How do you solve a problem like polluted National Fireworks site? Time and lots of money

HANOVER − How much will it cost to finish the cleanup of a long-polluted site in Hanover? How long will it take? These questions and more were asked by residents and answered by local, state and federal officials at a recent meeting.

For just over two hours last Thursday, more than 180 people heard the status of the 280-acre site in Forge Industrial Park and the steps being taken to potentially list it on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List through the Superfund program. The topic drew an in-person and virtual crowd to the Hanover High School auditorium.

For the most part, participants appeared to support the listing process as a way to finally rid the property of contaminants.

Local, state and federal officials took turns answering residents' questions about the Superfund listing process, how much money is needed to complete the cleanup and how long the process might take.

How did this National Fireworks site in Hanover become so polluted?

From 1907 to 1970, the property was used to manufacture and test munitions and fireworks for the federal government, and various entities also dumped toxic waste there.

Mercury, lead, munitions and other hazards have been discovered in the soil and groundwater. There’s a ban on eating fish from Factory Pond, and neighbors have had to deal with on-site controlled detonations for at least seven years.

The area is bordered by School Street to the north, King Street to the west, Washington Street to the south and Winter Street to the east.

Cleanup has been funded by a settlement with a former property owner, but the $74 million is close to running out. The state tried to negotiate with the “potentially responsible parties” − the Department of Defense, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Coating Co. − for more money, but were unsuccessful.

Officials say $200 million more is needed to complete the project.

Here are some questions asked and answered:

What does the Hanover Select Board have to say about a Superfund listing?

The Hanover Select Board hasn’t decided whether to support or oppose getting the site added to the National Priorities List. Hanson and Pembroke will have a say too, since they border the site.

While the Superfund listing process requires only a letter of recommendation from Gov. Maura Healey, the governor will be looking for support from Hanover, Town Manager Joe Colangelo said.

Select board Chair Vanessa O’Connor said the board wanted to give residents the opportunity to learn and have their questions answered in community meetings before the board makes a decision. She said the town will resume the conversation in February.

“My personal view on this is that our options are: leave the site as it is, let them wind it down, and it sits there as a vacant, contaminated site that hasn’t been remediated; or to move forward with listing on the Superfund and to have some quantifiable and measurable mechanism to move forward and remediate the site,” O’Connor said.

What happens if the National Fireworks site isn't listed as a Superfund site?

Simply put, nothing.

“If it’s not accepted (as a Superfund site), it would sit there and languish unless and until another source of funding was found,” said Bob Cianciarulo, a remediation and restoration branch chief for the EPA.

Since money dedicated to cleaning the site will soon run out, the state Department of Environmental Protection is using the remaining $10 million from the settlement to safely shut down the site in October until a new funding source is found.

Cianciarulo said the chances of the National Fireworks site being added to the list are “very good.”

“Once it’s in our portfolio, we’re committed to work on it,” he said.

What’s next?

The EPA is continuing to assess the property, which is part of the process of getting a site on the National Priorities List and is expected to be complete by the end of September.

Another community meeting is scheduled for Jan. 18 in Hanson for residents of Hanover, Hanson, Pembroke and other surrounding areas to ask questions. After that, the EPA will send forms to 52 property owners asking their permission to access their properties. That's so officials can assess and test the impacted site.

When is the earliest the site could be proposed to the National Priorities List?

The earliest that the site could be proposed for the list is August 2025. Residents would have a chance to voice their opinions during a 60-day comment period.

It’s estimated to cost $200 million to clean up the rest of the site. How was this number reached?

State environmental officials calculated the estimated remaining cost of cleaning up the National Fireworks site through contractor estimates from some of the responsible parties, said Cathy Kiley, an environmental analyst with MassDEP.

Containing and addressing the remaining contamination could cost between $72 million and $107 million. Cleaning up a specific area dense with metals is estimated to cost between $47 million and $75 million. Last, an area of contamination downstream from the Factory Pond dam was given an estimate of over $20 million.

Most of the money spent on the cleanup has been to deal with munitions and explosives.

To what extent has the property been cleaned?

While officials could not pinpoint the cleanup's status in percentage completed, they did note that 15 of 22 areas of varying size of munitions and contaminated soil and sediment were cleared under the state’s environmental regulations.

More than 192,000 munition items were removed from the site, 11% of which were explosives that were destroyed on-site.

In addition to munitions, officials have found mercury, lead and volatile organic compounds in the sediment, soil and groundwater. Mercury has also been found in fish in Factory Pond.

State officials said no public or private water supplies have been affected by the pollution, but there’s still a risk in coming into contact with contaminated soil and sediment as well as eating fish from the pond.

Once the site is cleaned, what will it be used for?

Hanover bought 130 acres of the property for conservation in the 1970s. Homes and businesses are also within the site's boundaries. Town Manager Colangelo noted that the select board wants to use the land for passive recreation, including walking and hiking.

If the site is placed on the National Priorities List, would the EPA seek payment from 'potentially responsible parties'?

While Cianciarulo said the EPA may not necessarily seek “capital L litigation” against the Department of Defense, MIT or National Coating Co., he said he hoped the EPA's status as a federal agency would allow it to “make more headway” with the property’s previous owners.

“If we were not able to meet an agreement, we could start work on our own and seek reimbursement,” he said.

The EPA is able to do so because of the Superfund, which is replenished by a tax on chemical and petroleum industries established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980.

Congress created the program  after a series of hazardous waste accidents, most notably in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York, which reported an alarming rise in skin rashes, miscarriages and birth defects after toxic exposure.

While the tax expired in 1995, eventually leading to a backlog of Superfund projects waiting for money, it was reinstated effective July 2022 by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

In a statement to The Patriot Ledger, MassDEP said the state “will continue to enforce the cleanup laws, including ensuring that parties responsible for the contamination remain liable for cleanup costs.”

For more information, visit epa.gov/ma/national-fireworks.

There are about 1,300 Superfund sites dotting the nation.

If you go to the next National Fireworks meeting

What: Community meeting on National Fireworks site status

When: Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.

Where: Hanson Middle School auditorium, 111 Liberty St.

Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Questions and answers about Superfund, National Fireworks in Hanover