Community and Business Coordination, Outreach and Input for an MGP Remedial Closure and Restoration Program to Facilitate Redevelopment Opportunities along the Taunton River in Massachusetts
Robert Cleary, Nisource, Inc., Westborough, MA

Integrating Community Values into River Restoration:  Neponset River Environmental Literacy Projects
Karen I. Pelto, Riverways Programs, Boston, MA

Treatment of Recovered Groundwater Containing 1,4-dioxane:  Year-round Phytovolatilization by Irrigating Stands of Deciduous and Coniferous Trees
Ari Ferro, Phytokinetics, Inc., North Logan, UT

Greenhouse Results, Substrate Matirx Selection and the Full-Scale Design of a Vertical Flow Subsurface Constructed Wetland to Treat and Destroy Chlorinated VOCs (via Reductive Dechlorination) from an Extracted Groundwater and Intermittent Stream Source in North Carolina 
John H. Pardue, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Field-scale Assessment of Phytotechnology Applied to Sites Impacted with Weathered Hydrocarbons
Richard Farrell, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Site Remediation, Sediment Removal and Comprehensive Ecological and Riparian Corridor Restoration for a Former MGP Site along a Tidal Freshwater River in Taunton, Massachusetts

Carl E. Tammi, PWS, ENSR International, 2 Technology Drive, Westford, MA, Email: ctammi@ensr.com
Robert Cleary, Nisource, Inc., 300 Friberg Parkway, Westborough, MA
Peter LaGoy, Nisource, Inc., 300 Friberg Parkway, Westborough, MA
David Klinch, PWS, ENSR International, 2 Technology Drive, Westford, MA

On behalf of Nisource, Inc. ENSR International provided technical services for developing regulatory strategy, preparing a comprehensive environmental permitting approach, and overseeing dredging operations for an MGP Site Closure.  In addition ENSR designed and implemented an ecological and riparian corridor restoration program involving 500 lf of bank restoration, revegetation and enhancement, 1.5 acres of palustrine wetland restoration and 250 lf of freshwater intertidal wetland restoration along the Taunton River in Massachusetts.  Regulatory constraints included a multi-tiered environmental permitting program, presence of a state-listed endangered species in the waterway, specific dredging implementation work windows, and the opportunity for extensive public comment throughout the process.   The site closure remedy involved on-site consolidation, containment and capping combined with the dredging of 10,000 cubic yards of sediment from the River with upland disposal.  Physical constraints affecting design and construction of the restored bank and intertidal wetland were examined prior to design, and included analysis of current velocity, tidal hydraulics, riverbank substrate, and ice shear.  Methodology employed to determine appropriate elevation for macrophyte establishment included analysis of pre-excavation conditions, unaffected wetlands within the same system, estimation of non-tidal hydrologic inputs, and consideration of future settling and sediment accretion.  Engineering controls were included in the wetland design to prevent sloughing away from the riverbank, while accounting for future settling of the planting surface and maintenance of an appropriate elevation for maximum plant growth.  This paper provides an overview of the entire project with an emphasis on the opportunities for cost-effective ecological restoration post-site closure.

Community and Business Coordination, Outreach and Input for an MGP Remedial Closure and Restoration Program to Facilitate Redevelopment Opportunities along the Taunton River in Massachusetts

Robert Cleary, Nisource, Inc., 300 Friberg Parkway, Westborough, MA
P. LaGoy, Nisource, Inc., 300 Friberg Parkway, Westborough, MA
C. Tammi, ENSR International, 2 Technology Drive, Westford, MA
D. Desilets, ENSR International, 2 Technology Drive, Westford, MA

Nisource, Inc. and ENSR International worked together to develop a focused community and local business coordination and outreach program during the early planning stages of a comprehensive MGP site remediation and closure program along the Taunton River in Massachusetts.  The Site Closure involved on-site consolidation and capping, dredging of 10,000 cubic yards of sediments from a tidal freshwater river, excavation and restoration of 1.5 acres of palustrine wetlands, restoration and revegetation of 500 lf of riverine bank, and restoration of 250 lf of intertidal wetlands along the riverbank.  This program included working very closely with the Taunton Industrial Commission, the Weir Village Corporation, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), the City’s Mayor’s Office and the public community to promote an understanding of the project remedial objectives, restoration initiatives, and to solicit input on future re-use scenarios.  Nisource and ENSR were successful in petitioning the EOEA for a site specific Riverfront Area Densely Developed Area Petition which once effective relaxed some regulatory restrictions to promote redevelopment of a former industrial corridor.  Further, by taking an up-front pro-active community involvement approach, Nisource was able to get all stakeholders on board with the project at an early stage which facilitated regulatory approvals (as all permits required extensive opportunity for public comment), resulted in partnering relationships with the local redevelopment commissions and businesses which facilitated project implementation and avoided any delays associated with the local community.  This presentation provides an overview of the stakeholder outreach program for the project.

Integrating Community Values into River Restoration:  Neponset River Environmental Literacy Project

Karen I. Pelto, Riverways Programs, 251 Causeway Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA, 02114, Tel:  617-626-1542, Fax:  617-626-1505, Email:  Karen.Pelto@state.ma.us

The Massachusetts Riverways Program is leading inter-agency efforts to evaluate technologies and approaches to achieve ecological restoration and contaminant remediation goals in the lower Neponset River.  The benefits of restoration alternatives, including engineered fishways, dam breaching, and dam removal, and remediation options, including natural attenuation, bioengineering, in-situ stabilization, capping, and excavation and disposal, vary widely when assessed for effectiveness, ease of implementation, and compatibility with resource management goals.  Each alternative can also affect a wide range of community interests which in turn influence community preferences.

Traditional public education and outreach activities associated with environmental decision-making incorporate the easily quantified (data, reports), the previously documented (historic photos and narratives), and the commonly observed (built and natural environment).  Riverways is collaborating with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to capture the social values of the people who live, work, and recreate in the lower Neponset River as a basis for effectively communicating complex technical data associated with environmental restoration and contaminant remediation.

Valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of public outreach strategies designed to communicate technical information to the general public have been gained through a search of the professional and scientific literature related to public involvement in watershed and river management and restoration.  A greater understanding of stakeholder interests and values has emerged from focus groups and interviews involving community members and leaders of non-governmental organizations.  Additional clarity regarding the “boundaries” of the current state of the science, particularly what is known and unknown about public and environmental health in the lower Neponset River, has been provided by a team of environmental remediation and restoration practitioners.  This foundation of knowledge will inform the design of public outreach activities to explore fish passage, river ecology, and water and sediment quality as well as alternatives for ecological restoration and contaminant remediation.

Treatment of Recovered Groundwater Containing 1,4-dioxane:  Year-round Phytovolatilization by Irrigating Stands of Deciduous and Coniferous Trees

Ari Ferro, Phytokinetics, Inc., 1770 North Research Park Way, Suite 110, North Logan, Utah 84341, Tel: 435-755-0891, Fax: 435-750-6296
Carl E. Tammi, ENSR International, 2 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886, Email: ctammi@ensr.com
J. Hodgen, Phytokinetics, Inc.
J. LaRue, Southwestern Environmental Consulting, Inc.

Groundwater at a site in North Carolina is contaminated with 1,4-dioxane and chlorinated aliphatic compounds.  The dissolved-phase contaminants, originating from a former chemical manufacturing facility, are migrating toward a municipal water supply.  The migration of the contaminant plume can be effectively controlled by a series of recently installed groundwater recovery wells located up-gradient of the water supply.  These wells will pump year-round at a combined rate of approximately 50 gpm, and natural systems will be used to treat the recovered groundwater.  The water will be routed to a constructed treatment wetlands to remove chlorinated aliphatics (Pardue’s presentation), and effluent from the wetlands will be used to irrigate upland stands of deciduous and coniferous trees to remove 1,4-dioxane.  This latter contaminant is highly water-soluble and resistant to biodegradation, and therefore will pass mostly untreated through the wetlands.  However, 1,4-dioxane will be readily taken up, translocated and volatilized by the trees in the upland phytoremediation system.  Once in the atmosphere, the 1,4-dioxane will be quickly degraded by UV-light.  The phytoremediation system will be located on a closed municipal landfill that is adjacent to the site. In order to prevent the formation of dioxane containing leachate, all of the recovered groundwater used to irrigate the trees must be used via transpiration.  The size of the upland phytoremediation system was determined based on estimations of water balance (transpiration rates vs. precipitation and irrigation rates).  The recovered groundwater has moderate concentrations of carbonates that would accumulate in the root-zone if a stand of conifer trees, for example, were irrigated continuously with the water.  Therefore, two different tree stands will be irrigated with the recovered groundwater:  A mixed deciduous stand in the summer, when reference evapotranspiration (ET) is high, and a mixed coniferous stand in the winter, when ET is low.  Summer rains (or tap-water irrigation) will leach carbonate salts from the root-zone of the conifer stand, and winter rains will leach salts from the dormant deciduous stand. The conifer stand (30 acres) will be larger than the deciduous stand (7 acres) because of low wintertime ET.  A mixed stand of deciduous trees is included in the design because these trees grow much faster than conifers, and it is important to get the system at least partially on-line as soon as possible.  Candidate coniferous and deciduous tree species were selected for the full-scale phytoremediation system based on the results of preliminary greenhouse studies assessing the phytovolatilization potential for 1,4-dioxane, and tolerance of the groundwater. A small-scale pilot on the landfill is now in progress to demonstrate that tree stands can be irrigated with recovered groundwater while maintaining a water balance (i.e. no leachate formation).  These preliminary greenhouse and pilot projects will be discussed, as well as the design of the full-scale system.

Greenhouse Results, Substrate Matrix Selection and the Full-scale Design of a Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland for Chlorinated VOCs at a Site in North Carolina

John H. Pardue, Ph.D., P.E., Elizabeth Howell Stewart Professor, Director, Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA  70803, Tel: 225-578-8661, FAX: 225-578-5043
C.Tammi, ENSR International

Greenhouse and bench-scale studies were performed to develop design criteria for a constructed wetland treating a complex mixture of chlorinated ethenes and ethanes from extracted groundwater and surface water at a site in North Carolina. Three sets of measurements and experiments were utilized to estimate design parameters: a). measurements of soil sorption and geotechnical properties for candidate peat and compost mixtures, b). batch microcosms to establish the compatibility of a mixed culture containing Dehalococcoides sp. with the selected compost mixture and c). vertical upflow wetland mesocosms to estimate spatial sorption and biodegradation parameters. An available compost mixture was identified with suitable bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, and sorption characteristics. Anaerobic batch microcosm studies demonstrated the compatibility of the mixed culture containing Dehalococcoides sp. with the selected mixture, first using trichloroethene as a benchmark compound, then a synthetic groundwater containing the complex mixture of chlorinated ethenes and ethanes representing the site in North Carolina. Complete dechlorination of both the benchmark compound and the chlorinated ethene/ethane mixture were observed to non-toxic end products, ethene and ethane. Upflow mesocosm studies demonstrated that very high removal efficiencies can be achieved with characteristic daughter product formation of chlorinated ethenes and ethanes. Synthesis of this information into a full-scale design for a ~50 gpm flow will be discussed.

Field-scale Assessment of Phytotechnology Applied to Sites Impacted with Weathered Hydrocarbons

Richard Farrell, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Soil Science, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada, Tel: 306-966-2772, Email: richard.farrell@usask.ca
Nancy McCrea, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Soil Science, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada, Tel: 306-966-2772, Email: nmccrea@sasktel.net
James Germida, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Soil Science, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada, Tel: 306-966-6836, Email: jim.germida@usask.ca

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