United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region I
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

From approximately 1952 to 1977, the A.C. Lawrence Tannery (Tannery) facility, formerly located on the west bank of the Little Androscoggin River, used a metal trough to transport their waste to settling lagoons on the southeast bank of the Little Androscoggin River.

In the 1970’s, the South Paris Publicly Owned Treatment Works was constructed and began accepting waste from the Tannery.  In 1977, the lagoons ceased receiving wastes and a soil cap was placed over the sludge lagoons. The Tannery closed in 1985.

The land surrounding the Site is primarily wooded. A residential development is planned immediately south of the Site and currently the nearest residences are approximately 2000 feet northeast along Oxford Street. The land use on the west side of the river is industrial/commercial.  The Site is located over a mapped sand and gravel aquifer.

This inactive seven acre Site is referred to as lot 7 on the Town of Paris, Maine Property Map R2. The cause of the contamination is from a non-oil manufacturing source (Tannery).

It is bounded:

• to the north by Little Androscoggin River;
• to the south by a residential development;
• to the east by Oxford Street; and,
• to the west by a railroad right-of-way then the Little Androscoggin River.

Week of 28 August 2006

OSC Rice, EPA Contractor Chemist Mike Ferrier, SL Lynch, RM Lustic, one operator and two laborers were on site. Activities for the week included the continued excavation of contaminated soil and the staging of clean soil and contaminated soil.

On 29 August 2006, excavation of Lagoon 10 was finished and excavation of Lagoon 11 started. SL Lynch mapped Lagoon 10 using a Trimble GPS unit. The maximum depth of the excavation was 7 feet below ground surface. The clean soil from Lagoon 11 was staged on the western portion of the site.  After the completion of the excavation of clean soil (top 3 feet), excavation began on the contaminated soil which was staged in Lagoon 1.  

On 31 August 2006, all personnel demobilized from the site for the Labor Day holiday weekend.  

Number of Samples collected
32

Samples Analyzed on-site
32

Samples analyzed by NERL
0

Samples analyzed by Shaw Laboratory
8

Week of 4 September 2006

OSC McKeown, EPA Chemist Clifford, SL Lynch, RM Lustic and one operator were on site. Activities for the week included the continued excavation of contaminated soil and the staging of clean soil and contaminated soil.

SL Lynch mapped Lagoon 11 using a Trimble GPS unit. The maximum depth of the excavation was 4 feet below ground surface.

Number of Samples collected
19

Samples Analyzed on-site
19

Samples analyzed by NERL
0

Samples analyzed by Shaw Laboratory
4

Week of 11 September 2006

On 11 September 2006, OSC McKeown, EPA Contractor Chemist Mike Ferrier, SL Lynch, RM Quinlan with two operators and two laborers were on site. Activities for the week included the continued excavation of contaminated soil and the staging of clean soil and contaminated soil.

On 13 September 2006, excavation on Lagoon 12 began and Lagoon 11 was completed. On 16 September 2006, excavation of Lagoon 12 was completed.  Both lagoons were backfilled with a 6 inch layer of compost and covered with the clean fill from the Site.

SL Lynch mapped Lagoon 12 using a Trimble GPS unit. The maximum depth of the excavation was 3.5 feet below ground surface.

Number of Samples collected
86

Samples Analyzed on-site
86

Samples analyzed by NERL
10

Samples analyzed by Shaw Laboratory
3

MEDEP approved the license to dispose of the chromium-contaminated soil at the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, Maine.

The crew built pads for the excavator to sit on for soil load-out purposes.

• Excavate and segregate the historical cap material from the underlying sludge;
• Excavate the sludge from the lagoons and the river bank (soil containing levels above 1000 ppm of chromium). Estimate of soil excavation is 6200 cubic yards;
• Backfill excavated areas with 6" of compost and the original cap material;
• Possible excavation of contaminated sediment from the exposed river bed adjacent to the river bank;
• Stabilize the slope to minimize erosion and conduct ecological restoration;
• Dispose of the materials in accordance with the Off-Site Rule; and
• Coordinate with local community to evaluate preferred future land use in order to guide restoration activities to support beneficial site reuse.

*       Continue with the excavation of chromium-contaminated soil.
*       Ship contaminated off-site for disposal.