Springfield must conduct soil tests for new waterline in toxics path

Hazardous waste is the gift that keeps on giving a headache to the town of Springfield.

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Published March 30, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Springfield must conduct soil tests for new waterline in toxics path By Susan Smallheer SPRINGFIELD — Hazardous waste is the gift that keeps on giving a headache to the town of Springfield. The town signed a $30,000 contract Monday to pay for 23 test borings to trace the toxic waste that is spreading under Clinton Street between Irving Gas and the old Jones & Lamson Machine Tool Co. Town Manager Tom Yennerell said the contract with Environmental Compliance Service of Brattleboro was necessary because the town wants to install a new 12-inch water main along Clinton Street in anticipation of the state paving Clinton and Main streets later this year, and state regulators insisted on knowing what was underneath the pipeline route. “It’s our project, our street, our contaminated land,” Yennerell said Tuesday. “They have to give us a permit to build that water line, and they want to know exactly what contamination we are going to unearth.” The Irving gas station on Clinton Street is the former site of a coal tar plant, which in the past century produced gas for a now defunct gas system in the town. It’s been the subject of a long, involved lawsuit involving the state, the current owner, Bradford Oil, the town and Springfield Regional Development Corp., which now owns J&L. The pollution from the Irving Oil site is moving under Clinton Street toward J&L, which itself has its own substantial environmental problems, the result of decades of unrestricted disposal of toxic chemicals associated with the machine tool industry. Yennerell said the state Agency of Natural Resources wants to know exactly where the water line is going to be and what pollution is in the water line’s path. He said the “major plume” of the waste was directly across from the gas station. The contract with ECS includes the disposal of any soil. Yennerell said the town, rather than the state, must pay for the contract. The water line, which will be installed on the J&L side of Clinton Street, will make some crossings in order to serve Irving Oil gas station and convenience store, the Springfield Police Department and the former Bryant Corp. building. Yennerell said he was surprised that the state regulators didn’t want more testing done, but he said because the Irving Oil site has been the subject of extensive litigation, a lot was already known about what is under that land. The Vermont Environmental Court ordered monitoring of the site, rather than cleanup, Yennerell said. Yennerell said the long-awaited paving of Clinton and Main streets by Pike Industries is slated to begin in mid-April, with grinding of the surface to remove excess pavement. He said the first layer of pavement should be laid in May, with the final pavement later in the year after underground structures such as manholes and drains are raised. He said it was likely the new water main wouldn’t be in place before the first layer of new pavement, but would definitely be completed before the final paving. The exact cost of the upgrade of the water main from the existing 8 inches to 12 inches has yet to be determined, he said. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160330/NEWS02/160339935