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Select Board hears remediation options and sale discussion for contaminated old highway garage property
Summary
At a continued public hearing on 497 Turnpike Road, the Select Board reviewed SWRPC and consultant findings about suspected soil contamination, discussed brownfields grants and next sampling steps, and explored options including selling the property subject to disclosure and legal protections.
During a second required public hearing Tuesday, the New Ipswich Select Board reviewed technical and legal options for the old highway garage property at 497 Turnpike Road, where historical activity has prompted concerns about soil contamination.
Board members summarized the history: title and easement complications emerged years ago, residents raised concerns about possible PCB contamination and arsenic in nearby wells, and the town engaged Southwest Regional Planning Commission (SWRPC) and consultants for a brownfields assessment. The contractor provided a memo and the transcript records a longer consultant report posted to the town file; the board said a further round of testing is expected and that the remaining Phase I/Phase II work is tied to the property’s intended future use.
Consultants and SWRPC told the board that the remedial action strategy will depend on the buyer’s intended use and that a Phase I/next-testing step could take four to six weeks with an estimated incremental cost in the low thousands (consultant notes cited $4,000–$5,000 for the immediate next step). Board members said the options range from leaving the property in municipal hands while pursuing remediation to selling the parcel on the open market with clear disclosure and legal protections.
Several board members expressed a preference for removing the town from long-term remediation responsibility; they said a private buyer could be required to assume remediation obligations through contract and deed provisions and that the town would seek counsel to draft protective language. The board agreed to pursue legal advice and to contact environmental counsel, and to ask JB Mack and SWRPC for recommendations on attorneys experienced in brownfields law and transaction documents.
Residents and the abutter present raised questions about guarantees, monitoring wells, permit timing and the scope of the remedial action plan. The board emphasized that the state agency that has been involved (New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, referenced in transcript as "DE S"/"dees") will be a partner in the process and that disclosures and legal instruments will be necessary to shift liability appropriately.
Next steps: board will seek legal counsel to advise on sale and disclosure language, confirm timelines and costs for the next testing phase, and coordinate with SWRPC and consultants before any formal sale process is initiated. The board closed the public comment portion of the hearing and deferred final decisions pending counsel input and the final report.
