Cleanup lags; base project to start

Nearly a decade after the South Weymouth Naval Air Station closed, five Superfund sites on the former base do not yet have a finalized cleanup plan, and 31 other potentially contaminated tracts are being managed under other environmental programs, according to the Navy.

Those unresolved contamination issues hang over plans to turn the site into one of the biggest so-called smart growth developments in the state, even as negotiations move forward on transferring the rest of the land from the Navy to the developer, LNR Property Corp.

Negotiations -- the most recent session was 10 days ago -- focus both on the sale price and on the Navy's cleanup intentions for what is to become a massive but walkable village, with 2,855 homes, 2 million square feet of commercial industrial space, and access to public transit.

US Representative William Delahunt called the Oct. 25 session "a very good meeting."

"I think we've expanded the communication, and I hope to see the process accelerated so that a final transfer can occur to the satisfaction of all parties," Delahunt said in an interview after the session.

So far, the Navy has spent $48.5 million on cleanup at the base, and expects to spend an additional $40.8 million.

"The assumption is the Navy takes care of" the cleanup; "the question is to what level," said Terry Fancher , executive director of the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation, the regional agency overseeing the redevelopment.

The Navy, in a statement, has committed to cleaning up the contamination "to the extent reasonably practicable."

But those involved in the project acknowledge that questions remain: Will that be clean enough for the village plan that LNR hopes to build? Or will sections of the base remain off-limits to the children and family who will one day live there?

"On most sites, I believe the Navy is trying to move toward unrestricted use cleanups -- which means safe for residential," said Bryan Olson , chief of the Federal Facility Superfund Office at the US Environmental Protection Agency. "The Navy has two landfill sites -- it has capped one and is proposing to cap another one. . . . Those would obviously not be safe for unrestricted use."

In a statement, the agency said, "We strive to ensure that as much of the property can be transferred without restrictions on use."

The unresolved contamination has made some people wary about the development at the base, which closed in 1997. A group of 10 Weymouth residents requested an injunction against the project last month in Norfolk Superior Court. It was denied.

While residents cited public health concerns in their request to stop the development, construction is not scheduled to take place on contaminated areas -- a fact that Norfolk Superior Court Justice John P. Connor Jr. underscored in his decision.

But the contaminated areas also add uncertainty for LNR, which plans to invest $1 billion over 12 years in the project.

"Since we started negotiating with the Navy about a year ago, what we want to make sure is that our development schedule is on the same track as their cleanup schedule," said Fancher .

"When you're doing any kind of major and complicated project, everything has to fit together."

The first phase of the project includes constructing 500 housing units and 150,000 square feet of commercial space on a 57-acre parcel of land that has been deemed clean through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Review.

"It is determined that there are no potential environmental impacts to its development," Connor wrote.

"In the case of any unforeseen problems the Department of the Navy still remains liable and LNR has a $20 million policy of insurance to cover environmental pollution claims."

But as work on the project is about to start -- buildings near the gate are scheduled to be torn down in the next several weeks, an apple orchard planted in their place, and construction on the first houses to begin in 2007 -- contamination remains a concern on the adjoining acres that, for now, still belong to the Navy.

Ten Superfund sites have been identified at the base; half have received a so-called "record of decision" -- a detailed cleanup plan approved by the EPA. Of those, four require "no action" or "no further action" under the act that governs Superfund sites, although some require monitoring. At the remaining five sites, there has been no resolution of the concern that prompted the Superfund designation.

At what is known as Building 81, a Superfund site near the location of a future school, the remedial investigation is ongoing and the record of decision is not expected until May 2009. Remedial investigation field work continues at other Superfund areas.

The Navy has proposed to cap the 5-acre West Gate landfill, where lead, arsenic, and PCBs have been detected. That landfill is next to an integral part of the development -- the "transit village." The "smart growth" designation reflects, in part, that the village is designed as a cars-optional development; daily necessities are within a walkable distance, and mass transit is available for longer jaunts.

In a statement, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy said his office is monitoring negotiations and is hopeful for a resolution.

Delahunt said that while the negotiation process has been slow, progress is being made. The fact that the vision for reuse of the base shifted, from a 2-million-square-foot "mega-mall" proposed in 1998 to a mixed-use smart-growth development that was approved by the towns of Abington, Rockland, and Weymouth last summer, has also slowed the pace of the negotiations.

"What I hope is to get parties to sit down face to face and narrow the issues, and if there are at that point in time still unresolved issues, my office along with Senator Kennedy could play a role to try to move the project forward," Delahunt said. "It's been a long time. . . . In the end, I think that's accrued to the benefit of the community."

Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.