Board Hears Presentation On Site Cleanup

The town Board of Selectmen heard a presentation on the cleanup of a Wrentham property.

The Marra property, a piece of which borders Wampum Corner, is owned by the town.

Selectman Robert Leclair, who has spearheaded the board's cleanup efforts, said the town had carefully examined its options before commencing work.

"We had two proposals," he said. "The first we rejected because it would have given us a restricted deed."

Leclair said the town settled on a proposal, from engineering firm Fuss & O'Neill, that would avoid such a problem.

David Foss, who led Fuss & O'Neill's cleanup, said a substantial amount of work had been done.

"We coordinated with the town and the [Environmental Protection Agency] in getting rid of tons of contaminated soil," he said.

Foss said the property was generally wooded, but had several clearings.

"Where we spent the lion's share of effort was the clearing at the top of the hill," he said.

Foss said this was but part of a continuing drive to remove soil contaminants.

"Over the years, there have been many cleanup actions," he said. "There was a significant cleanup last spring."

According to Foss, the firm would be conducted various tests to confirm there are no additional contaminants on the site.

Selectman Bob Cohen asked if the test sites would correspond to where the old samples were taken. Foss said they would.

"The use here was for the storage of junk vehicles," he said. "Poor housekeeping was really the source, so there are hotspots in the area."

Selectmen also discussed the state of the fund set aside for the cleanup. Members said a shortfall is possible, and affirmed their desire to see the job done well.