The highly contaminated site, having sat idle and an eyesore in a mostly residential area–and with groundwater contaminated with PCPs right next to the Housatonic River–is wearing patience thin.
The 8-acre parcel on the Housatonic River has sat for more than 20 years, scraggly and undeveloped, and is still loaded with chlorinated organic compounds like dioxins and PCPs. The site’s owner, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDC), will hold a public information meeting at the Mason Librarytoday (Wednesday, Jan. 4), at 5:30 p.m. to provide current plans for the site and gather public input.
At least a half dozen offers to buy the property have come in over the nine years it has been on the market, but the offers were too low to clear debts to the town and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The Kinder Morgan subsidiary had negotiated with Sandisfield town officials, drafting a contract that said it would give the town $1 million to fix roads and other town infrastructure damaged by company equipment. The company walked away when it was time to sign that contract.
In a letter to Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire, MassDEP wrote that, while the plan to remove all contaminated soil from both the Housatonic riverfront and from the area for an affordable housing development is “protective of human health and the environment,” the relocation of that soil to other parts of the site may be harmful.
In their legal filing to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection the complaint of the Citizens alleges that “the proposed pipeline would permanently degrade and impair water uses and quality for waters located at the heart of [8,500 acres] of interconnected, valuable open space.”
The chemical perchloroethylene, a known carcinogen and hormone disrupter, is “isolated to a small area in the building,” Benchmark Development's Michael Charles said, adding that the contamination was not found in the groundwater.
The permit split raised concerns that the 45 housing units would sit alone up against the wastewater treatment plant, with 6 acres of toxic soil either left there or remediated in phases.
Health Agent Jayne Smith and Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin now insist that all Housatonic Water Works drinking water is considered safe to drink, cook with, and bathe with.
The town, apparently, is now considering a more active role in the anomaly, as Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin had declared before the DPU, of “a privately owned company that provides public water.” This report newly updated with statements by Town Counsel David Doneski regarding two executive sessions dealing with the Housatonic Water Works Company.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Catherine Skiba would not comment on whether MassDEP has allowed this sort of partial capping in the past, or for a housing development.
The company has reneged on promises to compensate Sandisfield — population around 800 -- for wear and tear on roads and bridges, as well as $30,000 in legal fees.
While Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDC) has presented its plan for 45 units of affordable housing to several boards, the Zoning Board of Appeals is the one that has to decide whether to issue CDC its comprehensive permit.
In her letter to the editor, Nan Wile of Great Barrington writes: “I believe that we absolutely must persevere to create housing, and make it happen soon. At the same time we must preserve the small family neighborhoods of our village.”
In his letter to the editor, Tim Geller, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire, writes: "The 100 Bridge site is singled out in the Town Master Plan for precisely the kind of development proposed."
Tennessee Gas plans to use millions of gallons from Spectacle Pond to flush out newly installed pipes, raising concerns about chemicals from the pipes being released into the environment.
