LAKEVILLE — The Holley Place affordable housing project came to an abrupt halt last month after construction crews reported smelling fuel oil shortly after breaking ground.
Environmental testing that was scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 5, is expected to determine the scope of contamination, what remediation may be required, and how the findings could affect the future of the project, which has faced delays and opposition since it was first proposed nearly a decade ago.
The construction site for the three-story, 14-unit apartment complex is located in historic downtown Lakeville at the intersection of Route 44 and Holley Street. After the project was paused, it resembled a large pit filled with green-tinted water, flanked by construction fencing and piles of dirt.
A supervising emergency response coordinator from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) visited the site and said the green color is most likely caused by algae, DEEP spokesperson Bill Flood said. The preliminary assessment was made by a visual observation and existing data from the site.
Flood said that already-collected samples indicate “there may be oil contamination present above the residential Direct Exposure Criteria (DEC) but below the industrial DEC,” meaning the site could require remediation and further action before it can be used for residential housing.
Additional samples will be collected this week through soil borings drilled at varying depths across the site before being sent to a certified lab for analysis.
An Emergency Response Unit staff member from DEEP will be on-site to observe testing and the agency has requested copies of all sample analysis. Results could be ready between a few days and a few weeks, Flood said.
Director of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity Jocelyn Ayer, who also serves as a consultant to the Salisbury Housing Committee, said additional testing could include groundwater sampling, which might indicate whether the site itself is contaminated or if oil migrated from a neighboring location.
The presence of oil is not entirely uncommon on a site that has been built on before, Ayer said. The parcel, formerly Bicentennial Park and a parking area, was previously occupied by the Holley Block, a three-story commercial building with upstairs apartments that was razed in 1968 to create the park.
“There’s no question that whatever it is can be remediated,” Ayer said. “It’s just about the cost of it and the extent of it, and we won’t know that until we do additional testing.”
Ayer also said the presence of fuel oil does not present an immediate public health or safety concern. “We just need to make sure that it’s contained,” she said.
The contamination came as a surprise to the Salisbury Housing Committee, Ayer said.
“There was nothing in the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment that indicated there was any kind of underground storage tank or anything like that,” she said. “Otherwise, we would have done further testing.”
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment does not require soil testing, and Ayer confirmed the soil was not tested prior to breaking ground.
Although the delay is frustrating for committee members and project supporters eager to see affordable housing come to Salisbury, First Selectman Curtis Rand applauded contractors for taking the appropriate steps.
“I know that they did the right thing by pausing and we’ll see what the testing says,” Rand said.
