BOSTON – Federal, state and local officials have reached settlements with the owners of Brook Village and Centerdale Manor that they say will contribute at least $3.6 million toward the cleanup of a North Providence Superfund site and help preserve affordable housing.
The two apartment complexes, opened in 1977 and 1982, respectively, are home to about 230 senior citizens. But the site they occupy is contaminated with dioxin, PCBs, volatile organic compounds, metals and other potentially dangerous substances, the EPA says.
The pollution is believed to be the result of past industrial activity on the properties: Before 1936, the Centredale Worsted Mills operated there. Then came Atlantic Chemical Co., which operated there from about 1943 to the early 1970s (as Metro-Atlantic).
In addition, the New England Container Co. operated an incinerator-based drum reconditioning facility on a portion of the site from 1952 until 1971. A major fire in 1972 destroyed most of the structures on the properties.
Although the Brook Village and Centerdale Manor owners didn’t cause the contamination, under the federal Superfund law it’s still their responsibility, the EPA said in a news release. Both have been funding and performing cleanup work at the site along with prior tenants. The EPA said it would continue to seek the other parties’ support for the cleanup work.
The two building owners, for their part, have agreed to pay the EPA about $1.1 million and $1.9 million, respectively; pay the state about $104,200 and $172,900, respectively; and pay $68,450 each to the U.S. Department of Interior for natural resource damages and some costs.
“This is a great settlement for EPA, the State of Rhode Island and the local community,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA’s New England office. “It is a cooperative and creative approach to generating the necessary funds to continue this important cleanup while ensuring that Brook Village and Centerdale Manor remain financially viable as affordable housing complexes.”
Both parties are limited partnerships whose only significant asset consists of their respective apartment buildings. They will generate the funds for the settlements by refinancing each property’s mortgage with the Rhode Island Housing & Mortgage Finance Corp. As part of the deal, the buildings will remain as subsidized elderly housing for 40 more years.
“These apartments are irreplaceable, RIHMFC executive director Richard Godfrey said. “Neither North Providence nor Rhode Island can afford to lose a single affordable apartment, let alone 223. This settlement ensures they will remain affordable for another generation of Rhode Islanders.”
State Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch reviewed the settlement on behalf of the state. In the EPA news release, he called the deal “a good, cooperative effort that has brought about positive results on various fronts, especially in sustaining affordable housing for our senior citizens.”
For more information about the Centredale Manor Restoration Project, go to www.epa.gov/ne/superfund/sites/centredale.
