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ENVIRONMENTAL SETTLEMENT EXPANDS NEPONSET RIVER GREENWAY

Release Date: 05/29/1997
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1064 Julie Vitek, MassHighway Department, (617) 973-7889

Boston -- The New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a project proposed by the Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway) to assess and cleanup a parcel of land along the Neponset River Greenway on Edgewater Drive in Boston. This project is one of several environmental initiatives involving the highway department. In 1994, the EPA cited Mass Highway for violations of federal hazardous waste management laws. In total, MassHighway agreed to dedicate $5 million to environmental improvement projects (called Supplemental Environmental Projects, SEPs). MassHighway expects to spend $500,000 on this project.

"It's about time that we turn our attention to providing environmental promise to the state's urban residents," said EPA's New England administrator John P. DeVillars. "This project will offer new recreational opportunities and improve river access for the residents of Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Mattapan Square, while improving water quality, and plant and wildlife habitat along the Neponset River."

"MassHighway negotiated this course of remediation to ensure Massachusetts residents benefit from the investment. Although we inherited a number of environmental problems, we don't want to leave that legacy for the Commonwealth," said MassHighway Commissioner Kevin J. Sullivan.