A 30-day public comment period starts today on a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use a different technique — burying contaminated sediment in the harbor under a layer of clean sand — for portions of the ongoing cleanup.
The technique, known as a confined aquatic disposal, or CAD, cell would be used to remediate primarily the contaminated sediment in the lower harbor, south of the Coggeshall Street bridge.
According to David Dickerson, a co-project manager with the EPA, the contamination in the lower harbor could be cleaned up by 2014 if a CAD cell is used.
The contamination in the upper harbor will continue to be addressed using hydraulic dredging.
A copy of the proposed plan revision, known as explanation of significant difference, is available at the New Bedford Free Public Library and will be posted on the EPA Region 1 website.
By Charis Anderson
[mappress]
Source: southcoasttoday, June 26, 2010;