PCB Investigation, Remediation, & Visioning for City Pier

Situated on the shore of the Taunton River, City Pier is a four-acre site with big potential. For nearly a decade, BETA has been involved in clean-up activities to help transform the vacant parcel into an accessible site that could be used for marina, recreation, dining, and waterfront amenities.

Initially, the site was investigated and remediated by the City of Fall River as a Brownfields site and was part of the Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor’s first round of Brownfield Support Team sites. Under EPA and MassDEP oversight and using Brownfield funding, BETA conducted a comprehensive investigation of site soils for the presence of PCBs. The investigation included over 400 soil borings and laboratory analysis of over 700 soil samples.

Based on the results of the investigation, BETA prepared an EPA Risk-Based Cleanup Plan that included the excavation and removal of soils with greater than 100 ppm of PCBs, consolidation of soils between 1 and 100 ppm, the support and repair of existing seawalls, and the installation of an engineered barrier over soils to remain on-site with PCBs greater than 1 ppm. Over 1,000 cubic yards of soil with greater than 100 ppm of PCBs were removed from the site and over 3,000 cubic yards of soil with PCBs between 1 and 100 ppm were consolidated and managed on-site.

As clean-up activities resulted in the mitigation of pollutants, BETA’s landscape architects and planners assisted the Fall River Redevelopment Authority with developing a vision for the multi-use marina to include seasonal uses such as a beer garden, open-air concerts, artisan vendors, and restaurants.