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SALEM 16 Pingree Street Request for Site Access 12.14.2023 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection Northeast Regional Office• 150 Presidential Way Woburn, MA 01801 • 978-694-3200 Maura T. Healey Rebecca L Tepper Governor Secretary Kimberley Driscoll Bonnie Heiple Lieutenant Governor Commissioner December 14, 2023 Via REGULAR FIRST-CLASS MAIL and CERTIFIED MAIL 7022 2410 0000 7501 2357 Jeremy Jones 4 Mohawk Road Marblehead, MA 01945 RE: SALEM: Shetland Park-Building 4 45-49 Congress Street RTN 3-0035818 Request for Site Access Authorization for 16 Pingree Street,Salem,MA Dear Mr.Jones: The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection("Department"or"MassDEP") has received a request from Tom A. Campbell, a Licensed Site Professional ("LSP")with Partner Engineering and Science,Inc. ("PartnerESI")on behalf of Prime Storage Shetland, LLC ("Prime Storage"), seeking access assistance for LSP Campbell to temporarily enter property owned by you (as used herein,the term"you"refers to Jeremy Jones and/or anyone acting on your behalf)and located at 16 Pingree Street, Salem,Massachusetts("Property"). LSP Campbell seeks such access to the Property in order to complete the assessment and cleanup of oil and/or hazardous material detected on property owned by Prime Storage and located at 45-49 Congress Street, Salem, Massachusetts("Site"). Such response actions are governed by the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act,M.G.L. c. 21 E("Chapter 21 E"or "M.G.L.c. 21 E")and by the Massachusetts Contingency Plan("MCP"),310 CMR 40.0000 et sec.. In response to LSP Campbell's request to MassDEP for assistance in obtaining access, MassDEP hereby requests that you initiate discussions with LSP Campbell to provide PartnerESI and their contractors with access to the Property. LSP Campbell can be reached at the following telephone number(508-975-3022)and email address(TCampbell_,partneresi.com). Access shall be under terms and conditions to be negotiated by the respective parties. This letter contains timelines within which MassDEP requests that all access issues currently existing between you and Prime Storage be resolved,as more fully set forth below. This information is available in alternate format.Please contact Melixza Esenyie at 617-626-1282. TTY#MassRelay Service 1-800.439-2370 MassDEP Website:www.mass.gov/dep Printed on Recycled Paper Jeremy Jones SALEM:45-49 Congress Street Request for Site Access Authorization Page 2 As you are aware, LSP Campbell has been working at the 45-49 Congress Street Site to address a release of chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethene (TCE), from an industrial facility formerly located at the Site and to ensure that the Site is adequately assessed and remediated pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21 E and the MCP. In order to meet that obligation, it is necessary to determine the extent of the CVOC contamination and to evaluate potential health risks to those in the area. Chlorinated solvents are chemicals that can move below the ground in soil gas and groundwater. In some instances, the solvents can enter buildings (a process called vapor intrusion) and people can be exposed to the contaminated air. Based on work conducted by LSP Campbell and his personnel and contractors to date, the contamination has been tracked in the vicinity of your Property. Specifically, TCE has been detected in groundwater in monitoring well MW-211 located in the parking garage about 100 feet from your Property at a concentration up to 74 micrograms per liter(ug/L). As both M.G.L. c. 21E and the MCP define the term "site" as "any place or area where release(s) of oil and/or hazardous material at or from a property has come to be located," Prime Storage is under a legal obligation to conduct necessary response actions beyond its own property boundaries and on to your Property in order to determine the nature and extent of the contamination in the Site area. Furthermore, because the chemicals are volatile, it is necessary to evaluate conditions within the building located on your Property to ensure that there are no adverse impacts affecting the quality of the indoor air in that building. Accordingly, LSP Campbell would like to access your property to sample the air within and beneath the building located on your Property to determine if contamination identified adjacent to your property is impacting (or could impact) the air people residing in that building breathe. The procedure for testing air within your home involves the placement of two 6-liter stainless steel canisters (one in the basement and one on the first floor) at breathing level for a period of 24 hours. The procedure for testing the air beneath your home, which is called soil gas, involves drilling one small, 3/4-inch diameter holes beneath the basement slab (at locations to be agreed upon by you) and inserting a device called a"vapor pin"that provides access to conditions below the slab. A sample of air below the slab would then be collected in one of the above-described steel canisters for approximately 1 hour. The vapor pins would be finished with a small 1 1/2-inch diameter flush-mounted cap for protection and to provide access for future sampling events if necessary. At such time that the data is sufficient for sub-slab characterization at the property, the small holes in the slab would be repaired. In accordance with MassDEP's regulations, you will be provided with a written explanation of the data as well as a copy of the laboratory analytical report. The written explanation will compare results from your Property to MassDEP's residential indoor air and sub-slab soil gas screening values. The results of the testing may indicate that additional testing and/or protective measures are warranted. LSP Campbell has informed MassDEP that the testing Jeremy Jones SALEM:45-49 Congress Street Request for Site Access Authorization Page 3 E i and any potential necessary protective measures will be conducted on behalf of Prime Storage at no cost to you. It is essential that you,as the owner of the Property, cooperate with LSP Campbell in this effort. It is in the best interests of all involved that these response actions move ahead without delay. However, it is our understanding that LSP Campbell repeatedly has sought access to your ' Property but you have refused to grant such access to your Property since 2022. MassDEP also has attempted to contact you to obtain consent for LSP Campbell to access your Property to perform an environmental assessment on your Property and you have not responded to MassDEP's previous letter dated November 2, 2023, encouraging you to cooperate with LSP Campbell. While MassDEP believes that site access matters are best resolved by direct discussions between the party seeking access and the owner(s)/operator(s) of the property to which access is sought, MassDEP has,and will,participate in activities geared toward gaining access when efforts by the party seeking access have not been successful. MassDEP so participates when it believes that access to property in order to conduct necessary response actions is of utmost importance to the proper and effective implementation of environmental laws in this Commonwealth. i Accordingly,MassDEP hereby requests that you comply with the following reasonable Interim Deadlines relative to resolving its access issues with LSP Campbell: 1) On or before 5:00 p.m. on December 28, 2023, communicate to MassDEP by placing a telephone call to Gail McCarthy (617-352-3830) and either leaving a message or speaking directly with Ms. McCarthy and informing her as to the status of your efforts to resolve the access issues currently existing between you and 73 Pond Street Apartments; and t 2) On or before 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2024, communicate to MassDEP by placing a F telephone call to Gail McCarthy(617-352-3830) and either leaving a message or speaking directly with Ms. McCarthy and informing her as to whether you have reached an agreement regarding access to your Property under terms and conditions mutually E negotiated and agreed to by you and 73 Pond Street Apartments. i Pursuant to 310 CMR 40.0167, MassDEP hereby establishes these deadlines as enforceable Interim Deadlines. MassDEP's decision to establish Interim Deadlines in accordance with 310 CMR 40.0167 is not subject to M.G.L. c. 30A nor any other law governing adjudicatory proceedings. MassDEP will not otherwise act upon the inability of LSP Campbell to access your Property p until after close of business on January 8, 2024. This timeframe should provide ample opportunity V for you and LSP Campbell to discuss and resolve this matter. However, as stated, MassDEP considers access to be an extremely important matter. Therefore, should you and LSP Campbell be unable to agree upon an access arrangement by January 8, 2024, MassDEP will take appropriate i G 4 Jeremy Jones SALEM:45-49 Congress Street Request for Site Access Authorization Page 4 action to ensure that necessary response actions proceed in a timely manner. Pursuant to 310 CMR 40.0173, such action may include one or more of the following: 1) Contact the Salem Public Health Department and request that they visit your Property and make a determination as to the habitability of your Property; 2) Issue a Notice of Responsibility and/or an Order to you under M.G.L c.21 E, §§ 9 or 10 requiring you to perform the required response actions; 3) Take or arrange for the performance of response actions itself. Should MassDEP do this, you may be liable for up to three(3)times all response action costs incurred by MassDEP. Under M.G.L. c.21 E,your liability is"strict," meaning it is not based on fault, but solely on your status as the owner of the property. Your liability is also joint and several, meaning that you may be liable to the Commonwealth for all costs incurred,regardless of the existence of other liable parties. MassDEP may also assess interest on costs incurred at the rate of twelve percent(12%),compounded annually. To secure payment of this debt,the Commonwealth may place liens on all of your property in the Commonwealth. To recover the debt,the Commonwealth may foreclose on these liens or the Attorney General may bring legal action against you; 4) Seek and execute an administrative inspection warrant; 5) Issue a Request for Information to you; and/or 6) Any other action authorized by M.G.L.c. 21 E,the MCP or any other law. In closing, MassDEP encourages you to give this matter immediate attention and to respond within the time frames specified above. MassDEP firmly believes that the access issues currently existing between you LSP Campbell,on behalf of Prime Storage,can be promptly resolved if both you and LSP Campbell enter into negotiations in good faith and with the idea that all access issues can,and will, be resolved. If you have any questions regarding the contents of this letter or if we can be of any additional assistance, please contact Gail McCarthy by telephone at (617) 352-3830. Very truly yours, 14A Stephen Johnson Deputy Regional Director Northeast Regional Office Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup Jeremy Jones SALEM:45-49 Congress Street Request for Site Access Authorization Page 5 Attachment: Fact Sheet—Vapor Intrusion& Indoor Air Contamination from Waste Sites e-cc: City of Salem Public Health Department, Maureen Davis,Principal Clerk,mdavis 2salem.com Tom A. Campbell, LSP(TCampbell(a,12artneresi.com) Gail McCarthy, Senior Regional Counsel, DEP/NERO/OGC, gail.mccarthy(cr�mass.gov Leticia Ruiz-Boyle, DEP/NEROBWSC,leticia ruin-boyleamass.gov Data Entry: C&E/INTLET, C&E/REQACC Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy S Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection Northeast Regional Office•150 Presidential Way Woburn, MA 01801 • 978-694-3200 Maura T Healey Rebecca L.Tepper Governor Secretary Kimberley Driscoll Gary Moran Lieutenant Governor Acting Commissioner Fact Sheet: Vapor Intrusion & Indoor Air Contamination from Waste Sites What is Vapor Intrusion? Vapor intrusion is a way that contamination in soil or groundwater can get into the indoor air. Contaminants that are spilled onto the ground or leak from underground storage tanks can seep down through the soil and dissolve into the groundwater. Certain contaminants can evaporate from the groundwater into air pockets in the soil and travel upwards. In undeveloped areas, the contaminants disperse into the air. However, in developed areas, vapors can enter buildings and impact indoor air quality. This movement of contaminants into a building is called vapor intrusion. How do vapors get into buildings? When contaminated vapors are present directly next to or underneath the foundation of a building, vapor intrusion is possible. Warm air rising in the building can draw vapors through cracks, holes for utilities, or other openings in the foundation.This is often more likely to occur in the winter months when the frost layer, operation of furnaces, and closed windows increase the potential for vapor intrusion. Vapors can also travel through the permeable gravel used to backfill utility line installations and be drawn into nearby buildings. What contaminants might be entering my home? Only certain contaminants are a concern. Metals like lead or chromium do not cause indoor air vapor problems because they do not evaporate or volatilize. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of contaminants that can easily become vapors. VOCs are found in petroleum products such as gasoline or fuel oil and solvents used for dry cleaning and industrial uses. Are there other sources of indoor air contamination? This information is available in alternate format.Please contact Melixza Esenyie at 617-626.1282. TTY#MassRelay Service 1-800-439-2370 MassDEP Website:www.mass.gov/dep Printed on Recycled Paper Yes.VOCs are found in many household products including paints, paint strippers,thinners,glues, cigarette smoke, aerosol sprays, mothballs, air fresheners, new carpeting or furniture,fuels,and recently dry-cleaned clothes.These products can be a source of VOCs found in indoor air. MassDEP does not regulate VOCs in indoor air from household products. Why is vapor intrusion a concern? Exposure to VOCs can cause an increased risk of adverse health effects.Whether or not a person experiences any health effects depends on several factors, including the amount and length of exposure,the toxicity of the chemical and the individual's sensitivity to the chemical.When the vapor intrusion is the result of environmental contamination, MassDEP requires that steps be taken to eliminate the exposure as much as possible. What should I expect if vapor intrusion is a concern near my home? For sites with VOC contamination,where petroleum or solvents have contaminated soil or groundwater,MassDEP requires that the potential for vapor intrusion be investigated.You may be contacted by the site owner or others working on the cleanup.Your cooperation and consent would be requested before any testing/sampling is done on your property.You may ask the person contacting you questions about the work being done,or you may contact MassDEP. How can you tell if VOCs are from chemicals in my home or from vapor intrusion? To determine if vapor intrusion is a concern, samples of the groundwater and soil gas near your home may be taken.Soil gas samples collected beneath the foundation are often the most reliable method to determine if vapors are present under the building and could cause a problem. Indoor and outdoor air samples may also be collected.A comparison of all the data is conducted to determine whether vapor intrusion may be occurring. What happens if a problem is found? If vapor intrusion is affecting the air in your home, measures can be taken to address the problem, including sealing cracks in the foundation, covering sumps, adjusting the building heating,ventilation and air-conditioning systems or installing a sub- slab depressurization system. What is a sub-slab depressurization system? One of the more reliable solutions to address vapor intrusion is to install a sub-slab depressurization system or SSDS.A SSDS is very similar to a radon mitigation system.The system prevents gases in the soil from entering the home.A low amount of suction is applied below the foundation and the vapors are vented to the outside through a pipe.The system is operated until it is no longer needed.