Celebrating Success:
Iron Horse Park
Billerica, Massachusetts
&EPA
Superfuncl
Redevelopment
Initiative
"Rcpurposmg these sites for renewable energy
projects will provide clean energy for New
England communities, help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, support economic development
opportunities and help generate local jobs."'
Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for EPA's
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
For more information, please contact
Melissa Friedland at
fri edland.melissa@epa.gov or (703) 603-8864
or Frank Avvisato at
avvisato.frank@epa.gov or (703) 603-8949.
Reuse at the Iron Horse Park Superfund site (the Site) reinforces community-
driven efforts in New England to move toward renewable energy sources.
The Shaffer Landfill portion of the Site is now home to a 6-megawatt solar
electricity plant.
The Site, a 553-acre industrial complex, hosted a variety of manufacturing
and rail yard maintenance activities since 1913. Open storage areas, several
landfills and wastewater lagoons supported former industrial operations.
However, investigations found operations had contaminated soil, groundwater
and surface water. After conducting a removal action to address immediate
risks to the surrounding community, EPA added the Site to the Superfund
program's National Priorities List in 1984. Cleanup activities included
removal of contaminated soil, filling areas with clean soil, and closing
and capping landfills. The cleanup also focused on restoring the abundant
wetlands on site and creating new wetland habitats. In addition, several on-
site businesses continued to operate throughout the cleanup process.
In recent years, site stakeholders focused new reuse efforts on the 100-
acre Shaffer Landfill portion of the Site. Under EPA oversight, a group of
responsible parties constructed a cap over the closed landfill. In 2012, Urban
Green Technologies LLC (UGT) began conducting extensive analyses of
the area in anticipation of a solar renewable energy project. UGT worked
with EPA to develop a layout that would not only maximize the project's
size, but also address the engineering challenges of installing solar panels
on the landfill's steep slopes while ensuring the cap remained intact. In
order for the project to be approved, EPA determined that no substantial
modification to the landfill would be required for the solar installation, and
the State issued a permit for its construction and operation. Working with
the responsible parties, the project received strong support from the Town
of Billerica, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
and National Grid. UGT began construction of the 25-acre solar array in
early 2014.
The combined efforts of all the Site's stakeholders made the renewable
energy project possible. UGT demonstrated its dedication to the project
through the signing of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement.
Coordinated with EPA and the State, the PILOT agreement guarantees the
Town of Billerica will receive payment in lieu of taxes for the next 25 years.
In August 2014, EPA, UGT and the Town of Billerica held a ceremony
marking the project's completion. The 20,000 panels will generate about
six megawatts of electricity, resulting in significant long-term energy cost
savings for the Town. In November 2014, EPA celebrated the renewable
energy reuse accomplishments at the Site with Region 1 's Excellence in
Site Reuse Award recognizing those who have created extraordinary results
in revitalizing and reusing formerly contaminated Superfund sites.
March 2015
Construction of the iaj*
Landfill portion of the Site. (Source: EPA)
The completed solar development over
Shaffer Landfill. (Source: UGT)

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