Aug 16, 2007
G&B remediation plan
Informational meeting tonight
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by SUSAN WOLF
Hersam Acorn Newspapers
The proposed Remedial Action Plan for the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site in Georgetown is the subject of an informational meeting tonight, Thursday, Aug. 16. The meeting is set at Redding Town Hall at 7.
Georgetown Land Development Company, the site’s redeveloper, is conducting the meeting. Representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the state public health department will attend. The public may make comments or ask questions at the meeting.
The site was historically used by Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company to produce a variety of metal products, including insect screening and metal fences.
Georgetown Land Development Company is remediating the site as part of its redevelopment project, which includes the creation of a pedestrian-friendly village with mixed uses, such as residential and commercial.
Plans also call for a community theater, a health club, a facility for Norwalk Hospital, a new railroad station, and a parking garage.
The remedial action plan applies to the manufacturing area of the former wire mill facility north from Route 107 to the top of Factory Pond off Portland Avenue. It also includes the southern parcel, which is south of Route 107, where the Georgetown sewer plant is located.
Tonight’s presentation is “like a master plan for the remediation,” said Rob Danielson, a licensed environmental professional with Fuss and O’Neill Inc., which developed the plan.
The meeting is required by the DEP as part of its approval process. The remedial action plan has been approved “to the extent the DEP says it’s OK, subject to public comment,” said Richard Gibbons, GLDC’s attorney. The DEP wants the public comment before granting final approval to the plan.
The buildings on the site have been decontaminated to remove dust and asbestos, and some have been demolished, said Mr. Danielson. More than 90% of buildings slated for removal are gone, he added.
Where there are areas of soil contamination, they will either be excavated or capped, he said. The cap consists of a number of things, such as placing new buildings over the soil, or keeping existing buildings, or placing a liner system in between building to prevent any precipitation from contacting any of the soils, Mr. Danielson said.
Caps will be placed on areas that would potentially impact groundwater, he said. Certain soils, he added, will be treated and then capped.
“The important part of the remediation is that some of the impacted soils from the manufacturing parcel will be consolidated at the southern parcel,” Mr. Danielson said. This area would ultimately be capped with the parking garage, he explained.
“The remedial action plan is designed to improve the Norwalk River quality,” said Mr. Gibbons.
The length of the remediation process depends on the development of the site. “The development of the site, in effect, implements the remediation, so this is an ongoing process,” Mr. Gibbons said.
The proposed remedial action plan is available for review at the Mark Twain Library, The Weston Public Library and the Wilton Public Library.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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