TEWKSBURY– The Natural Resource Damages Trustee Council for the Sutton Brook Disposal Area Superfund Site will fund two projects located at Poplar Street and Mollie Drive in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, that will restore wetland, floodplain, and groundwater resources using $1.65 million in Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement funds. The restoration at Poplar Street will restore buried wetlands, reestablish connections between existing wetlands, and increase the floodplain storage capacity and the ability of the site to recharge groundwater. The restoration at Mollie Drive will restore buried wetlands, as well as restore floodplain storage capacity. The projects are more fully described in the final restoration plan and environmental assessment released this week.
The Natural Resource Trustee Council for the Sutton Brook Disposal Area Superfund Site comprises the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), representing the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, representing the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, trustee councils identify injured natural resources, determine the extent of the injuries, recover damages from those responsible, and plan and carry out natural resource restoration activities. The parties responsible for the injuries pay for the restoration at no cost to the taxpayer.
Over the next two years, the Trustees will work with the Town of Tewksbury to begin to design and permit both the Poplar Street and Mollie Drive projects. Once the designs are complete and all the required permits are in place, the construction will begin.
The final restoration plan is available online at: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/natural-resource-damages-program-landfill-settlements-massdep