Public Presentation on Site on Tuesday, October 3rd
By Tom Stilley
Remediation Group Leader
Corteva Remediation Group
Vice President – Sporting Goods Properties Inc.
Tom Stilley, the Corteva Remediation Group Leader for Remington Woods (aka Lake Success Business Park), has managed the remediation program since its inception. Corteva is the combining of the agricultural businesses of Dow and DuPont, and Sporting Goods Properties Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corteva,
On Tuesday, the site was open to the public. Corteva provided transportation and took all interested parties on a tour of the site.
Remington Woods consists of 420 acres, and is the former Remington Arms manufacturing and testing site. It is a unique forest community, which includes a twenty-three acre lake (Lake Success), forest, meadows, and wetlands including vernal pools. The majority of the forest, 347 acres, is located in the city of Bridgeport and seventy-five acres lies in Stratford.
According to Stilley, there are three primary remedy areas of focus:
- Upland soil – most site areas have been addressed; presently working on site interior roads
- Lake Success – remediation is completed; restoration work is being monitored and maintained
- Wetlands and Groundwater – sampling and investigation underway, with remediation being evaluated
Stilley noted that significant progress continues on the site cleanup program. “We have maintained excellent progress on our cleanup program, despite the extra challenges and burdens that everyone continues to experience, related to global economic conditions. We will continue to use a combination of in-person and virtual meetings to update the community about the site.”
Wetland Study Areas
All wetland areas have been mapped, along with vernal pool areas. They have collected sediment and surface water samples at eight different wetland areas for evaluation, and compared results to ecological benchmarks. They have collected pore water samples to determine if contaminants are present in the water entrained in the sediment, and used the data to conduct an environmental risk assessment.
The ecological risk assessment determined that some sediment removal is needed in each of the wetland areas. In 2022, they completed a second round of sampling to refine the delineation areas, and recently submitted a report to EPA and CT DEEP with findings. The second round of samples slightly increased the area of sediment removal in each wetland.
Sporting Goods Properties will submit a Corrective Measures Implementation Plan for EPA and CT DEEP approval, to remove impacted wetland sediments, and to restore wetlands habitat. The sediments will be excavated and placed in the on-site future cap area.
They have started the wetland permitting process (Federal, state and local) for these remediation activities, with remediation planned for Summer/Fall 2024.
What’s important for us to remember is just how compromised the property was. To date: over 92,000 cubic yards of sediment has been dredged and processed; over 5,000 items of munitions were recovered and managed safely (blown up!); and 24,000 cy tailings processed and placed in CAMU (Corrective Action Management Unit, a designated area on the site where impacted soil is managed and capped).
2024 Activities
- Continue excavation and restoration of interior site roads; there are over five miles of interior site roads that need remediation. Over 4,000 truck loads of soil have been moved into the cap area, and it is expected that over 40,000 cubic yards of soil will have been tested.
- Remediate and restore wetlands
- Statistical-based random sampling of site to verify completeness of investigations and cleanup
- Continue monitoring of restored areas (Roadway Brook and Success Lake)
- Complete design and permitting for future cap installation
The Elephant In The Room – Development
“We are at the concept planning stage, with about two plus years of remediation remaining still to complete. The remediation schedule is subject to change based on a number of factors, including future sampling results and agency approvals, and public input will be part of the redevelopment process,” Stilley stated.
Agriculture Division of DowDuPont Insert Risk Classification
Hotel and Conference Center, Green and Low Impact Manufacturing, Skilled Trades, Passive Recreation, Solar cells, and a Nature Center are several of the uses that have been suggested. It is believed that approximately 70% of the property would be open space.
In conclusion, Stilley noted that protecting a valuable and extensive forested area requires significant financial resources to:
- Support staffing and programming
- Provide adequate security (we currently spend about $200K per year)
- Repairs, maintenance and upkeep
“Unlike most small urban parks, the site is large and isolated. Therefore, some development is valuable, but it’s necessary to provide eyes on the site to maintain and protect the natural features and habitat. We will work with government agencies and groups like land trusts and national/regional trustee groups to identify the best long-term stewardship approach.”
