[CPEO-MEF] CLOSURE: Status of Brunswick Naval Air Station (ME) cleanup

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Update on Superfund remediation efforts

by Suzanne L. Johnson (town of Brunswick's representative to the  
Restoration Advisory Board)
Brunswick Times Record (ME)
June 13, 2011

The Times Record has reported several stories in recent weeks about  
the transfer of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station to the  
Brunswick Landing. Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority  
representatives are quoted as clarifying that MRRA is waiting for  
remaining parcels to transfer once they receive an environmentally  
clean bill of health from the Navy.

In contradiction to the need for a clean bill of health, however, one  
article later a reader learns that MRRA had offered up the plot of  
land containing the "Eastern Plume" for development of a world-class  
botanical garden - declaring their opinion that the Superfund site's  
"groundwater contamination [was] deep enough not to inhibit a  
botanical garden."

Along with the misconception that MRRA now owns all of the land with  
the departure of the Navy personnel, there is also a misconception  
that there are no longer any continuing environmental problems at the  
base. The Eastern Plume is but one of what were 21 designated  
Superfund sites at the base. For many years the Navy has worked at  
installing a series of wells along the Eastern Plume to both attempt  
to contain the spread of groundwater contamination as well as capture  
contaminated water and send it for treatment at the specially  
designed groundwater treatment facility. The spread of the Eastern  
Plume contamination has not yet seen containment, but we are  
encouraged by a new HiPox treatment program added to the groundwater  
treatment facility.

...

For the entire column, see
http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2011/06/13/opinion/commentaries/ 
doc4df63754d4049684361533.txt

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org