which imposes additional conditions on DCAM to more completely remediate the C&D area." 

The purpose of Thursday’s site meeting, from MassDEP’s perspective, is to “determine the significance of the area to the interests of the Wetlands Protection Act and to informally discuss issues relevant to the referenced project,” Gary Dulmaine, Bureau of Resource Protection for Division of Wetlands and Waterways said in his e-mail to those who appealed the Order of Conditions.

Peterson said he was likely to attend simply for informational purposes and was not sure if other town officials would be in attendance.

"[I] had not even planned on attending at first," Peterson said of the meeting. "I saw it as a DEP requirement, relating to an appeal the Board of Selectmen were not part of, so at first I had intended to stay away. If the meeting is conducted just on the appeal issues alone, then I do not see much that can be done at the meeting. However, the letter seemed to be geared towards solutions, so perhaps I rather should view it as another opportunity to try to tweak the ultimate result, just via a different forum.  I have almost committed to myself that I will attend."

Town Administrator Michael Sullivan received an e-mail from state representative Denise Garlick, confirming she would attend, according to Peterson.

To read the e-mail in its entirety, click here.