$2.1M to Clean Up 30 Years of Pollution in Massachusetts

• The fund revives wetlands and wildlife habitats around the Shpack Landfill Site.
• Between 1946 and 1975, the landfill was used to dump all kinds of toxic substances.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has secured a $2.1 million settlement to compensate for decades of environmental damage caused by the Shpack Landfill Site.

Located in Attleboro and Norton, Massachusetts, the Shpack Landfill Site operated from 1946 to 1975 and received various types of waste, such as hazardous and radioactive materials. For many years, these substances seeped into the environment, contaminating soil, groundwater, wetlands, and nearby habitats, harming fish and wildlife.

The settlement comes as a huge respite for the public and compensates them for the environmental harm caused by the landfill. The funding will be used for restoration activities, for instance, reviving wetlands and wildlife habitats, as a cleanup project was already carried out between 2004 and 2013.

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Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper commented: "This funding will help repair decades of industrial pollution that have damaged wetlands and wildlife habitats in Norton and Attleboro. We look forward to working with local partners to turn this settlement into real, on-the-ground restoration projects.

"We appreciate the work of the Department of Justice and Attorney General Campbell in securing this resolution and helping revitalize these areas for future generations."

To be more specific, the $2.1 million will support on-the-ground restoration projects, which include planting native species, improving water quality or enriching areas for animals to thrive.

The site entered the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986, which is a listing of the most hazardous waste sites in the country. In 2009, a Consent Decree was issued to guide the cleanup process. Many government agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were directly involved in addressing the threat.

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The settlement is a landmark victory as well as a milestone in helping rejuvenate the ecosystems around the Shpack Landfill, although it took a long while to deliver justice. This achievement is the result of collaboration between state and federal agencies and a shared commitment to address decades of toxic dumping and environmental damage in the region.

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Source: Mass.gov