BERLIN — Abutters of Dummer Yard were notified last week that LFOD Northwoods plans to submit an application for a Brownfields Covenant for the property.
If approved, the Brownfields Covenant eligibility determination application would provide liability protection for the company’s proposal to repurpose the Dummer Yard landfill and develop a soil disposal facility on the property.
LFOD spokesperson Scott Tranchemontagne said the company anticipates filing the Brownfields application this week.
“We continue conducting diligence on Dummer Yard as we consider the best path forward,” Tranchemontagne said. “This includes getting a more complete picture of what is in the landfill, so we can propose the most appropriate remedial action plan. We have been testing for various contaminants, and we hope to release more information on that soon.”
The New Hampshire Brownfields Covenant Program was established to encourage the voluntary cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties by providing incentives. Those incentives come in the form of liability protections for the investigation, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties by persons who did not cause or contribute to the contamination.
James Martin, spokesperson for the N.H. Department of Environment, said his agency has not yet received an application from LFOD. He said the covenant is not a required step to repurpose Dummer Yard “but the entity repurposing the property may desire to obtain a covenant for its liability protections.”
“Receiving a Brownfields Covenant is important because it allows a company to propose a remediation that will address the present environmental problems without being held responsible for contamination that happened many decades in the past at the hands of another party. It allows for a solution to move forward today,” Tranchemontagne said.
LFOD Northwoods is a combination of WL French Excavating Corporation and North and South Construction with Sanborn, Head & Associates providing its expertise in remediation and solid waste.
The notification, sent by officials of Sanborn, Head, & Associates, said there are five existing landfills on the Dummer Yard property that were used for storage of paper mill-related waste. Part of the plan includes the development of a soil disposal facility that would accept non-hazardous contaminated soil.
Tranchemontagne said the next step after the Brownfield Covenant application is the submission of a remedial action plan that proposes actions to clean up the site. He said LFOD expects to submit the remedial action plan later this month. If the project is deemed eligible for a Brownfield Covenant and the remedial action plan is approved, Tranchemontagne said the project will move forward to the next stage of permitting.
Miller said the covenant is just a step in the process.
“Giving the complexities of this site there are several other bureaus at DES that will also be involved in reviewing the project. These steps will mostly be done concurrently with overall coordination among DES staff as the project moves forward,” he said.
Dummer Yard was the storage and disposal area for the pulp mill for over 100 years. The landfill occupies about 105 acres of the 400-acre site. LFOD Northwoods estimates it will cost $20 million to $30 million to remediate the old landfill. The leachate management system needs improvement with possible leachate seeps or leaks to be addressed. The landfill cap system requires regrading and repairs due to multiple areas of differential settlement, and the cap system, security system, leachate system, stormwater system, LFG vents and groundwater monitoring wells require repairs and continued monitoring
To cover the cost of the remediation work, LFOD would establish the soil disposal facility that would accept only non-hazardous soil from throughout New England. Materials that would be accepted there include asbestos soils and building materials, incinerator ash, street sweepings, catch basis waste and sewer grit. All soils would be tested to DES regulations and asbestos-containing soil would be double bagged and eventually covered with the landfill cap.
The disposal facility would accept 5 million tons of soil over a period of up to 10 years. The city would receive a $2 per ton tipping fee, generating about $10 million for Berlin over the life of the facility. Company officials also promise they would pay property taxes and cover the $100,000 owed the city.
The project had drawn opposition especially from East Side residents concerned about truck traffic, dust, and noise.