U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE RECEIVE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE OFFICE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE ASSESSMENT OCEAN ASSESSMENTS DIVISION HaZ7 lorPH'S Hazardous Material Response Branch 7600 Sand Point Way N.E. - Bin C15700 USEPA Seattle, Washington 98115 REGION I CONTRACTS March 20, 1990 Dennis P. Gagne Waste Management Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 SDMS DocID 278997 JFK Federal Building Boston, MA 02203-2211 Dear Mr. Gagne: Enclosed please find NOAA's Preliminary Natural Resource Survey (PNRS), for the Dover Municipal Landfill site (Site Id: 23) in Dover, New Hampshire. NOAA has provided information in this report concerning its position relative to a covenant not to sue for natural resource damages. This position is based on information available at the time of the survey. NOAA's position may change depending on the availability of new information. Information on NOAA's position concerning potential natural resource damages shall remain confidential. This information is clearly marked and is contained in the section named, "SUMMARY REPORT." The summary report shall be protected under the principles of deliberative process, attorney-client, and work product. The Department of Justice or NOAA will represent NOAA's position in negotiations with responsible parties. Information contained in the section named, "FINDINGS OF FACT" is considered part of the public record. I look forward to our continuing cooperation on Superfund site investigations. -...^•sv-ord" s Center Sincerely Robert Pavia, Ph.D Enclosure: cc: NOAA/OAD - Ken Finkelstein NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION PRELIMINARY NATURAL RESOURCE SURVEY Dover Municipal Landfill Dover, New Hampshire Cerclis NHD 980520191 Site ID: 23 March 20, 1990 FINDINGS OF FACT SITE EXPOSURE POTENTIAL Site Description The Dover Municipal Landfill, located 6.5 km northwest of Dover, New Hampshire, accepted domestic and industrial wastes from 1961 to 1979 (Figure 1). Materials that were either burned and/or disposed in the landfill include municipal trash, leather tanning wastes, liquid wastes from metallurgical, metal plating and rubber manufacturing firms, organic industrial solvents, and sludges from the Dover wastewater treatment plant. Solids were periodically covered with silty sand. Liquids were emptied into the landfill or buried in drums. Sludges were buried and covered with silty sand (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). The landfill was closed in 1980, after inorganic and organic contaminants were detected in groundwater and surface waters in the site area. The site was listed on the NPL in 1983, primarily because of its proximity to two municipal water supply sources. Remedial investigations began in 1984 and were completed in 1987 (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). The draft Field Elements Study was submitted in January, 1990 (HMM Associates 1990). Major remedial actions taken at the site since the discovery of groundwater contamination include closure of the landfill, covering the refuse with silty sand and the construction of a drainage ditch around the perimeter of the landfill. The purpose of the ditch was to channel surface runoff into the Cocheco River and away from the Bellamy Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to seven municipal wells (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). Another possible contaminant source in the site vicinity is the Minichiello Brothers, Inc. scrap metal yard, located 350 m north of the landfill (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). Physical Description The Dover Landfill site occupies 22 hectares. Large wetland areas, dominated by cattails, pickerel weed, pond lilies, and some submergent vegetation, extend north and south of the landfill, while residential properties border the site to the east (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987; Ingham 1990) (Figure 2). The landfill is covered with weeds, grasses, and trees, and due to filling and covering, is elevated slightly above the surrounding wetlands. Elevation ranges from 45 m above mean sea level in the northeast comer of the site to 50 m above mean sea level at the west margin of the site. The area surrounding the site ranges in elevation from 45 - 47 m above mean sea level, and slopes gently toward the Dover Municipal NEW Landfil HAMPSHIR Prepared for NOM, January 1990. from theKittery, Maine-New Hampshire quadrangle, 1985. we/-,, Watson Dam Bellamy Reservoir \ Bellamy Dam Figure 1. The Dover Landfill located in Dover, New Hampshire. Figure 2. The Dover Landfill site (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers, 1987). Cocheco River. A north to south ridge channels runoff to the east and west of the site (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). A drainage ditch constructed around the perimeter of the landfill collects surface water from the landfill and drains via a culvert into the Cocheco River, located 180 m east of the site. Surface waters in the area include the Cocheco River, the wetlands north and south of the site, and the Bellamy Reservoir. The Cocheco River is a freshwater stream, 30 m wide, with an estimated annual flow in the vicinity of the site of 7 m3/second, and with minimum flow estimated at 0.2 rrP/second. The Cocheco River enters the Piscataqua River 11 km downstream of the site, and the latter flows to the Atlantic Ocean 27 km downstream of the site. Two dams are located on the Cocheco River, the Watson Dam, 2.5 km downstream of the site, and the Dover Dam 4 km further downstream. A natural falls, 7.5 m high, is located five km below the site. On the Cocheco River, migrating fish are able to pass over the Dover Dam via a fish ladder, but are blocked by the falls. A new hydroelectric dam is being planned at the falls. At this time, preliminary plans do not include a fish passage, although one may be required as part of the application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Leunge 1990). The Bellamy Reservoir, located 600 m south of the site, is formed by a dam on the Bellamy River. The Bellamy River flows into the Piscataqua River 15 km downstream of the Bellamy Reservoir (Leunge 1990). The Cocheco and Bellamy Rivers are under tidal influence until the base of the Dover Dam and Bellamy Reservoir Dam, respectively. Groundwater beneath the site flows away from the landfill, ultimately discharging into the Cocheco River and the Bellamy Reservoir. Although the percentages of groundwater flowing toward the Cocheco River and Bellamy Reservoir have not been determined, a groundwater divide extends from the wetlands south to the landfill, channeling groundwater from approximately one quarter of the western portion of the site toward and parallel to the Bellamy Reservoir, some of this groundwater flow moves south and then southeast, back to the Cocheco River. The groundwater from the eastern three quarters of the site flows toward the Cocheco River. Groundwater flowing northeast, east and south interacts with surface water by discharging into the drainage ditches flowing into the Cocheco River. Groundwater is recharged by wetlands north of the site. Rates of groundwater movement are 9 -15 cm/day to the Bellamy reservoir, and 60 - 100 cm/day to the Cocheco River (Goldberg-Zoino and Wehran Engineers 1987). Pathways for potential contamination include surface water runoff and groundwater migration into the Cocheco River and the Bellamy Reservoir. Aerial photographs of the site taken in 1985 indicated discolored liquids and sediments in drainage ditches surrounding the landfill (Engle 1985). During recent site visits on September 19,1989 and January 12,1990 a stream of deep orange leachate was observed discharging from the landfill to the Cocheco River. PNRS: Dover Landfill Habitats and Species Description The habitats of concern to NOAA include the Cocheco and Piscataqua Rivers, the surrounding wetlands and the Bellamy Reservoir. Though physical barriers limit the use of the Cocheco River and the Bellamy Reservoir by most anadromous species, American eel and Atlantic salmon juveniles (which are stocked by the state of New Hampshire) are found in these areas. The commercially important alewife and rainbow smelt occur 5 km below the site. In addition, many species of freshwater fish live in the rivers and the reservoir. No threatened or endangered species have been found in the Cocheco River, Bellamy Reservoir, or Bellamy River. Great Bay, located 20 km downstream of the Bellamy Reservoir, is a planned National Estuarine Reserve (Fawcett 1990). Cocheco River system Anadromous species that use the Piscataqua River and the lower Cocheco River below the Dover Dam for spawning, nursery, and migration are shown in Table 1 (Gundlach 1983). Table 1. Species and habitats found in the lower Cocheco River and Piscataqua River below the natural falls 5 km downstream of the site (Figure 1; Gundlach 1983). Species Habitat Common name Scientific name spawning nursery adult forage ANADROMOUS/ CATADROMOUS Fish Blueback herring Alosa aestivalis Alewife Alosa psoudoharengus American shad Alosa sapidissma American eel Anguilla rostrata Striped bass Morone saxatilis Atlantic salmon Salmo salar ESTUARINE Fish White perch Morone americana Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax Invertebrates American oyster Crassostrea virginica Soft shell clam My a arenaria Blue mussels Mytilus edulis Anadromous fish that have been observed in the Dover Dam fish ladder include Atlantic salmon, alewives, blueback herring, American shad, and lampreys. The catadromous American eel, noted for its ability to navigate low level barriers, is common above both dams on the Cocheco River (Fawcett 1990). Resident freshwater fish found in tributaries of the Cocheco River upstream of the site include common shiner, common white sucker, eastern chain pickerel, yellow perch, brown bullhead, sunfish, brook, brown and rainbow trout, and large mouth bass (Grout 1990). Fisheries Atlantic salmon (120,000 fry) were stocked in the Cocheco River upstream of the site in the spring of 1989 by the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game. Juveniles are expected to start migrating downstream in the spring of 1991.