[CPEO-MEF] Army remediation may be stalled by control issues

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Massachusetts
Army remediation may be stalled by control issues
By C. David Gordon

AYER -- The BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) Environmental Office at
Devens provided a briefing for selectmen about possible land use
restrictions on tracts of land affected by contamination by the U.S.
Army at the former Fort Devens.

Providing the briefing was the BRAC Environmental Coordinator Benjamin
Goff and Project Manager Chuck Castelluccio of ARCADIS G&M, the firm
carrying out environmental cleanup and restoration efforts at the former
Army airfield.

This project, for which a Proposed Plan for remediation is up for public
hearing Feb. 19, involves the first tract of land outside the former
Fort Devens requiring cleanup.

Goff opened the session by announcing that the Department of Defense and
the Environmental Protection Agency are involved in discussions
regarding which is to have responsibility for cleanup efforts outside of
bases. "The Army has no authority to direct the town of Ayer" in such
efforts, said Goff. Agreements on land use controls must be entered into
voluntarily by the town.

Goff said he hopes the DoD-EPA issue can be resolved soon. Meanwhile,
the lack of agreement between the two departments could delay
remediation efforts.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.grotonlandmark.com/Stories/0,1413,107%257E5174%257E1180051,00.html

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