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Cleaning Up New England S I T E U P D A T E

GE Pittfield/Housatonic, Unkamet BrookU . S . E P A | H A Z A R D O U S W A S T E P R O G R A M A T E P A N E W E N G L A N D

T H E S U P E R F U N D P R O G R A M protects human health and the environment by investigating and cleaning up often-abandoned hazardous waste sites and engaging communities throughout the process. Many of these sites are complex and need long-term cleanup actions. Those responsible for contamination are held liable for cleanup costs. EPA strives to return previously contaminated land and groundwater

to productive use.

S I T E D E S C R I P T I O N :The next area to be cleaned up as part of the 2000 Consent Decree for the GE-Pittsfield/Housa-tonic River site is the Unkamet Brook Area. This will be the 19th of 20 specified cleanup areas in the Consent Decree to be addressed (not including the upper two miles of the Housatonic River and the Housatonic “Rest of River” area). Unkamet Brook and a large wetland area are located at the eastern end of the GE property east of Plastics Avenue, and the brook and another large wetland continue south of Merrill Road until merging with the east branch of the Housatonic River. See map on reverse.

K E Y C O N T A C T S :

K E L S E Y O ’ N E I L

U.S. EPA Community Involvement Coordinator(617) 918-1003oneil.kelsey@epa.gov

D A V E D I C K E R S O N

U.S. EPAProject Manager(617) 918-1329dickerson.dave@epa.gov

G E N E R A L I N F O :

E P A N E W E N G L A N D

5 Post Off ice Sq., Suite 100Boston, MA 02109-3912

T O L L - F R E E

C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E

1-888-EPA-7341

L E A R N M O R E A T :

www.epa.gov/region1/ge

M A J O R E L E M E N T S :

The major elements of the Unkamet Brook Area cleanup include:

1. Removal of 2 acres of invasive “phragmites” reed from the wetland abutting Dalton Avenue and the former GE facility (purple areas on map).

2. Rerouting the brook to its former location outside (east of) an existing but long-closed landfill on GE property.

3. Placement of a multi-layered protective cap system over this 7-acre former landfill (green areaon map). Part of this landfill is currently a paved parking lot to the east of Plastics Avenue.

4. Removal and off-site disposal at a licensed facility of about 26,000 cubic yards (cy) of PCB-contaminated soil (red areas on map) followed by placement of clean backfill.

5. Removal and off-site disposal at a licensed facility of the top foot of sediment, about 1,900 cy, within Unkamet Brook from Dalton Avenue all the way to the Housatonic River, followed by placement of clean backfill.

6. Removal and off-site disposal at a licensed facility of accumulated sediment within four culvert pipes which the brook flows through on its way to the river.

December 2014

Air and water quality monitoring will be conducted throughout this cleanup effort to ensure that it is protective of human health and the environment. Monitoring results will be distributed as soon as possible to the City of Pittsfield as well as posted on the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/ge

W H A T T O E X P E C T :Note that one of the two east-bound lanes on Dalton Avenue will be closed during normal work hours for about 40 days in the December 2014/January 2015 timeframe to allow this work to proceed. Some increased truck traffic may occur periodically throughout the project. The cleanup work described above that is north of Merrill Road is scheduled for December 2014 to December 2015. The work south of Merrill Road is scheduled for March 2016 to December 2016.

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Unkamet Brook Area - Main Cleanup Features

Cap 7 acre landfill

Remove contaminated soil(red areas – 26,200 cy)

Remove/replaceall brook sediment

(1,900 cy)

Remove 2 acres ofinvasive phragmites

Reroute brook

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