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EPA MOVES AHEAD ON CLEANUP PLAN FOR LAKE SUCCESS BUSINESS PARK

Release Date: 03/13/1997
Contact Information: Stephanie Carr, EPA Facility Manager (617) 223-5593 Jim Murphy, EPA Community Relations Coordinator, (617) 918-1028

BOSTON --- The EPA issued a final decision today on a plan to excavate and treat soils from 37 contaminated areas on the Lake Success Business Park property in Bridgeport, CT and in response to public comment, has modified the plan to require additional cleanup in a "buffer zone" extending 200-feet inward along the property's perimeter.

Cleanup standards in this buffer zone are designed to protect the health of residents whose properties abut Lake Success Business Park. Sporting Goods Properties, Inc., the company that owns Lake Success Business Park, will spend an estimated $10 million to implement the plan.

"The buffer zone designation demonstrates that residents have a voice and can influence the cleanup of contaminated properties in their communities," said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England office. "It is essential that local residents feel empowered to help make these critical cleanup decisions. We will continue to encourage community members in Bridgeport and throughout New England to participate in activities that directly affect their environment, health and, ultimately, quality of life."

Beginning this spring, Sporting Goods Properties, Inc., the company that owns Lake Success Business Park, will fund the excavation and treatment of approximately 40,000 cubic yards of lead and metal-contaminated soils from 37 areas of the property. The EPA and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection will oversee the cleanup, which is expected to continue over the next two years.

The treatment technology that the EPA expects will be used to separate clean soil from contaminated soils is known as soil washing. Through this process, fine soil particles -- to which metals and other contaminants generally adhere -- are separated from coarser particles. Metal particles, which are heavier than soil particles, are separated from soil by weight. Contaminated soil will be sent to a facility off site for disposal. If feasible, lead in the contaminated soils may be recycled at the facility.

The soil cleanup plan will be the first of a three-phased approach to clean up contaminated areas of the property. Subsequent phases of cleanup will address ammunition disposed of in Lake Success and remaining contamination at the site.

The EPA is addressing soils first because workers on site and trespassers are more likely to come in contact with soil contaminants than contaminants in groundwater, surface water, or sediments. The soil cleanup will also allow the property, idle since Remington Arms production ceased in 1989, to begin to return to productive use.

During the cleanup, workers will take safety measures to prevent human contact with contaminated soils. Soil will be wetted during excavation, and covered during transport and storage to prevent migration of dust. To ensure that the dust controls are working, workers will monitor air levels every 30 to 60 minutes during excavation near the site perimeter.

Existing on-site security measures, including a perimeter fence and guards, will also be maintained to prevent public access while the site is being cleaned.

During the EPA's public comment period that ran from Aug. 20 through Nov. 13, many of the concerns raised by community members focused on the proposed soil cleanup standards for the property. The EPA had initially proposed cleanup standards that would be protective of human health and the environment under the scenario that the property is used as a business park. However, the EPA and Connecticut DEP amended the original proposal to include the 200-foot buffer zone around the entire perimeter of the site in response to community concerns regarding the protectiveness of those standards for the residents surrounding the property.

The EPA's decision on this cleanup plan and responses to all comments submitted during the public comment period are presented in a document called a "Final Decision and Response to Comments." The document is available to the public at the reference desks of the Burroughs Library in Bridgeport and the Stratford Public Library. It is also available at the EPA Records Center at 90 Canal Street in Boston.

Lake Success Business Park is a 435-acre property previously owned by the Remington Arms Company that was used from 1905 to 1989 for the manufacture, testing and disposal of small and large caliber ammunition. The property became known as Lake Success Business Park after the property was transferred to Sporting Goods Properties, Inc. Sporting Goods Properties, Inc. is currently planning to redevelop the property as a business park.