Clean up of Superfund site progresses 

Date June 03, 2008
Section(s) Local News
By ANNA FERGUSON
The Brunswick News

Crews working to excavate the once highly polluted Brunswick Wood Preserving site on Perry Lane Road are moving at a rapid pace in their clean-up effort.

So much so, that project managers estimate the work will be wrapped up by the end of the year.

"The headline for this article should be 'exceeding expectations.' Everything is really moving along," said Daniel Parshley, project manager with the Glynn Environmental Coalition, which is monitoring the cleanup.

Weather conditions have helped speed the property revitalization along. The massive drought hitting the state may be a nuisance to residents and state officials, but for Jim Nelson, project manager for the clean-up efforts at Brunswick Wood Preserving site, the lack of rain has been a major plus.

Draining contaminated ponds from the property has been a major objective of restoration, and the dry conditions have made the task easier, he said.

"The drought has been good for us," Nelson said. "We are utilizing it for all we can."

Nelson said he is now able to move on to the next goal: Building a slurry wall. What he calls "a monstrous" piece of equipment is being shipped to the site this week from Delaware to get that process under way, he said.  

"Each track wheel weighs 5,600 pounds and the whole thing has to be brought in one piece at a time," he said. "Saying it is huge would be an understatement." 

The impermeable clay wall will be dug about 65 feet into the ground to stabilize the property's soil and keep it from washing off.  

Since starting work on the property last summer, Nelson and his 24-man subcontracted crew have installed a new pipe and drainage system to re-route rain runoff. The system has addressed several issues on the property, including ending the flooding of nearby neighborhoods and contamination of nearby creeks.  

"You can't really tell rain where to go," Nelson said. "But you can suggest where it should go and hope that it listens as it runs off. We've been able to get it to listen."

The 84 acres of the former Brunswick Wood Preserving plant was declared a Superfund site by the federal government.

Though the plant was once home to vats of dangerous chemicals - including pentachlorophenol, creosote and arsenic - Nelson is confident it will again become a safe location for another business.

"The end goal is for it to be suitable for commercial or industrial use," Nelson said. "And we will be able to meet that goal. The site can be reused."

All this work has come with a hefty price tag. Though exact figures aren't available, Nelson estimated the total cost of the project will be more than $20 million.

"It hasn't been cheap, that's for sure," he said.