Cleanup efforts at an old Raymark plant in Stratford, Connecticut have hit a major milestone.
Over 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil have been removed from the property by Stevenson Construction Company, in collaboration with the state and federal government.
The Raymark Industries plant on Ferry Boulevard closed in 1989. The auto parts maker left behind toxic waste that has since seeped into surrounding wetlands and residential areas, and efforts to clean it have been underway for more than three years.
So far, the team has restored 28 properties and part of Ferry Creek.
Jim DiLorenzo, who manages the project, said he expects it to be finished this time next year.
“Happy to report in a few weeks, we'll finish removing the last bit of the contamination,” DiLorenzo said. “They're currently working at a property at Lockwood Avenue. And then we have a little more contamination in the front of this property. And then all of the excavated waste will be at the former ball field.”
The abandoned softball field, where the waste is currently being remediated, will then be cleaned and turned back over to the town.
“By this time next year, the cap will be built, the property will be seeded and turned back over to the town of Stratford for whatever commercial reuse they feel is appropriate,” DiLorenzo said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sued Raymark when he was the state’s attorney general in the 1990s. Blumenthal said the cleanup was estimated to cost $20 million at the time; to date, it has cost more than $200 million.
“At that point, we had no idea of the magnitude of the degradation and the damage that had occurred as a result of Raymark’s manufacturing; it was criminal,” Blumenthal said. “If we'd had the laws that we have now, we could have prosecuted.”
The sign that warned residents not to swim in Ferry Creek was removed on Monday.
“To me, this represents the concerns, the worries, the anxiety of a community that's living in the middle of this kind of hazardous waste site,” EPA administrator David Cash said. “It says, 'Do not wade, play or otherwise come in contact with the sediments in this creek.' I’m a parent, and I know that parents all over this community, this sign would just make them feel so anxious.”
“What we're doing today is removing that anxiety,” Cash said.
