LAND USE RESTRICTION
An Environmental Land Use Restriction (ELUR) will prohibit residential use of the first floor. This is in direct response to levels of contaminants that exceeded residential use standards set by DEM {Link to contamination section above}
CLEANUP
Dynamo House cleanup will include some combination of:26,29,
- Cap of unpaved soils
- Building foundation
- 2-feet of clean imported fill
- 1 foot of clean imported fill over geo-textile
- 4 inches of asphalt and concrete, with two 2-inch lifts over 6 inches of clean imported fill
- incorporation of vapor barrier and sub-slab ventilation and drainage system design into construction specifications to prevent groundwater infiltration into the museum
- Program to excavate soils for off-site disposal, given that petroleum hydrocarbons exist on certain areas of the site
The primary remediation strategy will be a cap . The cap is planned to be hard-surface, although under vegetation, a clay cap may be an option. Struever Brothers plans to plant vegetation on the site, with the dual purpose of retaining soil and runoff as well as for aesthetics. Because plantings will perturb the soil, the developers will have to bring new soil in above the cap, and so in this case there will be some soil removal and treatment. Soil removal will also occur when excavation occurs to put in the sunken courtyard, planned to occur toward the end of Dynamo House construction.
The 2006 Remedial Action Plan does not include response actions to groundwater and dewatering of Dynamo House’s sunken construction area, and the inclusion of such actions is not anticipated as of the 2006 document. The same is true for considerations of surface water travel and sediment. These decisions were based on what is known about the contaminants of concern, their characteristics and concentrations, and the conditions of the site. Monitoring of groundwater conditions, if conducted properly, may be enough to warn that contamination persists or is traveling. However, what will be the costs of deep excavation cleanup if, after project completion, monitoring one day suggests this is necessary?
FOLLOW-UP
- Annual site inspections by environmental professionals, with a report to RIDEM on the condition of engineered controls (such as the cap)
- Periodic groundwater monitoring, with reporting to RIDEM
We suggest that periodic monitoring be extended beyond the property to the quality of surface water.
THE PUBLIC WATERWAY
Struever Brothers is taking the proximity of the parcel to the water into account in its plans for Dynamo House, and is abiding by CRMC requirements relating to buffer zones, setbacks and storm-water management. {link to “Coastal Redevelopment In the JD” section} The vegetation plantings will fill Urban Coastal Greenways requirements for storm water management, as will a planned green roof.
Regarding the Urban Coastal Greenways coastal buffer requirement of 200 feet (same link as previous), Struever Brothers does not own the property between Dynamo House and the river, so it has no control over how that land will be used. Seth Handy, Struever Brothers development director for the site, advocates public access and suggests that the property become part of the public park system proposed by Providence 2020. LINK