NOAA and our partner natural resource trustees for the Industri-plex Superfund Site released the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (PDF, 166 pages) on September 21, 2020. The restoration plan outlines projects selected by the Trustees to receive funds from the natural resources damages settlement for the Site. The projects will compensate the public for injuries to natural resources resulting from hazardous substance releases at and from the site in Woburn, Massachusetts. 

The $4.2  million natural resource damages settlement (PDF, 23 pages) that the Trustees reached with the Responsible Parties includes $3.8 million to fund the restoration of wetland, stream, and pond habitats within the Aberjona River sub-watershed. In the restoration plan the Trustees present three restoration projects they selected to receive funding: restoration of wetland and stream habitat at the Shaker Glen Extension in Woburn;  design and construction of the Scalley Dam fishway in Woburn; and, restoration of riparian habitat at Davidson Park in Winchester.  If funds remain after those projects are completed, the Trustees may provide funds to other projects described in the plan.  All of the restoration projects will improve habitat conditions which will be beneficial to multiple wildlife species.

The Industri-Plex Superfund Site is a former leather tanning, chemical manufacturing, and glue production facility. These industrial activities, dating back to the 19th century, contaminated the Site with arsenic, lead, and chromium. The by-products and residues from these industries caused the soils and groundwater of the site to become contaminated with elevated levels of metals and volatile organic compounds and these contaminants migrated downstream. Development of the site in the 1970s uncovered and mixed industrial by-products and wastes accumulated over 130 years. The wetlands, rivers, and streams that flow around the site are important habitats for many species including fish, amphibians, and many migratory bird species. 

The Natural Resource Trustees for the Industri-Plex Superfund site include the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, representing the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, representing the U.S. Department of the Interior; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, representing the U.S. Department of Commerce.

For more information please contact eric.hutchins@noaa.gov.