Development of a Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site
The Trustee Council for the Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site in Massachusetts needed a Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) to guide the spending of more than $3 million in natural resource damages received pursuant to a court settlement. Our team worked on behalf of the Nyanza Trustee Council to develop the RP/EA and provide other technical assistance.
To support the restoration planning process, we identified potential projects, conducted site visits for proposed projects, evaluated project feasibility, and developed detailed project plans from conceptual ideas. We enlisted a local engineering firm to help develop specifications and estimate costs for in-stream habitat restoration and dam removal. Our team also helped the trustees establish a transparent process for screening and evaluating projects against established criteria, and identified different “tiers” of priority for the use of restoration funding.
The RP/EA document fulfilled requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and addressed the potential impact of preferred restoration actions on the quality of the physical, biological, and cultural environment. Included in the RP/EA are geographic information system (GIS) maps for projects and innovative logic models that clearly explained the actions and intended outcomes of each project.
Our staff also helped prepare for public meetings and developed responses to public comments on the draft RP/EA. Public comments included commendations of the trustees for the quality of the draft RP/EA document. The RP/EA has allowed the Nyanza Trustee Council to provide approximately $3.7 million to restore populations of native fish, amphibians, reptiles, other aquatic organisms, birds, and mammals in the area.
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To support the restoration planning process, we identified potential projects, conducted site visits for proposed projects, evaluated project feasibility, and developed detailed project plans from conceptual ideas. We enlisted a local engineering firm to help develop specifications and estimate costs for in-stream habitat restoration and dam removal. Our team also helped the trustees establish a transparent process for screening and evaluating projects against established criteria, and identified different “tiers” of priority for the use of restoration funding.
The RP/EA document fulfilled requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and addressed the potential impact of preferred restoration actions on the quality of the physical, biological, and cultural environment. Included in the RP/EA are geographic information system (GIS) maps for projects and innovative logic models that clearly explained the actions and intended outcomes of each project.
Our staff also helped prepare for public meetings and developed responses to public comments on the draft RP/EA. Public comments included commendations of the trustees for the quality of the draft RP/EA document. The RP/EA has allowed the Nyanza Trustee Council to provide approximately $3.7 million to restore populations of native fish, amphibians, reptiles, other aquatic organisms, birds, and mammals in the area.
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