Town Wants Contaminated Site Cleaned Up Before Sale

NATICK, MA—The town wants to buy four acres at 22 Pleasant St., but is insisting that it be cleaned up of contaminants before purchasing it for $3.2 million from the owner.

At Tuesday's Natick Town Meeting, meeting members voted on Article 17, which would have directed a three-member committee to act as a liaison between the Board of Selectmen and stakeholders on acquiring 22 Pleasant St., and also amend previous conditions so the town could buy it in what is called "Remedy Operation Status." The vote failed 32-75-5.

The property at 22 Pleasant, which the town wants to acquire as conservation and recreation land, as it sits next to two baseball fields, is considered a "disposal site" as it relates to the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Prevention and Response Act and the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, explains Amy Mistrot, Natick's board chairwoman.

"The Board of Selectmen are unable to purchase the property in a different regulatory status, which would be earlier in the MCP regulatory process, with respect to the remediation of Tricholorethylene (TCE), the known contaminant at the property," Mistrot told Patch.

The building and land has been the site for a variety of manufacturing and industrial uses dating back to 1864, and has been owned by Natick's Knott family dating back to the early '60s. The Knotts previously had a manufacturing facility on the site.

Trichloroethylene is a colorless, volatile liquid and it evaporates quickly into the air. It is nonflammable and has a sweet odor, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The chemical is often used as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts, or an an extraction solvent for greases, oils, fats, waxes and tars, or by the textile industry to scour cotton and other fabrics.

"People who are overexposed to moderate amounts of trichloroethylene may experience headaches, dizziness, and sleepiness; large amounts of trichloroethylene may cause coma and even death," according to the ATSDR. "Some people who breathe high levels of trichloroethylene may develop damage to some of the nerves in the face. Other effects seen in people exposed to high levels of trichloroethylene include evidence of nervous system effects related to hearing, seeing, and balance, changes in the rhythm of the heartbeat, liver damage, and evidence of kidney damage. Some people who get concentrated solutions of trichloroethylene on their skin develop rashes."

Loopnet lists the property as a former manufacturer and distributor of medical devices.

Votes at previous Town Meetings authorizes the board to buy the property only after a permanent solution to removing these contaminants is achieved. The board isn't willing to purchase the property as it sits, environmentally speaking, because then the town would be legally responsible and exposed.

"This status only applies to the known TCE contamination, which is well studied and understood," said Mistrot. "We have been directed to do additional environmental due diligence to test for a more comprehensive list of possible contamination given the long manufacturing and industrial use of the property that dates back to 1864."

Owner Jim Knott Jr. isn't opposed to cleaning up the site and is actively working on remediating the current levels of TCE, according to reports.

But the issue is that of timing. Mistrot said the owner doesn't want to wait to close on the property until attaining a Permanent Solution, which could drag out for many years since the TCE is in the ground water. The ground water isn't used for human consumption, but has to meet safe drinking water standards that are "very stringent."

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