The hunt is on for money to pay for additional testing needed at O’Sullivan’s Island, a Derby park closed to the public last month after concerns surfaced about potential soil contamination.
Rick Dunne and Arthur Bogen brought members of a newly formed O’Sullivan’s Island Advisory Committee up to speed on the issues during a two-hour meeting in Derby City Hall Thursday, Feb. 6.
Dunne is the executive director at the Valley Council of Governments (VCOG) and Bogen is the agency’s environmental planner.
VCOG is helping Derby government to navigate the problems at the city-owned property.
Among the highlights from Thursday’s meeting:
- Phase III of the Derby Greenway — which was also closed last month — could be reopened by the Board of Aldermen later this month because it is just outside the area of concern.
- The state Department of Health, with assistance from the Naugatuck Valley Health District, has prepared a draft of a question-and-answer sheet to better inform the public of the issues at O’Sullivan’s Island. The final version of the fact sheet should be ready in the next three weeks.
- VCOG is searching for money to do more testing. After the testing is done, they may have to search for money to deal with whatever the soil tests find.
O’Sullivan’s Island is a meadow where the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers meet. The Derby Greenway, a walking trail, runs beside it.
What’s up at O’Sullivan’s Island, you ask?
Well, the federal Environmental Protection Agency finished a “removal action” on part of the property in 2009. An EPA contractor hauled away hundreds of buried toxic drums, along with 14,000 tons of PCB-laden dirt.
Afterward the property was opened to the public with the EPA’s blessing for passive recreation — that is, nothing other than walking.
But, behind the scenes, VCOG started sending memos to former Mayor Anthony Staffieri and his top aides suggesting more soil testing was needed at O’Sullivan’s Island.
The reason — while the EPA did a great job removing the PCBs, they were only there to deal with that serious threat.
There was also contamination in the ground on another part of the property which has previously been used as a training school for firefighters. That contamination included levels of arsenic, oil and lead.
Derby has no record of what happened to that contamination. Derby does not know whether is it still in the ground.
In addition, VCOG can’t access a $325,000 grant to build a fishing pier that was announced publicly in 2009 because no one can prove the site is acceptable under state environmental regulations. VCOG and Derby already lost a $35,000 grant because they haven’t done additional testing.
The memos from VCOG never found their way to the public or the Board of Aldermen until last month.
Oh, And
The EPA also says Derby owes the federal government $4 million to pay for work done to clean up the PCB mess at O’Sullivan’s Island. Various lawyers are trying to strike a settlement.
The Advisory Committee
Mayor Anita Dugatto created the advisory committee to concentrate solely on O’Sullivan’s Island and to make recommendations to the Board of Aldermen. The Aldermen do not have to follow the committee’s advice.
The committee members at the big table in the Joan Williamson Aldermanic Chambers Feb. 6 included:
- Alderman Art Gerckens, who was elected chairman
- James R. Butler, from the city’s tax board
- Gene DiGiovanni
- Ray DiGiovanni
- Henry Domurad
- Aldermen Peter M. Olenoski
- Cheryl Pereiras
The advisory committee is scheduled to meet again Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Derby City Hall.
The Board of Aldermen — the city’s legislative body — was kept in the dark about the EPA’s efforts to collect $4 million and the fact VCOG was urging for more testing.
“The time for finger-pointing is over. We’ve got a problem here and we’re going to solve it,” Gerckens said.
