The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has chosen a cleanup plan for the Keddy Mill Superfund Site, located on Depot Street in South Windham, and the agency says work will soon start to clean up the soil, sediment, and groundwater at the site.
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| The Environmental Protection Agency has formally chosen a plan to tear down the former Keddy Mill industrial building at 7 Depot St. in South Windham along with cleaning up the site and removing contaminants there. The site work is funded by a federal Superfund program administered by the EPA to safeguard human health and the environment. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
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“EPA’s cleanup plan for the Keddy Mill Superfund Site is a strong effort to ensure the health and safety of community members, protecting them for generations to come,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “Cleaning up Superfund sites helps us ensure that no community, no family, and no child has to face exposure to chemicals and other dangerous substances in their day-to-day lives.”
The town of Windham is prepared and ready for the cleanup and site restoration effort to launch.
“The town is very pleased with the recently approved comprehensive cleanup plan and remedial alternatives for the Keddy Mill Superfund Site. Working with the EPA, local residents, and the state to achieve this milestone in planning the restoration for this site is exciting. This plan protects the human health or welfare of residents, the environment from actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants into the environment,” said Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts.
State environmental officials approve of the EPA’s cleanup plan and efforts at the Keddy Mill site.
“The Maine DEP is pleased to continue working with our partners at EPA and the citizens of Windham to address historical contamination at the Keddy Mill, eliminating the threats to public health and the environment and returning the property to a productive future,” said Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim.
EPA’s cleanup plan will take two to four years to design and execute and will take place after the significant completion of a Removal Action to demolish the mill complex and associated structures.
The cleanup plan includes the following components:
* Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil and debris from the Mill Complex property
*Targeted treatment of soil (within the footprint of the excavation) with amendments in support of groundwater cleanup
*Targeted treatment of soil (within the footprint of the excavation) with amendments in support of groundwater cleanup
* In place treatment of groundwater contaminants
* Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated sediments from the Presumpscot River
* Treatment of water generated from soil and sediment dewatering and removed from excavations based on applicable water discharge standards, as required
* Restoration of the portions of the Presumpscot River altered by the remedial cleanup action
* Land use restrictions to prevent exposure to site-related contaminants in groundwater and fish tissue until cleanup levels are met
* Inspections and operation and maintenance
* Monitoring of groundwater and fish tissue to evaluate the achievement of cleanup levels
* Five-Year Reviews to assess the protectiveness of the remedy.
EPA estimates that the total cost of this portion of the project, including construction, operation and maintenance, and long-term monitoring, will be about $17 million.
The property was first listed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 2014. The Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country to protect people's health and the environment.
Initial EPA actions there were launched in the 1980s. Data was collected during these investigations, as well as a fuel oil spill, resulting in two previous cleanup actions performed at the site. In 1997, an action to remove nearly 11 tons of petroleum-impacted soil from the north-central portion of the property was conducted in accordance with Maine Department of Environmental Protection requirements. In 2010, a second cleanup action removed accessible PCB-contaminated fuel oils in piping and PCB-contaminated sludge, dirt, debris, and oil materials within the buildings on the site.
EPA completed a thorough site investigation in January 2013 and a Hazard Ranking System package in April 2013. Following that, the Keddy Mill site was placed on the NPL Superfund list in May 2014. A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study was initiated there in 2015 to determine the nature and extent of contamination and the risks posed to human health and the environment and evaluate alternative cleanup measures if necessary.
An Action Memorandum for a Non-time Critical Removal Action was signed by EPA and ITC LLC in 2018. That required that contaminated building materials must be removed from the site and sent to an off-site licensed hazardous waste site facility. The primary building contaminants exceeding acceptable human health standards included polychorinated biphenals (PCBs) and asbestos.
The site consists of a 6.93-acre abandoned mill complex property, located at 7 Depot St. (the Mill Complex Property), an adjacent reach of the Presumpscot River, and associated properties nearby. The mill site has a long history, with operations beginning in the late 1700s and ending in 1997. The building that will be demolished and removed was used as a grist and carding mill, pulp mill, box-board manufacturing facility and as a steel mill. Throughout the industrial history, several buildings have been demolished and others added to the mill complex. The site has contamination from various hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.
More information
A copy of the cleanup plan, the Administrative Record supporting the cleanup plan, and other background information about the Keddy Mill Superfund Site can be found at: www.epa.gov/superfund/keddy
The Windham Public Library, located at 217 Windham Center Road, Windham (207-892-1908) can be used as a point of access to reach the online Administrative Record for the site. If you would like a copy of the cleanup plan mailed to you, please contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, Charlotte Gray, at gray.charlotte@epa.gov or 617-918-1243. toll-free 1-888-372-7341 ext. 8-1243. <
* Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated sediments from the Presumpscot River
* Treatment of water generated from soil and sediment dewatering and removed from excavations based on applicable water discharge standards, as required
* Restoration of the portions of the Presumpscot River altered by the remedial cleanup action
* Land use restrictions to prevent exposure to site-related contaminants in groundwater and fish tissue until cleanup levels are met
* Inspections and operation and maintenance
* Monitoring of groundwater and fish tissue to evaluate the achievement of cleanup levels
* Five-Year Reviews to assess the protectiveness of the remedy.
EPA estimates that the total cost of this portion of the project, including construction, operation and maintenance, and long-term monitoring, will be about $17 million.
The property was first listed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 2014. The Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country to protect people's health and the environment.
Initial EPA actions there were launched in the 1980s. Data was collected during these investigations, as well as a fuel oil spill, resulting in two previous cleanup actions performed at the site. In 1997, an action to remove nearly 11 tons of petroleum-impacted soil from the north-central portion of the property was conducted in accordance with Maine Department of Environmental Protection requirements. In 2010, a second cleanup action removed accessible PCB-contaminated fuel oils in piping and PCB-contaminated sludge, dirt, debris, and oil materials within the buildings on the site.
EPA completed a thorough site investigation in January 2013 and a Hazard Ranking System package in April 2013. Following that, the Keddy Mill site was placed on the NPL Superfund list in May 2014. A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study was initiated there in 2015 to determine the nature and extent of contamination and the risks posed to human health and the environment and evaluate alternative cleanup measures if necessary.
An Action Memorandum for a Non-time Critical Removal Action was signed by EPA and ITC LLC in 2018. That required that contaminated building materials must be removed from the site and sent to an off-site licensed hazardous waste site facility. The primary building contaminants exceeding acceptable human health standards included polychorinated biphenals (PCBs) and asbestos.
The site consists of a 6.93-acre abandoned mill complex property, located at 7 Depot St. (the Mill Complex Property), an adjacent reach of the Presumpscot River, and associated properties nearby. The mill site has a long history, with operations beginning in the late 1700s and ending in 1997. The building that will be demolished and removed was used as a grist and carding mill, pulp mill, box-board manufacturing facility and as a steel mill. Throughout the industrial history, several buildings have been demolished and others added to the mill complex. The site has contamination from various hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.
More information
A copy of the cleanup plan, the Administrative Record supporting the cleanup plan, and other background information about the Keddy Mill Superfund Site can be found at: www.epa.gov/superfund/keddy
The Windham Public Library, located at 217 Windham Center Road, Windham (207-892-1908) can be used as a point of access to reach the online Administrative Record for the site. If you would like a copy of the cleanup plan mailed to you, please contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, Charlotte Gray, at gray.charlotte@epa.gov or 617-918-1243. toll-free 1-888-372-7341 ext. 8-1243. <
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