NEW BEDFORD – A $13 million settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pave the way for the demolition of the Aerovox mill building in New Bedford.
The agency announced last week that it reached a settlement with AVX Corp. to clean up the site contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned in 1977. Aerovox used the man-made chemicals for years during the mill’s heyday as a manufacturing plant for capacitors. The building on a 10-acre site is now vacant.
The EPA had reached an earlier agreement with Aerovox to clean up the site, but its bankruptcy in 2001 led to significant delays in addressing the site.
The EPA said that planning, contracting and pre-mobilization activities would take about 10 months from the effective date of the settlement. The demolition of the mill itself is estimated to take six to eight months to complete.
“This highly collaborative settlement ensures that the contaminated Aerovox mill will be safely demolished,” EPA Regional Administrator Curt Spalding said. “It also represents an active public participation process – a process that is expected to continue. EPA looks forward to working with all stakeholders as we move into project implementation.”
In addition to the EPA settlement, the city and Massachusetts reached separate agreements with AVX that together total about $13 million.
The city, using EPA funds, will hire a contractor to transport and dispose of the demolition debris offsite at appropriately licensed facilities. With assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA will inspect, and oversee the demolition and capping on a day-to-day basis to ensure that the project proceeds smoothly and safely.
“This is the most important land-based environmental remediation project in New Bedford,” New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang said. “The entire citizenry will benefit for generations to come when the former Aerovox site is cleaned and redeveloped for public use.”
The city’s agreement with AVX requires the installation of a utility corridor to streamline potential redevelopment of the site and creates a cost-sharing approach for a shoreline greenway.
