EPA, state to begin clean up of former Danvers tannery superfund site

Jul. 24--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the state, has selected a final remedial plan for the Creese and Cook Tannery former superfund site, located in Danvers according to a news announcement from the agency.

The total cost for the remedial action will cost $24.3 million, with $1 million of that amount covering operation and maintenance costs for the next 30 years.

Under this plan, the EPA will excavate contaminated soil from properties located on the east and west sides of the Crane River, including at 55 and 27 Clinton Ave., 33 and 45 Water St., 20 Cheever St. and at MBTA-owned properties. The selected remedy also includes excavation of contaminated soil along the east riverfront area. Excavated areas will be covered with clean soil and re-vegetated.

This excavation to take about 14 months on the east side of the river while the west side will take 33 months. A total of 16,500 cubic yards will be extracted from the east area while the west will include 33,000 cubic yards.

Most of the contaminated soil will be consolidated at 55 Clinton Ave., on the west side of the Crane River, and covered with a protective cap; it's expected that a limited volume of contaminated soil will be transported and disposed off-site at an appropriate hazardous waste landfill.

Institutional controls will be implemented at these properties, including at 12 Cheever St. and 15 Pleasant St., as necessary to protect the remedy and prevent future exposure where contaminated soil remains at depth. To expedite cleanup activities, the EPA is planning to perform a removal action at 45 Water St.

EPA will continue to follow the National Preservation Act requirements and work with local tribes, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and the Danvers Historical Society, to address areas of high archeological interest.

The final remedy is essentially the same as the preferred alternative described in EPA's October 2019 proposed plan, and was selected following a 30-day public comment period and careful review of comments received.

Leather tanning operations on site led to contamination of surface and subsurface soils with tannery wastes, and contaminants exceeded state health-based standards in multiple locations.

The site was used for disposal and treatment of hazardous substances from about 1903 until the early 1981. Three parcels of land at the site were at one time owned by the Creese and Cook Tannery Co., which operated a tannery and finishing facility onsite. Leather tanning and finishing operations began in 1903 at the 33 Water St. parcel, on the East Study Area (ESA), which is located east of the Crane River.

In 1914, most operations, except for finishing operations and offices, moved to a larger new facility at 55 Clinton Ave., on the West Study Area (WSA), which is located west of the Crane River. Creese and Cook used raw animal hides to produce leather shoes, handbags, gloves and garment leather, primarily from cowhide stock. The tannery continued to operate on both sides of Crane River until 1981. Hebb Leather also operated at the site. Creese and Cook and Hebb Leather each filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in 1982.

Wastes from tanning operations were disposed of in two landfills on the Clinton Avenue property. Liquid effluent was discharged to the Crane River until 1975 and later to sewers, while sludge waste was deposited in an on-site lagoon system.

Since the mid-1980s, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection ("MassDEP") oversaw numerous investigations and response actions at some of the properties that comprise the Site, including fencing of areas which contain high levels of arsenic in soil, and the construction of a waste disposal cell at the 55 Clinton Ave. parcel. However, MassDEP eventually requested that EPA evaluate these properties to determine if the area would become eligible for inclusion on the National Priorities List ("NPL").

The site was proposed for inclusion on the NPL in September 2012 and included in the final listing of NPL sites in 2013. In addition, in 2012, EPA conducted a removal action and removed 450 tons of arsenic-contaminated soil at 33 Water Street to address arsenic in neighboring soil.

EPA added the site to the Superfund Program's National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2013. In 2012, EPA conducted a Removal Action to remove 450 tons of arsenic contaminated soil that were above MassDEP standards.

The Record of Decision, including a summary of responses to public comments, is available at EPA's website www.epa.gov/superfund/creese.

Documents are also available at the Peabody Institute Library, 15 Sylvan St., Danvers, MA 01923 -- http://www.danverslibrary.org/

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