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EPA and contractors outline holding‑basin wall, injections and multi‑year cleanup schedule; settling defendants' funding breakdown discussed
Summary
Presenters described completed in‑place injections of zero‑valent iron in the holding basin, plans for a 90‑ft‑deep concrete containment wall, a construction timeline through about 2031 with ongoing five‑year reviews, and said Textron and Whitaker are settling defendants with the bulk of funding coming from federal agencies under the consent decree.
EPA and contractor representatives told the April meeting that the site’s strategy combines containment and in‑place treatment for the holding basin and a multi‑year schedule for finishing construction and starting long‑term monitoring.
Cara explained the in‑situ approach used in the holding basin: operators injected a microscale zero‑valent iron slurry (iron shavings mixed with guar and water) at many injection points; verification borings and jar/magnet tests showed iron lenses in the subsurface. "Between December 2024 and August of this past year, 3 million pounds of that iron... was injected into this area in the holding basin to treat the depleted uranium in place," Cara said.
Bruce described the planned containment: a roughly 3‑foot‑wide, 90‑foot‑deep slurry/concrete wall around the holding basin that will limit lateral groundwater flow and serve as the engineered containment component of a ‘‘belt‑and‑suspenders’’ remedy. He said the remedial design has been completed and EPA approved the wall design; construction planning for the wall is targeted for next year, with a fuller discussion planned this coming fall.
The project timeline presented by EPA and the settling defendants spans the next several years: additional excavations in the landfill/bog/holding basin in the current season; holding basin wall construction next year; supplemental iron injections outside the wall in 2028; more excavation work in 2029; bedrock groundwater remedies in 2030; and final restoration and reuse steps targeted around 2031. The presenters noted that five‑year reviews will continue for as long as waste remains on site.
On funding and responsibility, the presenters said the site work is governed by a court‑entered consent decree. In response to a public question, the team said the two private settling defendants are Textron and Whitaker Corporation and that most of the project's budget is funded by federal agencies as arranged through the consent decree process. The project team said any additional federal funds required would be sought through established Department of Justice procedures and the judgment fund.
EPA staff closed by reiterating that long‑term monitoring, land‑use controls (institutional controls restricting excavation below specified depths), and requirements to assess vapor intrusion potential at redevelopment will remain part of the post‑construction obligations.
