The Old Bondsville Factory Site is the former location of a textile mill and an overhead railroad tressle located in Palmer and Belchertown, Massachusetts. Covering about 12 acres, the Site is bordered to the north and west by residential properties, to the east by a dam across the Swift River, and to the south by Main Street in Palmer and River Street in Belchertown.
The former mill consisted of about 12 buildings on either side of the Swift River and harnessed energy from the canal to power the mill. From 1845 to 1968 various companies used the mill for textile manufacturing, printing and screening, finishing, and tissue paper manufacturing. A large fire destroyed the mill in 1968 and the Site remained vacant and inactive until 1988 when a condominium complex was built on a portion of the Site. The Belchertown Land Trust took ownership of the remainder of the Site in 2006 with the goal of converting the property to public open space and recreational use.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has been involved with the cleanup of this Site since 1987. Prior actions include the removal of leaking oil storage tanks, drums of alkaline solids and liquids, and asbestos. MassDEP also performed several rounds of sampling for the construction of the condominium complex. EPA contributed to the cleanup efforts in 1998 by removing contaminated soil from the area north of the former railroad trestle.
During an April 2008 Targeted Brownfields Assessment, EPA’s Brownfields program observed high levels of lead and arsenic in surface soils and referred the Site to the Emergency Planning and Response Branch (EPRB) in May 2008. EPA conducted a removal site investigation on July 8-11, 2008 which confirmed the presence of high levels of arsenic and lead in surface soils. The site investigation was closed on July 25, 2008 with the recommendation that a time critical removal action be conducted.
