United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region I
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) worked together under an OPA Pollution Removal Funding Authorization (PRFA) to address residual oil product and sludge in two abandoned underground storage tanks located within the Apco Mossberg Superfund Site.  The PRFA also addressed resulting oil contamination in soil and groundwater that posed a threat to navigable waters.

The two tanks were located within the northwest corner of the former manufacturing building foundation, approximately 300 feet southwest of the Ten Mile River.  

A groundwater sample collected from a monitoring well installed by EPA in 2003 near the abandoned oil tanks revealed No. 2 fuel oil contamination.  Based on a groundwater elevation survey conducted by EPA in 2003, groundwater beneath the property has been determined to flow east-northeast, discharging into the Ten Mile River.

The Ten Mile River, designated as a "Class B" waterway by MADEP, is designated as a habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, and for primary and secondary recreation.  The Ten Mile River empties into Dodgeville Pond, then flows as the Ten Mile River to Central Pond, which becomes the James V. Turner Reservoir, then flows as the Ten Mile River to Omega Pond, which empties into the Seekonk River, which flows into the Providence Harbor/River, which flows to Kettle Point, located at Watchmoket Cove in East Providence, Rhode Island.

During the week of June 27, 2005, MADEP personnel and contractors removed the two abandoned tanks and associated piping to access oil and oil-contaminated soils beneath and surrounding the tanks.  Heavily oiled soils were excavated and removed from the Site on July 20, 2005 by MADEP’s contractor.  In total, MADEP removed approximately 250 tons of oil-contaminated soil and 4,000 gallons of oily water.