State Hospital Cleanup: With Remediation on Hold, Medfield Awaits DCAM's Next Move

James O’Brien of the Boston Globe reported on Oct. 30 the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) has put its remediation work along the section of the Charles River that runs near the former Medfield State Hospital property on hold after withdrawing its permit application to the Army Corps of Engineers on Oct. 24.

DCAM’s permit application, according to O’Brien’s article, “Medfield: Site Cleanup on Hold,” called for a capping of oil-contaminated soil on the property.

O’Brien writes:

“The reason, according to the statement, is planners want more time to explore alternative ways to deal with the oil in the riverbed. … Work will not restart until new plans are presented and agreed upon.”

State officials, according to the article, are expected to meet with Medfield in early December. The public will be able to review new proposals for cleanup and submit feedback during a 20-day comment period.

At Tuesday’ Board of Selectmen meeting, John Thompson, chairman of the town’s State Hospital Environmental Review Committee (SHERC) spoke of the new developments taking place between DCAM and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

“In a nutshell, what’s happened or transpired in the last month is DCAM had this application into the Army Corps,” Thompson said. “The clock was ticking on their time period, which they were supposed to go out and work in the Charles River and the C&D area. We’ve had heavy rain and I don’t think the water level in the Charles River ever was low enough for them to really do the work. In any case, at the urging of the town and our representatives and Congressman Lynch, asking that DCAM withdraw its application to put this work off so that we could study more closely alternatives to what they had proposed to the C&D area.”

Before withdrawing its application with the Army Corps, DCAM requested from MassDEP an indefinite extension to do the work they had proposed, according to Thompson. MassDEP denied that request in late October via letter to DCAM.

“Embedded in the denial is a new schedule for [DCAM] to complete this work next summer, essentially,” Thompson said. “By Nov. 21, DCAM needs to submit what is called an Immediate Response Action modification and that’s basically a letter that describes a monitoring plan for the [oil] sediment in the Charles River over the winter months to make sure the condition of the river doesn’t move the oil around and change things. [The oil has] been there since 1978, so I don’t know if there will be a whole lot of movement.”

Thompson said DCAM’s alteration to its current plan will focus on monitoring the section of the Charles River that is contaminated with oil sediment.

“They’ll probably go out in boats or waders and check sediment levels in the Charles River over the next several months,” Thompson said.

In the denial letter issued to DCAM, MassDEP is requiring a separation of the two remaining remediation projects on the state hospital site.

“DEP [is asking] DCAM to separate the oil response from the [Construction and Demolition site] work,” Thompson said. “The C&D area of work was to put the flexible membrane liner around the edges of [the hazardous waste]. DCAM wanted to leave that there indefinitely and monitor it. The town has said they would like them to take that material out of there, especially the material in Zone 2 to the aquifer and below the water table.”

Moving forward, MassDEP wants DCAM to monitor the oil in the Charles River in addition to exploring various alternatives to remediate the C&D area. DCAM will be required to file its modified remedial action plan to MassDEP by Dec. 21.

“DEP is saying go back and by the end of the year and in response to the comments [made by the town], rewrite this remedial action plan encompassing these comments,” Thompson said. “By Dec. 21, DCAM has to submit a final Phase III remedial action plan that incorporates responses to public comments.”

SHERC met Thursday to review the comments the town will send to DCAM after the letter is approved by the selectmen. Thompson said while there will not be any significant changes to the draft letter the selectmen saw Tuesday, SHERC would spend Thursday better organizing the letter and making it more presentable to DCAM.

“These comments before [the selectmen] will have answers to each one from DCAM in this final Phase III [report] that they need to have on the street by Dec. 21,” Thompson said. “So, within that time period, DCAM also needs to initiate a new Army Corps permit because they’ve withdrawn that.”

Medfield’s comment letter must be submitted to DCAM by Nov. 14, unless the town successfully receives an extension because the Board of Selectmen do not meet again until Nov. 15.

Thompson said the town is actively seeking a more thorough cleanup of the focused areas than what is currently proposed and these comments that will be submitted to DCAM should serve more to the state agency than just another step in the process.

“Anytime there’s a cleanup in a community, the affected community is supposed to have a say in the result of that cleanup,” Thompson said. “It remains to be seen [if the town’s comments to DCAM will have an influence on the agency].”

Medfield resident John Harney, who has been actively following the status of the state hospital and the proposed remediation work, said it is the responsibility of the town to demand complete remediation of the site.

“I just don’t see how the town can tolerate anything less than that,” Harney said. “You don’t remove a bit of the cancer, you take all of the cancer. You don’t take half measures on something like this and say ‘well, maybe we reduced the risk.’ Take out the risk, if you can, and [DCAM] can. I don’t think anyone is saying [DCAM] can’t completely remediate that C&D area.”

Harney said the state, in his opinion, is acting much like a developer would in the sense the proposed remediation work is cost driven.

“[The state is looking] to minimize [its] cost and protect [its] assets,” Harney said.

 Harney pointed out further that if the state is worried about money, the argument could be made that less than complete remediation of the site ultimately reduces the amount of money it will get for the property.

“I would hope that the [selectmen], SHERC and all interested parties would demand a complete cleanup of that C&D area,” Harney said. “That we not be the generation that leaves an inheritance of a hazardous waste site for future generations coming into this town. We put it all there … take it all out.”

As for work DCAM has completed on the site, Thompson said the clay containment area and salvage yard are finished in addition to other improvements made on the property.

“I believe [DCAM] dressed up the hospital grounds some by removing brush and fixing broken windows and so forth,” Thompson said. “I think this [remediation work] will pickup more in the springtime and especially as we find out what the result will be for the C&D area. Something will happen up there with the C&D area, whether it’s temporarily capped or it’s removed in full, I would see that happening next summer so they could get the hospital grounds sort of on the runway for the next step of the reuse of the property.”