Medfield State Hospital Mediation Update Includes $3 Million Cleanup to be Paid by State

The Medfield State Hospital Mediation Committee and the Massachusetts' Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) have reached a tentative agreement wherein the state will clean up a portion of the former State Hospital site. 

The plan was laid out for the town on Thursday [and can be found on the town's website] and residents are asked to send their comments to the Board of Selectmen before its June 18 meeting. 

"It's a real gem for this town and, if we give it this kind of attention, we'll get back what we expect," John Thompson said. "We have to play an active role in the future of the Hospital property." 

DCAMM proposes to clean up a small portion of the 269 acre property -- the area near the Charles River (known the C&D area) and the former power plant -- at a cost of $2.5 to $3 million which it will cover at no cost to the town.

Medfield mediation members -- Chairman John Thompson, Ann Thompson, Bill Massaro -- and DCAMM Commissioner Carole Cornelison (along with mediator Jack Wofford) met with about 100 people at The Center at Medfield on Thursday to hear the latest cleanup plan in hopes it was better than the one proposed by the state, and rejected by the town, last year. 

"I think we have a plan that we hope meets with your approval," said Cornelison.

Mediation members say they scrapped the last plan and started from scratch to find a way to protect this "beautiful asset" that closed in 2003.  

In a 30-minute presentation, described the area as a sensitive area. 

The restoration plan includes excavating material from the C&D area which would include removing big pieces of construction waste and taking that off site, relocating material off the power plant area, and restoring the grades in that area. 

John Thompson said there is currently 10 to 12 feet of construction and demolition debris in the area that is blocking flood storage. When the hospital was in use, this area was used as a dumping ground -- essentially, nothing was taken off site -- and it is now a 2.5 acre site of waste materials 10 feet high. 

Another incident leading to the contamination of the site was the overfilling of a 20,000 gallon underground storage tank, after the hospital converted from coal to oil in the 1950s. 

And a further consideration is the 24 inch Algonquin Spectra gas line that runs through the property. 

Over the course of the last year, many samples were taken and areas identified for remediation. 

The proposed plan will move off-site as many materials as possible, and then move other materials to the "relocation area" further inland (there is no place in Massachusetts that will take hazardous materials). 

The typical cap detail was described as (from top to bottom):

• vegetation at the finish grade
• 36" of loam
• a textile separation layer
• 24" of crushed stone
• a colored geotextile demarcation layer
• relocated C&D material
• a colored geotextile demarcation layer at the current existing surface grade

Also proposed for the relocation area, is a path that will reconnect the Bay Circuit Trail which currently drops off in that area. 

A potential canoe launch area is proposed near the old pump house and historical vehicle use area (where the police and fire department would also be able to access the river when need be). 

Flood storage would be restored under this plan. Currently, there is limited flood storage at C&D site (sometimes causing Route 109 to flood during a heavy storm) causing an interruption of natural river bank ecology. The goal of restoration is to reconnect the riverbank ecology and create the capacity for five million gallons of flood storage.  

Additional components include: 

• demolition of the Odyssey House, Carriage House, Laundry Building
• Legislative support: water tower land and well field
• police/fire river access: railroad trestle
• ongoing collaboration
• public input

If the plan is accepted by the town and the state, the next steps include:

• permits: withdraw and resubmit
• updated MCP docs and PIP process
• ongoing cooperation
• town.medfield.net

For more information, including a full version of the June 6 presentation, visit town.medfield.net