News Releases from Region 01
EPA Proposes Update to Cleanup Plan for New Hampshire Plating Superfund Site in Merrimack
(MANCHESTER, N.H.) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed an update to the agency's plan to clean up the New Hampshire Plating Company Superfund site in Merrimack, New Hampshire, that will make the cleanup more comprehensive and protective of human health.
The proposed update includes measures to minimize and mitigate vapor intrusion risks at properties near the site and restricts new wells on properties above a plume of contaminated groundwater. The public can comment on the proposed update from Tuesday, September 1, 2020, through Wednesday, September 16, 2020, by following the steps listed below.
Specifically, the proposed update calls for the continued operation and maintenance of an existing treatment system to mitigate the impacts to human health of contaminated vapor from the Acme building on Wright Avenue.
The proposed update, formally called an "Explanation of Significant Differences," will not fundamentally change the terms scope, performance or cost of EPA's plan to clean up the New Hampshire Plating site that was established in 1998 and updated in 2007. That plan sought to prevent or minimize the continued release of hazardous substances to the groundwater and provide for the management of migration of groundwater. The State of New Hampshire has reviewed and commented on proposed update and concurs with its issuance.
Background
The 13-acre New Hampshire Plating site was home to an electroplating facility that operated from 1962 to 1985. Wastewater containing metals, solvents and cyanide used in the electroplating operations was discharged into drainage channels in the former building floor and flowed into unlined lagoons north of the building. Contaminants from the unlined lagoons affected on-site wetlands, contaminated surface and subsurface soils, and reached the groundwater.
For more information on site background, to review the draft ESD or to view the full administrative record please visit: https://epa.gov/superfund/nhplating.
All of these materials are also available for public review at the Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, N.H. (Note: Call in advance; the Merrimack Public Library is closed to public at this time) or may be accessed online at https://epa.gov/superfund/nhplating.
Comments should be submitted no later than September 16, 2020 to
Valerie Jurgens
US EPA Region 1 Mail code: 07-1
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Boston, MA 02109-3912
or Jurgens.Valerie@epa.gov; or by fax at 617-918-0346.
For more information, please contact: ZaNetta Purnell, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, Purnell.ZaNetta@epa.gov, Office: 617-918-1306, Toll free: 1-888-372-7341 ext. 8-1306