A view of the project from above, courtesy of Valley Aerial Optics.
DERBY — About 4,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil was discovered after construction began earlier this year on new athletic fields in Derby.
About 1,800 cubic yards of soil contaminated with petroleum and solid waste (garbage, metal, glass bottles and the like) was trucked from the Chatfield Street property and brought to a landfill in Manchester.
That contamination was considered to be the most serious, according to an Aug. 9 letter from Langan CT Inc. to Mayor Rich Dziekan. The questionable soil was found in the center field area of the former softball field, but was about two feet under the ground.
Another 2,500 cubic yards was contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic. That dirt is still on site in a pile but protected. It will be trucked to a state-licensed facility to be disposed, according to the letter.
The arsenic-laced dirt was found under the topsoil in a hill behind the first base line and home plate.
A spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the agency was not aware of the contamination in Derby. The agency would only get involved if the extent of the contamination hit a certain level.
The concentration levels were not high enough to trigger DEEP notification, Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway said.
Unearthing contaminated soil is, unfortunately, common in the Naugatuck Valley, once home to thriving industries.
Naturally occurring arsenic can be found in rocks — as can radon — and that part of Derby features rocky terrain and steep dropoffs going toward the Housatonic River.
While the contamination is not thought to have been an immediate public health threat, its discovery is threatening to push the multi-million dollar project over budget.
There are two separate construction projects happening at the same time side by side in the athletic complex between Derby Neck Library on Hawthorne Avenue and the back of Derby Middle School off Chatfield Street.
On the Chatfield side roughly across from the lower pavilion at Osbornedale State Park, a new softball/baseball field is under construction. And there’s a new field house/community center being built further down Chatfield Street toward Roseland Apizza.
That’s all thanks to private donations from Joan Rayden, founder, president, and CEO of Payden & Rygel, an investment firm based in Los Angeles that manages more than $106 billion in assets.
The Payden project, which will be named after her father, a Derby High School graduate, has been scaled back a bit to keep it within budget.
The goal is to have the project completed by mid-November, weather permitting.
Meanwhile, the City of Derby, thanks to a state grant, is building a new multipurpose football field and track closer to Derby Neck Library.
The contaminated dirt has been discussed at several public meetings, including Derby Board of Aldermen Aug. 9 and an Aug. 15 meeting of two committees overseeing the projects.
There had been a plan to put some of the arsenic-laced dirt back into the ground under the football field and track, but it would be “capped” to keep it from being exposed.
That was under consideration because it would have raised the ground about an inch, which would have allowed for a new handicap accessible ramp and for wheelchair seating in the bleachers.
However, one of the contractors said the extra work would have slowed down the job, and said he’d only do the extra work for a dollar amount that would push the project over budget.
Instead, the arsenic-laced dirt is being trucked away.
There’s also about 10,000 cubic yards of clean soil that needs to go somewhere, too. That dirt will likely be trucked downtown to be used as fill within the city’s redevelopment zone.
Specifically, it will be placed along a stretch of land across from Derby City Hall on the south side of Main Street. It’ll improve the look of the city at that spot, city officials said, and will save the city some $200,000 because the soil is being transported and placed for free.
“It will conceal a surface area of the site that is currently an eyesore,” Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff, said in an email.
However, the Derby Board of Aldermen must first vote to accept the dirt, something that will be on the table at a meeting to be scheduled this week.
Image courtesy of Valley Aerial Optics.
A Google map showing where the “clean” fill will be used downtown, pending authorization from the Derby Board of Aldermen.
