City Councilors approved that expenditure at their Monday meeting, even as the Department of Parks and Recreation continues to explore less costly alternatives. The current plan is to truck the dirt to the state’s only landfill in Coventry where the dirt would be used to cover solid waste.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation has rejected alternatives that would allow the dirt to be reused as part of construction projects in the city. Another plan to use the dirt as a constituent of asphalt or concrete appears to be cost prohibitive, city officials say.
The soil was excavated from Waterfront Park as part of improvement projects there. The soil has been stored at Leddy Park since its excavation in October 2014.
Waterfront Park is built atop an old industrial railyard, and during construction, a consultant observed signs of contamination. After additional testing, the city discovered that the dirt contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a known carcinogen.
Money for the soil removal will come from $800,000 the council set aside for improvements to Waterfront Park. That means nearly half of the total is slated to be used removing soil, though $65,000 of the money meant for removal is set aside as a contingency.
Counting the projects already done, that would leave only $42,500 for continued work at Waterfront Park, and Jesse Bridges, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said further improvement projects will “take a back seat” to removing the dirt from Leddy Park.
Two councilors, Dave Hartnett, I-North District, and Chip Mason, D-Ward 5, expressed concern about a precedent the city will set by trucking excavated soils to the Coventry landfill.
Further construction in the downtown corridor could be constrained if every time the city or a private developer excavates earth that is at all contaminated and they’re forced to ship it to the landfill, they said. That could make redevelopment cost prohibitive, they added.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said his administration will continue to work with the state to find ways to dispose of excavated soil that protects public health and safety, but that is also cost effective for taxpayers.
The removal of Leddy Park’s dirt piles falls under new rules recently approved by the Vermont Legislature for disposing of contaminated soil, and it’s been a learning process for city and state officials, Weinberger said.
