Consultant files plan to address hydraulic leak at Turners Falls Dam

TURNERS FALLS — An engineering consultant filed a report with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on Monday detailing FirstLight Hydro Generating Co.’s plan for responding to a hydraulic leak estimated to have released 300 gallons of oil into the Connecticut River.

Jeffrey Arps, vice president of engineering consulting firm Tighe & Bond, reported that, on Feb. 23 at around 10:30 a.m., staining was observed on ice surrounding pistons 7 and 8 below Bascule Gate No. 4 of the Turners Falls Dam.

While FirstLight reported that material was injected to stop the leak on April 14, Arps’ report states that on April 19, an “absorbent boom downgradient from the containment boom was removed because the flow from the Connecticut River destroyed it, rendering it ineffective at containing the hydraulic fluid.”

The action plan states that sometime in June 2022, when water levels are expected to be lower, jack stands to support the dam can be installed safely and workers may access the pistons to make the necessary repairs. MassDEP Environmental Scientist Kathleen Fournier confirmed the accuracy of the report.

Residents voiced concerns regarding FirstLight’s maintenance efforts and skepticism regarding its solution following the company’s mid-April report that the leak had been sealed. Local bee farmer and avid kayaker Matt Guertin, who photographed and filmed oil present in the river, said FirstLight’s claims “simply don’t make sense for what (rivergoers) experience.”

“There’s been some really disappointing stuff going on,” he said.

Prior to the absorbent boom removal on April 19, Clean Harbors environmental services strung two absorbent booms and an oil containment boom between the islands below Bascule Gate No. 4 to replace a boom in the cove.

“The hydraulic fluid observed on the surface of the Connecticut River has been limited to a sheen, with no separate-phase oil or emulsified product observed on the river surface,” Arps wrote of the water’s condition at the time. “Remediation waste was added to FirstLight’s oily waste stream.”

Clean Harbors then returned to the site to install two additional booms within the cove below the dam on April 19, as the downgradient boom was deemed ineffective.

Tighe & Bond had met with FirstLight and Clean Harbors personnel on Feb. 24 “to conduct a site walk and inspect the surface water conditions in the vicinity of the Turners Falls dam,” Arps reported.

“Due to the ice accumulation at the base of the dam in the immediate vicinity of Bascule Gate No. 4, adsorbent booms could not be applied to the surface water, so no response actions could safely be performed,” he wrote. “Spilling water from the Gill Spillway churns the water in the Connecticut River, and was observed to confine the released hydraulic fluid within the rock islands below the dam. The sheen area is checked daily by FirstLight personnel.”

After successfully repairing the leak, a Permanent Solution Statement will be submitted to MassDEP, Arps said. Response actions are unlikely to be completed within 60 days of action plan submittal, so a supplementary progress report is anticipated that will include status updates of any mitigation efforts performed. Federal, state and local permits are not required for these response actions.

Arps said in accordance with the public notification requirements, Montague Town Administrator Steve Ellis and Public Health Director Daniel Wasiuk were notified on Friday that a Release Notification Form detailing the circumstances surrounding the leak was submitted.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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