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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM, EPA, TOWNS OF SOUTH KINGSTOWN AND NARRAGANSETT MARK COMPLETION OF LANDFILL CAP CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AT THE FORMER ROSE HILL REGIONAL LANDFILL IN SOUTH KINGSTOWN PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett, today marked the completion of Phase II cap construction activities at the Rose Hill Regional Landfill Superfund Site in South Kingstown.Located in an abandoned sand and gravel quarry, the 70-acre site was used as a municipal landfill from 1967 to 1983. Municipal solid waste and industrial waste from local industries were disposed of at the former regional landfill and led to contamination of groundwater, surface water, and air in and around the site. The site was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund National Priority List in 1989, and a Record of Decision outlining the proposed remedial action was signed in 1999. The remediation project cost approximately $14.5 million, and was funded under a settlement agreement between the state, the U.S. EPA and the Towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett. "Today marks a milestone in the four-year remediation project that was undertaken to protect public health and the environment from the ill-effects of the Rose Hill Regional Landfill," said DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan, Ph.D. "In today's challenging fiscal climate it's important that government agencies find new and creative ways to use their resources, and this project is a sterling example of such an effort. Through efficient management and close oversight of this multi-million dollar remediation project, we kept the project under budget and saved the state and federal governments almost $4 million in costs." "Completion of the cap is a major milestone at Rose Hill," said Robert Varney, Regional Administrative, EPA Region 1. "EPA will continue to support DEM's efforts, as the lead agency, to bring this cleanup project to its final phase." The landfill cap construction was split into two phases after the design for the landfill cap and field activities associated with the design were completed in December 2004. Phase I activities included clearing and grubbing, consolidating 243,000 cubic yards of waste material from the bulky waste area and from under the road leading to the transfer station, maintaining soil and sediment erosion controls, razing a former weight scale building, reinstalling a damaged culvert at the Mitchell Brook, relocating a six-inch water line to the transfer station, restoring the transfer station road, and preparing the site for the installation of the landfill cap. This phase of the project was finished in spring 2006. The phase II cap construction activities were completed two weeks ago. Associated work included restoration of the bulky waste area, removing and blending soil from the sewage sludge area, restoring two impacted wetland areas adjacent to Mitchell Brook, installing a landfill gas collection system, and constructing a multi-layer cap. Going forward, DEM will continue to monitor the site with groundwater, surface water, sediment, and landfill gas sampling to ensure that the remedy in place is meeting its objectives. One of the major benefits of capping the landfill is that it will prevent further migration of a contaminated groundwater plume into Mitchell Brook and the Saugatucket River. In addition, the excavation, removal, and consolidation of the sewage sludge and bulky waste areas will lower the impacts of ammonia and iron and increase biodiversity in both Mitchell Brook and the Saugatucket River. Mitchell Brook flows along the lower western half of the Rose Hill Regional Landfill site and empties into the Saugatucket River. These two surface water bodies are listed as Class B waters, and as such, are designated for fish and wildlife habitat and for primary and secondary contact recreational activities. For more information about the Rose Hill Regional Landfill Superfund site, call Gary J. Jablonski in DEM's Office of Waste Management at 222-2797 ext. 7148, or email him at gary.jablonski@dem.ri.gov; or contact David Newton in EPA's Office of Site Remediation & Restoration at (888) 372-7341, or via email at newton.dave@epa.gov. Information about the site is available on the EPA website at www.epa.gov/region01/superfund/sites/rosehill/. -30- |
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