Public meeting scheduled to update community on status of Lower Neponset River Superfund Site

Public meeting scheduled to update community on status of Lower Neponset River Superfund Site

February 21, 2024

BOSTON (Feb. 21, 2024) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a public meeting to update the community on current site status, including work that occurred in 2023, what's planned for 2024, and how Community Advisory Groups (CAGs) serve as an important tool for community involvement at Superfund Sites.

The community is invited to attend in person:

6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Hyde Park Community Center (BCYF) located at 1179 River Street, Hyde Park, MA 02136
Join by phone or Zoom:
Call: (646) 828-7666, then dial 1601636105#
Meeting ID: 160 163 6105
Pass code:21952095
Zoom: visit www.epa.gov/neponsetriver.

Background

The Lower Neponset River Superfund site consists of a 3.7-mile section of the Neponset River between its confluence with Mother Brook (in Hyde Park, Massachusetts (MA)) and the Walter Baker Dam (in Dorchester/Milton, MA). Based on preliminary studies, this portion of the river contains sediment contaminated with elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Lower Neponset River channel ranges from approximately 40 feet to 300 feet wide and comprises an estimated 40 acres within or bordering the City of Boston (Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Dorchester sections) and the Town of Milton, MA. The site is bordered by residential, commercial, industrial, and public parcels of land, including the Neponset River Greenway.

From 2002 through 2006, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Riverways Program and the EPA, conducted studies which included the Lower Neponset River in Boston and Milton. According to the USGS report, the PCB concentrations substantially increased in sediment core samples collected downstream of the Mother Brook confluence. In 2006 and 2007, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) oversaw a large removal of contaminated sediments in Mother Brook, which feeds into the Neponset River. In 2013, MassDEP conducted sediment core sampling to further evaluate PCBs in Neponset River sediments at four areas along the Neponset River.

In October 2015, MassDEP requested that the EPA evaluate the Neponset River for potential listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) as the surface water, sediment, and fish within the Neponset River and Estuary are contaminated with PCBs. On March 16, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed the Lower Neponset River site on the National Priorities List.

For general site information please visit www.epa.gov/neponsetriver.
For general CAG information, please visit www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-community-advisory-groups.