The concentrations of chemical contaminants at the Trotting Park youth baseball complex in Falmouth are high enough that the town is legally obligated to clean up the site.
That's according to James Luker of Arcadis, an environmental consulting firm hired by the town. Luker spoke to Falmouth residents at a town forum on the baseball fields last week.
The town announced the closure of the youth baseball complex in January, following the discovery that the soil contained excessive levels of lead, arsenic, glass and PCBs.
Historical research revealed that the baseball fields had been built on top of an old landfill.
Luker performed a site investigation to obtain more detailed information about the contaminants.
The state has regulations that require municipalities to report contamination when it reaches certain concentrations deemed to be potentially hazardous.
In his investigation, Luker found a number of contaminants that reached those concentrations. Lead was the primary contaminant, but he also found reportable concentrations of arsenic, thallium, antimony, Naphthalene, 2-Methylnaphthalene, Benzo(a)pyrene, and PCBs.
So far, it seems these contaminants have not impacted nearby drinking water sources.
“The closest water supply is Long Pond,” Luker said. “They haven't found any contaminants of concern, and the groundwater flow appears to be going in the opposite direction,” away from the pond.
He added that there were no drinking water wells on record within 500 feet of the site.
Department of Public Works director Peter McConarty told forum attendees that the town would be building a new, "state-of-the-art" baseball complex on top of the site, once it is cleaned up.
The cleanup involves installing geotextile membranes under the fields. Geotextile membranes are physical barriers that can be used to prevent landfill materials from coming in contact with the surface.
“This situation, where the old landfills like this get covered over and used by municipalities, is not unique,” Luker said.
This remediation tactic allows two possibilities for the new youth baseball complex, McConarty said.
“Option A is placing geotextile membrane over the landfill material and adding two feet of clean cover on top, followed by natural grass,” he said. “Option B is placing the geotextile membrane over landfill material, adding one foot of cover on top, followed by a synthetic turf cover.”
McConarty estimated that the new fields would be ready for the 2027 fall season, depending on funding and weather. He said he expected the town would have a funding request to bring to town meeting by next fall or spring.
All the latest information about the remediation of the Trotting Park youth baseball complex can be found on a dedicated page on the town website.
