Arlington Awarded Over $45k for 2013 Oil Spill Restoration

ARLINGTON, MA — The Town of Arlington has been awarded state funding for restoration projects following the 2013 oil spill in the Upper Mystic River, the town announced Friday.

According to the announcement, the town has been awarded $47,325 from the Commonwealth for its Mystic River Restoration Projects stemming from a tanker-truck fuel oil spill in 2013. The funds will be used to reduce riverbank erosion at an existing outfall along theUpper Mystic River, create a native habitat following input from community groups and increase awareness along the river.

Medford was also granted funding, with the combined funding totaling $81,600.

“We’re pleased to be receiving these funds,” said Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine in a statement. “They will help remediate the damage done by the oil spill and assist in our efforts to keep the Mystic River a natural treasure for all visitors and inhabitants.”

The funds utilize $44,100 from a settlement between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and J.P. Noonan Transportation, Inc. of West Bridgewater and supplemented by the state's Natural Resource Damage Trust. An additional $26,500 was made availabe through the NRD trust from environmental fines and penalties.

For further information, contact Conservation Administrator Cori Beckwith at cbeckwith@town.arlington.ma.us.

Image by DearEdward from New York, NY, USA - Mystic River Bridge, CC BY 2.0, Link