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Site Type: Long Term/National Priorities List (NPL)  |  |
SULLIVAN'S LEDGE | |
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Map this site in Cleanups in My Community |
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| New Bedford, Massachusetts |
Bristol County
| Street Address: | HATHAWAY RD |
| Zip Code: | 02740 |
Congressional
District(s): |
04 |
| EPA ID #: | MAD980731343 |
| Site ID #: | 0100744 |
| Site Aliases: |
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| Site Responsibility: | Federal, Potentially Responsible Parties |
| NPL LISTING HISTORY |
| Proposed Date | 09/08/1983 |
| Final Date | 09/21/1984 |
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Site Description
The 12-acre Sullivan's Ledge disposal area, in the northwestern corner of New Bedford, operated as a quarry until about 1932. In 1935, the City of New Bedford acquired the site through tax title foreclosure. Between the 1940s and the 1970s, local industries used the quarry pits and adjacent areas for disposal of hazardous material and other wastes including electrical capacitors, fuel oil, volatile liquids, tires, scrap rubber, demolition materials, brush and trees. After a fire at the site in the 1970s, the City backfilled the only existing open pit and covered all exposed refuse. In 1982, when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works drilled test borings as part of a plan to build a commuter parking lot, electrical capacitors, which may have caused polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination, were unearthed.
Approximately 98,500 people live within 3 miles of the site in this residential area. Within 1 mile of the site are two nursing homes and three schools. The New Bedford Municipal Golf Course is located immediately north of the site. An unnamed stream borders the site and discharges into Middle Marsh, which is on the golf course. Immediately north of the marsh lie railroad tracks, the Apponagansett Swamp, and the City of New Bedford municipal landfill.
Threats and Contaminants
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the on-site and immediately off-site groundwater increase with depth. Inorganic compounds and PCBs also are present in the groundwater. The soil was contaminated with PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The soils along the eastern and southern boundaries contained the highest contaminant concentrations. Soils have eroded from the site into the unnamed stream and have been transported from the site. Sediments in the unnamed stream, Middle Marsh, four golf course water hazards, and a portion of the Apponagansett Swamp were contaminated with PCBs. The quarry area was capped to reduce potential exposures. Likewise, the Unnamed Stream, Middle Marsh, and water hazards have been cleaned and the resulting materials buried within the on-site cap.
Cleanup Approach
The site was cleaned up in three stages: an initial action and two long-term remedial phases focusing on cleanup of the Sullivan's Ledge Disposal Area and the Middle Marsh.
Response Action Status
| Initial Action | The City of New Bedford erected a fence around the Sullivan's Ledge Landfill from 1984 to 1985 to limit the potential for exposure to hazardous materials at the site.
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| Sullivan's Ledge Disposal Area | The EPA chose the following remedies for cleaning up the disposal area portion of the site: excavate and dispose of sediments from the stream and the golf course water hazards; construct an impermeable cap over an 11-acre area to cover the quarry pits and contain the contaminated surface soils and sediments that would be placed on site; divert and line a portion of the unnamed stream to prevent water from being pulled into extraction wells; install an active pumping system to collect contaminated shallow bedrock groundwater, a passive collection system to collect contaminated seeps and shallow groundwater, and a treatment system to treat collected groundwater; restore and enhance the wetlands to reasonably similar hydrologic and botanical conditions that existed prior to excavation; monitor the site with 5-year reviews; and use institutional controls to ensure that the bedrock groundwater will not be used for drinking water since it cannot be cleaned to drinking water standards. The groundwater treatment plant began operating in late 1999. Construction on the cap began in the spring of 1998 and was completed in 2000.
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| Middle Marsh | In 1989, the EPA began a study of the contamination in the Middle Marsh sediments. In 1991, the EPA released results of the studies undertaken, which indicated significant PCB accumulation in wildlife in and around Middle Marsh. While sediments in the Marsh also were found to be heavily contaminated with PCBs, the threat to human health was judged to be negligible. A decision on the appropriate cleanup remedy was reached in late 1991. The EPA chose the following remedy for Middle Marsh: establish security measures and clear the land; excavate contaminated sediments from portions of the Middle Marsh and the adjacent wetland; screen and dewater the excavated sediments; dispose of the excavated materials beneath the cap to be constructed at the Sullivan's Ledge Disposal Area; restore the affected wetlands; use institutional controls to prevent future residential use of and restrict access to the area; and establish a long-term environmental monitoring plan. Initial construction activities began in 1999 and were completed during 2000.
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| Enforcement Highlights | An agreement was reached with 14 parties potentially responsible for site contamination to pay for cleanup of the Sullivan's Ledge Disposal Area. A separate agreement was reached with 15 potentially responsible parties to pay for the Middle Marsh Area cleanup. |
Environmental Progress
Fencing the area has limited the potential for exposure to hazardous materials at the Sullivan's Ledge Landfill. Capping of the site and the extraction of contaminated soils and sediments began in 1998. A groundwater treatment plant has been constructed and began operations in late 1999. The remainder of the remedy was completed during 2000.
Current Site Status
Capping of the site and the replanting of wetlands were completed in 2000. The first Five Year Review of the remedy was completed in 2002.
Major activities at present include operation and maintenance of the groundwater treatment plant, the control of landfill gas from the site landfill, and the restoration of the wetlands impacted by the cleanup. Operation and maintenance of the site remedy is being conducted by the responsible parties in conjunction with the City of New Bedford.
The second Five Year Review was completed in September 2008.
Site Photos
Restoration work on the Unnamed Stream during the Fall of 2000.
Culvert is installed along the eastern boundary of the new landfill cap during 1998
Links to Other Site Information
Newsletters & Press Releases:
Federal Register Notices:
Administrative Records:
Reports and Studies:
Decision Documents:
Other Links:
Site Repositories
New Bedford Public Library, 613 Pleasant Street., New Bedford, MA 02740
OSRR Records and Information Center, 1st Floor, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (HSC), Boston, MA 02109-3912 (617) 918-1440
Contacts
| EPA Remedial Project Manager: | David Lederer |
| Address: | US Environmental Protection Agency
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Mail Code OSRR07-4
Boston, MA 02109-1367 |
| Phone #: | 617-918-1325 |
| E-Mail Address: | lederer.dave@epa.gov |
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| EPA Community Involvement Coordinator: | Kelsey O'Neil |
| Address: | US Environmental Protection Agency
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Mail Code: ORA01-1
Boston, MA 02109-3912 |
| Phone #: | 617-918-1003 |
| E-Mail Address: | oneil.kelsey@epa.gov |
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