HINGHAM — Concerns over metals and other contaminants at the site of a former foundry, slated to become an Amazon warehouse, are holding up approval by the Hingham Conservation Commission.
Amazon plans to renovate an existing 149,000-square-foot building on a 17-acre site at 100 Industrial Park Road and demolish another building to make way for additional parking. Amazon’s proposed warehouse would then serve as a “last mile” order fulfillment center, where packages shipped in from elsewhere are sorted for final delivery nearby.
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The warehouse would have parking for 130 cars and 330 delivery vans.
Board member Henry Hidell was the only one raising concerns over the project and said he wants to see more detailed plans for soil management, including all the ways the impacted soil will be tested.
Amazon wants to demolish one building, increase the parking area and renovate the interior of another warehouse building, according to plans for the site.
The site is under an activity use limitation as it used to be the site of a manufacturing plant that created specialty metal products from 1965 to 1998. That included a brass foundry and the production of bronze and structural stainless steel, according to a feasibility study.
PCC Specialty Products, which operated the foundry, is still conducting periodic testing below the site, including groundwater and surface water, according to the study.
Hidell said some of Weymouth’s water supply comes from an area that abutts the property.
“Right now, I have a problem with how you’re going to determine, with clarity and reasonable definition, the potential migration from cutting open the site, and the demolition practices,” Hidell said.
Environmental engineer Matt Heil, working on the project for Amazon, said he did not think metals would migrate or otherwise contaminate the water supply while construction is going on and the contaminated soil is exposed.
“The reason we’re not that concerned here is the cleanup that was done historically, it was done at multiple locations, not just the foundry,” he said.
When the site was cleaned up, 6,000 tons of contaminated sand was removed from the site, Heil said.
Construction is estimated to last six months, a “limited time window” for contamination to happen, Heil said.
The construction work will do little to disturb and expose possible contaminated soil. Because the runoff from the site is still being monitored, any problems not caught at the construction site will be by the ongoing monitoring efforts, Heil said.
Hidell said he wants to know more specifically how the soils will be monitored during the construction.
Heil said the report Hidell wanted is not completed until after a project is approved.
“We’re in this wonderful loop, aren’t we,” Heil said.
The board will meet again March 22, which Hidell said will give him enough time to review any other materials submitted for the application.
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Wicked Local reporter Audrey Cooney contributed to this report. Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at [email protected].
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