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This story appeared on Page A3 of The
Standard-Times on April 9, 2005
Lawmakers ask DEP to assure new Keith will be
safe for children
By AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD -- Citing "great public outcry and
questions" surrounding the construction of a new
Keith Middle School on a contaminated city dump
site, the city's legislative delegation has
requested that the commissioner of the Department of
Environmental Protection provide them with an update
on the project.
"The news of contamination has generated great
public outcry and questions arising on whether the
school should continue to be built on this
property," stated the letter to DEP commissioner
Robert W. Golledge Jr. The letter was signed by Sen.
Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, Rep. John Quinn,
D-Dartmouth, and Reps. Robert Koczera, Antonio F.D.
Cabral and Steven Canessa, all of New Bedford.
"The cost of the project has increased $12.6 million
due in large part to the cleanup efforts. To ensure
that Keith Junior High will be safe for the children
who will go to school there we would like your
assessment of the situation," the letter said.
Sen. Montigny, who graduated from Keith Junior High,
said the DEP needs to convince parents, teachers,
neighbors and legislators that the new Keith can be
built safely on the site.
"I feel this is so sensitive, and potentially
manipulated on so many political fronts, that we
need the DEP to tone down the rhetoric and give us
the facts," Sen. Montigny said. "If there's any
hazard to kids or neighbors, this project needs to
be shut down until we get answers. If the DEP cannot
unequivocally, and in writing, say that this site
can be made safe, than we have a real problem."
Rep. Quinn said that a written response is necessary
to provide clarification on what the state's
environmental experts think on the issue. "We want
to get it clarified now before the state starts
spending more money on a site that can't be built
on," he said.
The state School Building Authority is funding 90
percent of the cost of the project, now estimated to
be $66 million.
The legislators also asked Commissioner Golledge for
his "estimation as to whether the current site can
be sufficiently cleaned so that no child's health
will be at risk." The letter also seeks an update on
the project, including the current status of
cleanup, and a determination of what parties would
be responsible for the cleanup.
City officials announced recently that the cost of a
new Keith on a former city dump, located on Hathaway
Boulevard across from New Bedford High School, is
estimated to be $66 million. Of that total, $10
million is estimated to be for cleaning the site and
preparing it for the new school. Approximately $7
million of that money has already been spent, and
city officials say they have entered into contracts
for much of the construction costs.
The site, formerly McCoy Field, is contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as lead,
barium and other pollutants. The city has submitted
a plan to the DEP and the federal Environmental
Protection Agency to leave much of the contaminated
soil in place, cover it with a plastic barrier and
three feet of clean soil, and build the school over
it. Both agencies are assessing the city's plan to
cap the site.
A meeting between the city, the DEP, the EPA and
neighbors is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday in
the library at Keith Junior High School.
This story appeared on Page A3 of The
Standard-Times on April 9, 2005 |
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