There is a great deal of misinformation being published in the Recorder and on social media concerning the city’s involvement in the ongoing environmental cleanup of 298 Federal St., formerly the Lunt Silversmith Company.
The most defamatory and libelous comments stated in this misinformation is that the city is “indifferent” to the safety and health concerns of neighbors of the property and to the employees of and the people seeking treatment at the various short-term residential treatment programs located within 298 Federal St.
Sadly, this misinformation comes from some city councilors and concerned citizens who should be pleased that, since 2011, the city of Greenfield has undertaken cleanup of the hazardous materials at this property.
The record of the city’s involvement is long, more than 11 years. It fills many file folders with documents that are as simple as Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency notification letters to the city of a release of a hazardous substance at 298 Federal St. to the lengthy technical documentation of the ongoing site cleanup provided by the project’s licensed site professional of the firm O’Reilly, Talbot and Okun, which is conducting the environmental site assessment and remediation.
The primary cleanup that continues today began under former Mayor William Martin in October 2011 with the filing of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report funded through two brownfields grants totaling $450,000. That cleanup encompasses such activities as the testing of ground water and soil in the area, leading to the removal of 1,420 tons of TCE (trichloroethylene) and metal-impacted soils from the site; the air testing of occupied and unoccupied buildings on the site, leading to the installation of a passive venting system known as a PEPMM; and testing of neighbors’ homes for hazardous chemical compounds with findings of no impact in the detection of TCE or PCE beyond what might occur naturally from the use of household chemicals for cleaning.
The city acquired the property following the Lunt bankruptcy in 2014. On Aug. 19, 2015, the city and 401 Liberty St. LLC entered into a lease with option to purchase the property. Under the terms of the lease, the lessee, 401 Liberty St. LLC, has taken the lead and expense of the cleanup under a set of regulations called the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) 310 CMR 40.0000. This set of regulations enables a “privatized program” of cleanup of contaminated sites in Massachusetts, allowing the private sector to take responsibility for remedial obligations. The regulations require the use of a licensed site professional that evaluates and oversees the remediation efforts. The group, 401 Liberty Street LLC, has provided significant remediation efforts and equipment at 298 Federal St. over the years.
Today, as the cleanup continues, the city and 401 Liberty Street LLC are involved in a Public Involvement Plan (PIP) process, triggered by the December 2021 filing of a petition by residents of Greenfield, to designate the site as a public involvement site.
A PIP process usually begins at the beginning of a project needing environmental remediation. One could wonder, why now? It has been more than 11 years since the notification of the need for environmental cleanup at 298 Federal St. and the successful operation of several short-term residential mental health and drug treatment facilities. Patients being treated there can stay as little as a week to as long as 90 days. One could also wonder to what end? The answer to the second question hasn’t been fully stated in the public discourse.
During the past 11-plus years, the DEP has provided limited, short-term oversight of the cleanup project, and for the purposes of environmental remediation of 298 Federal St., has classified that property as an institutional use and not a residential use. The DEP defines residential as a “structure used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, in whole or in part, as the home or residence of one or more persons, including, but not limited, to single or multi-unit housing, a dormitory, or a retirement or continuing care facility. Residential dwelling does not mean a structure with transient use, such as a hotel or hospital. It defines an institution as any publicly or privately owned hospital, health care facility, orphanage, nursing home, convalescent home, educational facility, or correctional facility, where such facility in whole or in part provides overnight housing.”
The city and 401 Liberty Street LLC welcome the PIP process and are following its guidance. On Tuesday, as required under MCP 310 CMR 40.0000, 401 Liberty Street LLC held a virtual public hearing to reveal and discuss the draft PIP. For anyone interested in the record of this property’s cleanup, it can be found on the DEP website under the “Release Tracking Number” (RTN) 1-0018869, which was issued to Lunt Silversmith, Inc. in 2012. Also, on the city’s Health Department website people can find answers to a series of questions posed by PIP petitioners and answered by DEP’s Deputy Regional Director of the Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, Elizabeth M. Stinehart.
Roxann Wedegartner is the mayor of Greenfield.