The City of Derby will be receiving $200,000 from the state to investigate whether there is still contaminated soil at O’Sullivan’s Island.
The money is on top of a $100,000 grant the Valley Council of Governments will use to assess the situation at the public property at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers.
“It will answer our question — what is down there?” Mayor Anita Dugatto said. “Our overall goal is to get O’Sullivan’s Island back to being a public park,” she said.
The Derby Board of Aldermen — out of an “abundance of caution” — voted in January to close the property after questions were raised as to whether the site is safe for the public.
In 2008 and 2009, the federal Environmental of Protection agency conducted a “removal action” on the south side of O’Sullivan’s Island, hauling away tons of contaminated dirt and toxic barrels full of PCBs.
However, the EPA dealt only with PCBs, and did not address other possible contaminants in the soil on the property, such as those previously identified in the portion of the property that was used as a training area for area firefighters.
The EPA left behind some PCBs deep in the ground on O’Sullivan’s Island, but not at levels that pose a threat, according to the EPA.
In addition to peace of mind over non-PCB contamination, the city wants to get the site off a state list of “Significant Environmental Hazard” properties.
Derby’s representatives in Hartford — State Reps. Theresa Conroy, Linda Gentile, Themis Klarides and State Sen. Joseph Crisco — sent out a press release Wednesday in support of the Derby funding.
“In January, city officials closed O’Sullivan’s Island to the public because of concerns over toxic chemicals,” Conroy said, according to the press release. “This funding will allow us to investigate the contamination and, hopefully, pave the way to remediation and a grand re-opening.”
Rick Dunne, executive director of the Valley Council of Governments, said Wednesday the state funding is important because it means Derby won’t have to fund the testing themselves.
A firm still has to be hired to do the testing.
City officials and Valley COG officials were at O’Sullivan’s Island Tuesday (April 15) with environmental firms who want to be hired to conduct the soil testing.
Dunne said the soil testing and results should be ready within the next 45 to 60 days.
After the testing, Derby will know whether additional cleanup is needed at O’Sullivan’s Island.
The money from the state is for assessment — not cleanup. The costs connected to a potential cleanup are not known at this time.
O’Sullivan’s Island opened to the public as a public park in October 2009, after the EPA “removal action” was completed.
Dunne and Valley COG sent a series of memos to former Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s administration asking questions about potential contamination still in the ground, and pointing out that additional soil testing was needed in order to receive money to make further improvements to O’Sullivan’s Island.
Staffieri told the Valley Indy earlier this year that the park was perfectly safe, per the EPA.
Click here for an in-depth story previously published by the Valley Indy.
