Defendants Pay $4.25 Million Settlement for Restoring Natural Resources at Industri-plex Superfund Site in Woburn

Sediments and habitat quality at Mystic Lakes in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, have been injured by hazardous substances released at the Industri-Plex NPL site. Photo credit: EPA.
Sediments and habitat quality at Mystic Lakes in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, have been injured by hazardous substances released at the Industri-Plex NPL site. Photo credit: EPA.

 

BOSTON – State and federal officials have received a $4.25 million settlement from the Pharmacia Corporation and Bayer CropScience Inc. for damages to natural resources at the Industri-plex Superfund site in Woburn, Mass. Contaminants from this site significantly impacted resources in the Aberjona River and the surrounding watershed.

 “With this settlement, we can fund a range of projects designed to restore the natural resources for all to enjoy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, who is the natural resources trustee for Massachusetts. “I encourage local residents and organizations to become engaged in the public process that will take place as we solicit, take comment on, and choose these projects in the months ahead.”

From the late 1850s to the 1960s, companies manufactured various products at the Industri-plex site, including sulfuric acid, arsenic insecticides, organic chemicals, munitions, and glue. Hazardous substances disposed there degraded the Aberjona River, as well as wetlands and the Mystic Lakes downstream. These habitats are used by a variety of wildlife, including fish, turtles, amphibians and migratory birds, such as great blue herons, black ducks and kingfishers.

 When toxic substances enter the environment and injure natural resources, federal and state environmental officials act as trustees for these resources. The natural resource trustees for this site are the U.S. Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). The agencies determined the extent of the injuries from the site and negotiated the $4.25 million settlement for damages.

 “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looks forward to working with local communities to restore the Aberjona River to a cleaner, healthier environment for wildlife and people,” said Wendi Weber, the Service’s Northeast Regional Director.

 “We plan on assisting in the restoration of a watershed that has undergone years of environmental abuse,” said Dr. Ken Finkelstein, NOAA’s North Atlantic regional natural resource trustee.

 “Arsenic and chromium wastes from the Industri-plex site caused major environmental contamination to the Aberjona River and nearby wetlands, ponds and floodplain,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “Now, we have the funding and the technical expertise to bring this ecosystem back to vitality again.”

 Trustees will begin developing a plan to use settlement funds for restoring injured resources. As part of this effort, there will be several opportunities for public involvement, starting with a public meeting to explain the settlement and describe the restoration planning process. The public will then have opportunities to submit restoration ideas, as well as comment on the draft plan. After public comment and review, the trustees will issue a final plan and begin implementing restoration projects.

 Restoration actions can be carried out where the contamination occurred or at other areas within the watershed. Funds can support land acquisition, habitat restoration, recreational or educational projects, or activities that restore or replace injured or lost natural resources. Potential projects include the creation of new wetlands and the restoration, enhancement or protection of existing wetlands.

 More:

 2012 consent decree news release

Consent decree/settlement agreement

The process for natural resource damage assessment and restoration

 

Follow MassDEP on Twitter: twitter.com/MassDEP

Visit our web site: mass.gov/dep

Subscribe to the MassDEP e-newsletter at: http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/publications/enews.htm