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Agreement Will Ensure Clean Up Protections at Groveland, Mass. Superfund Site

Release Date: 12/10/2007
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Dec. 10, 2007) – The U.S. EPA and the Dept. of Justice have reached a proposed settlement agreement with the Groveland Resources Corp. and Valley Manufacturing Products Co. to ensure funding for clean up measures taken at the 850-acre Groveland Wells Nos. 1 & 2 Superfund Site, located in Groveland, Mass.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the companies will pay 100 percent of the Net Sale or Net Lease Proceeds in the event their property on the site is sold or leased, to reimburse the United States for costs incurred at the site. The companies will also be required to impose certain deed restrictions or institutional controls on the site in order to ensure protections for public health and the environment remain in place following EPA’s cleanup actions at the site.

The Groveland Wells Site is located within a residential area in the southwestern part of the Town of Groveland, Mass. Valley Manufactured Products Co. manufactured screw products as well as metal and plastic parts from 1963 until 2001. The site is contaminated primarily with Trichloroethene (TCE) which was used to clean (degrease) finished parts. TCE was released into the ground from a variety of sources including, underground storage tanks, underground disposal systems and intentional dumping.

The Groveland site was added to EPA’s National Priority List in September 1983. EPA has been conducting cleanup actions at the site that address the contamination in the soil and groundwater.

The consent decree was lodged with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Nov. 9, 2007, and published in the Federal Register on Nov. 23, 2007. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by federal court.

More information and how to comment:

- Review the consent decree (usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html)
- EPA info on Groveland Wells Nos. 1 & 2 Superfund site (epa.gov/region1/superfund/sites/groveland )

Comments on the proposed settlement must be received no later than Dec. 23, 2007 and can be e-mailed to pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov or written comments can be mailed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resource Division P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611 and should reference D.J. Ref. 90-11-2-338/1.

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