MIDDLEBORO, Mass. —An oil leak from the former Cumberland Farms gas station at 200 Center St., in downtown Middleboro has selectmen concerned that the oil could be leaking into town wells, The Enterprise reports.
The matter came before selectmen on Monday when they were asked to sign a site access agreement with Cumberland Farms to dig a well on the Town Hall property so that they could begin monitoring the well.
“It appears some of the fuel has leached onto the Massasoit property owned by the town. There is an agreement with ECS (Environmental Compliance Services), Cumberland Farms and the school department to monitor wells on the property and soon to include the Town Hall property on Nickerson Avenue,” Fire Chief Lance Benjamino told the Enterprise in a Feb. 24 email.
Asked to provide background information, Benjamino said, “Apparently at some point, there was an odor of gasoline inside the Cumberland Farms, 200 Center St., and during the investigation it was discovered that there was gasoline in the ground (Unknown Source). ... The three underground fuel tanks were drained and taken out of service in March of 2015 and Environmental Compliance Services, Inc., 10 State St., Woburn, MA 01801 was contracted by Cumberland Farms to mitigate the situation.”
A report has been filed with the Department of Environmental Protection, according to Benjamino. He said ECS filed a Phase II Response Action Report with the DEP on Dec. 31 which includes a contingency plan and comprehensive site assessment.
“I can’t comment on any of it at this point,” said Rachel Stevens, a project manager for ECS, adding that all her communication is directly with the town.
“The pollution seems to be coming from the point source and appears to be tracking south easterly,” Health Agent Robert Buker told selectmen, adding that he has been receiving periodic reports from Cumberland Farms on the well monitoring.
“At this time, the air readings are below residential thresholds. I do not know the extent of the ground and/or groundwater contamination at this time,” said Benjamino.
”Right now, they are just monitoring the situation,” Town Manager Robert Nunes told selectmen, noting that Cumberland Farms has dug two wells at Massasoit Community College, which is a town-owned building located behind the Town Hall.
“Monitoring just doesn’t cut it,” said Selectmen Stephen McKinnon, who asked the town manager to contact Cumberland Farms and ask them to develop a mediation plan should the problem need to be addressed.
Cumberland farms needs to “start fixing the problem they created,” said McKinnon.
“What’s worse is that they are telling us it is moving,” said Selectmen Chairman Allin Frawley. “We have been monitoring Rockland Industries for 40 years now, and that is just as bad as the first day we started watching it."
Rockland Industries, formerly the Middleboro Chemical Co., 255 Plymouth St., is a 70-acre industrial site along the commuter rail tracks that has been identified as a Tier 1A hazardous waste site.
Both Nunes and Buker said they would contact Cumberland Farms to discuss a mitigation plan.