A Massachusetts chemical company’s plan to build a manufacturing plant in Berwick and store limited amounts of an explosive material poses a relatively low risk to town water supplies, but could pose a higher risk to the environment and to private groundwater supplies close to the plant, according to Ryan Lynch, superintendent of the South Berwick Water District.
The plant proposed at 500 Portland St. by General Biological, of Waltham, Mass., would build and test skids – the machinery used to produce RDX, an explosive chemical used by the Department of Defense. Plans call for storing up to 1,000 pounds of RDX on site.
Because of the potential threat to groundwater, Lynch suggested in a letter to both the Berwick and South Berwick Planning Boards that the company be required to place strong protections at its 51-acre industrial facility.
“Since this activity is higher than normal risk to the environment, it only makes sense that the company be held to a reasonably high protection standard, which regulatory standards don’t always address or require,” Lynch wrote.
The plant’s proposed location is more than 500 feet outside the boundary of the South Berwick Water District’s priority aquifer protection area, an area associated with one of the town’s public water supply well fields, Lynch noted.
A release of contaminants, if managed and controlled in accordance with regulations and industry best practices, is unlikely to hurt South Berwick’s public water supplies, according to Lynch.
However, groundwater resources and the environment closer to the facility may be more vulnerable to potential impacts and should be included in the overall risk assessment, he said.
In his Sept. 23 letter to the two planning boards, Lynch said the South Berwick Water District fully supports the requirement by the Berwick Planning Board that there be a third-party review before it approves the project. While the water district has not had experience with contaminants such as RDX explosives, such activity is generally recognized as presenting elevated environmental risk, he said.
Lynch recognized the need to balance groundwater protection with industrial development and suggested a set of specific conditions be considered in any conditional use permit granted by Berwick officials.
Among other things, Lynch asked that the permit set limits on the quantity of materials stored on site to no more than 1,000 pounds; and that the permit require impervious surfaces and secondary containment systems to be utilized in all areas where RDX is manufactured and handled.
He also suggested the permit require that any washdown water, spills, and process residuals should be directed to a contained collection system or holding tank for proper treatment and off-site disposal; that emergency response planning be incorporated into the permit; and that stormwater be monitored and relevant protocols be incorporated.
In his letter to the planners, Lynch said the Water District believes appropriate monitoring, containment and response measures can help ensure that potential risks are minimized and managed responsibly.
