Contaminated Soil Discovery Halts Part of Greenwich High School Auditorium Expansion Project

The discovery of contaminated soil at the Greenwich High School construction site has caused a halt to some work on the $28 million Music Instructional Space and Auditorium project.

On Tuesday, Schools Superintendent Dr. Sidney Freund said additional soil samples were being analyzed and that project officials would meet to decide how to proceed with the project and its impact on the reopening of school in September. Until a decision is made, the contaminated dirt has been covered with plastic and the construction area fenced off.

Late Wednesday, the GHS-MISA Building Committee and Greenwich Public Schools issued this statement:

"The Greenwich High School Music Instructional Space & Auditorium (MISA) project began construction on site work this summer. During the course of the excavation work in the West (or back) parking lot, adjacent to the fields, workers discovered unexpected soil conditions, which prompted immediate environmental testing.

"The first set of tests, conducted in mid July reflected low levels of some metals, VOCs and PCBs in the soil. The site work in the west lot was stopped and the excavation area was contained. Site work continued in the North and South lots.

"A second round of samples were taken on July 20th and included soil and indoor and outdoor air testing. The results of the air quality tests indicate all selected factors are within acceptable levels. The factors were selected based on the first round of soil tests; e.g., metals, VOCs, PCBs, petroleum hydrocarbons or particulates.

"The results of the second round of soil samples duplicated the previous results, which showed low levels of some metals, VOCs and PCBs in the soil.

"There has been no data to indicate that there has been any exposure of the public to any possible health hazards. The west lot construction area has been fenced and the exposed earth has been covered and contained.

"The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has been consulted. Environmental consulting firms have been contracted to work with the project construction company, the building committee and the District to conduct additional environmental testing, and to ascertain:

• the history of the site,
• the extent of the contaminates,
• the necessary remediation processes,
• an ongoing environmental monitoring plan, including Federal and State regulatory procedures,
• the impact of the findings on the MISA project, and
• the impact on parking availability for the school year.

"Given the additional testing required for the west lot and the need to have Greenwich High School ready for the upcoming school year, the site work on the west lot will not be completed this summer. The current plans are to remove the contaminated soil and return the lot to a usable and safe condition while additional testing is being completed.

"The test results will provide the necessary data to develop the longer term course of action to address the condition. All work in the west lot will be conducted using appropriate safety protocols. It is anticipated that the work on the north and south lots will be completed prior to the start of school.

"Short-term and long-term plans and their associated projected costs will be developed over the next couple of weeks.

"The Building Committee will receive an update at its next meeting on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 7:30 AM at the Havemeyer Building, 290 Greenwich Ave."