​General Chemical Not Complying with Framingham Cleanup Obligations, Town Says

General Chemical Corporation, which the Town of Framingham alleges is responsible for serious chemical contamination in south Framingham, does not plan on complying with its cleanup obligations.

That's according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Town said. General Chemical is responsible for assessing the level of contamination, tracing the flow of chemicals from the site, and putting cleanup plans in place, according to a release.

“General Chemical’s abandonment of their legal and moral obligations is reprehensible," said Selectmen Chairman Cheryl Tully Stoll. "The Town of Framingham intends to pursue every legal avenue available to force the responsible parties to remediate the pollution. We will continue to work with MassDEP and other environmental agencies on the technical issues and we intend to meet with Town Counsel to evaluate all of the Town’s options. We also ask the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the conduct of the individuals and corporate entities responsible for the contamination and the clean-up, and will ask the Attorney General and the Commonwealth to pursue every legal avenue to ensure that General Chemical and its officers fulfill all of their responsibilities under the law.

“The Town will not rest until this neighborhood is made whole.”

The site's underground chemical plume is migrating toward Sherborn, the release said.

"I consider this breach of General Chemical’s obligations in this matter to be an affront to the community and beyond the realm of common decency," Representative Chris Walsh said. "I intend to aggressively prod government agencies to find an expedited solution to this matter, which directly affects an environmental justice neighborhood."

The site is located at 133 Leland Street, initially used as a bulk fuel terminal by Gulf Oil in the 1920s. The site began hazardous waste treatment and storage and used solvent recycling in the 1960s. The operation was licensed by MassDEP in 1973, and licensed under a Federal program run jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and MassDEP in 1986.

According to the release, General Chemical had to cease operations in 2012 and conducted closure operations such as decontaminating the buildings, tanks and equipment under MassDEP supervision.

Even after the facility was closed, General Chemical and property owner Trinity General, were required to keep testing and cleaning up the contamination, under the terms of an Administrative Consent Order from MassDEP dated March 26, 2014.

“Since the Board of Health forced the closure of the facility in 2012, we have continued to have significant input into all phases of the testing and reporting," said Framingham Board of Health Vice Chair Michael Hugo, who had a big hand the facility closure and cleanup process. "In addition, we have repeatedly and adamantly objected to the inadequacy of the low sum of $1.8 million required by MassDEP currently held in escrow to cover the cost of cleanup. Clearly, if General Chemical has chosen to walk away, we were correct in our assessment.”

State Rep. Jack Lewis said, “We will be working with MassDEP and all relevant agencies and parties to make sure that this site is properly cleaned up. Our commitment to this neighborhood and this project is not diminished by this setback.

Contact Director of Public Health Michael Blanchard at (508) 532-5470 for more information