SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES UP TO $5 MILLION IN RECOVERY ACT FUNDING COMING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR CLEANUP AT OTTATI AND GOSS SUPERFUND SITE
Funding will expedite cleanup and create jobs in the region
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide up to $5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for further cleanup of pollution at the Ottati and Goss site near Kingston, NH. This funding will accelerate the EPA cleanup efforts already underway at the site and will also stimulate the local economy by creating jobs in the region.
“I’m glad this recovery funding will both help restore the Ottati and Goss site and help restore our economy by creating jobs in the cleanup effort,” said Shaheen. “We’re already seeing some of the benefits of our economic recovery effort, but there’s a lot of work ahead. I’ll continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to create jobs and get our economy back on track.”
Cleanup at the Ottati and Goss site began in 1980 after it was discovered that volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals, and acid compounds had contaminated the area. Runoff, seepage and leaching also drained into South Brook and eventually into Country Pond, killing vegetation and fish and causing skin irritation among swimmers.
The funds to restore the Ottati and Goss site are provided through EPA’s Superfund program, which was established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. This additional funding to the Ottati and Goss site will be used to perform the planned 2009 oxidant injections for the ongoing chemical oxidation remedy at the site. The last round of oxidant injections will continue through 2010, which will be the final cleanup activity at the site.
