| Newsletter #52December 31, 2025 https://alewife.org |
The ASG Newsletter includes the following articles:
- Environmental remediation work at Jerry’s Pond
- Community meeting on sewage pollution, Sunday January 11th, from 6pm – 8 pm.
Environmental remediation work at Jerry’s Pond
Happening now
The week of December 15, SumCo began preparing the area around Jerry’s Pond for the construction of public improvements including boardwalks, an Ecological Center and a Community Garden. Preparation includes the excavation of soil potentially contaminated with asbestos.
Currently, SumCo is working at the site of the future Community Garden. [See Area A on this IQHQ map. Scroll to the bottom.] To that end, they have erected tents. From inside each tent, a blower draws air and passes it through a HEPA air filter. Soil inside the tents is excavated by humans and robots. “Tenting and venting” is the same way asbestos would be removed from your home.
Air Monitoring
SumCo has placed five asbestos air monitoring stations in the perimeter area, and additionally, two by each tent, one at each tent’s door and one by each tent’s HEPA filter.
More info on air monitoring
During soil excavation activities, daily, a certified asbestos monitor (a person) collects air samples for fibers from every air monitoring station. The certified asbestos monitor tests those samples for asbestos by phase-contrast microscopy (PCM). This is the same procedure that was used during soil excavation for IQHQ’s building construction on the north side of the site.
Each tent will be up for a few days, then taken down, cleaned and reused. Air monitoring stations will be re-located whenever the tents are moved.
Why is this soil north of Jerry’s being excavated with “tenting-and-venting”?
- W.R. Grace Chemical Co’s site included the north side of Jerry’s Pond. Grace manufactured asbestos products at 62 Whittemore Ave and may have disposed of asbestos-containing waste in areas just north and east of the Pond.
- Soil testing has found a limited number of asbestos hits in this area.
- In 1999, Alewife Study Group advocated for and achieved the passage of the Cambridge Asbestos Protection Ordinance, which mandates tenting and venting when disturbing soil at sites such as this one.
Fortunately, the top six inches of the soil is clean.
It is only when disturbing soil below six-inches on the old industrial Grace site that tenting and venting is required.
What happens with the excavated soil?
Excavated soil will be enclosed in small one cubic foot double wrapped containers and placed in a secured asbestos approved shipping container for off-site disposal at a permitted disposal facility.
What happens after the soil is excavated?
Once soil excavation under a tent is complete, a marker barrier, and then topped by a minimum of six inches of clean soil. Then the tent will be cleaned, cleared by a certified asbestos monitor, and finally dismantled.
Follow-on work at the future Community Garden will include placement of additional clean soil cover and construction of raised beds, pathways, and plantings.
To see a map with an overview of all remaining areas to be excavated, go here.
Oversight
All of this work is done under the oversight of a certified asbestos designer and a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) from Haley & Aldrich. Haley & Aldrich personnel including a certified asbestos monitor will be monitoring the soil excavation work to ensure compliance with the Release Abatement Measure (RAM) Plan and required asbestos abatement measures.
Where can I get updates on this work?
ASG will continue to post updates on construction around Jerry’s Pond in future issues of this newsletter. Since the placing of the 2006 Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) restriction on the deed for these acres, ASG has been the Public Involvement Plan (PIP) liaison with Haley & Aldrich. For a copy of the AUL for this site, go here.
Project updates are also being posted on the IQHQ community website:
Community meeting on sewage pollution:
Sunday, January 11th, from 6 pm – 8 pm
Save the Alewife Brook (StAB) is having a community meeting to discuss sewage pollution planning for Alewife Brook and the Charles and Mystic rivers. This meeting is happening because planning by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), Cambridge, and Somerville to produce a Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) for sewage pollution has been extended and the community has additional chances to demand sustainable, long-term solutions to the persistent problem of raw sewage flowing into our rivers.
MWRA shared the possibility of downgrading river water quality standards, so sewage pollution could continue indefinitely. This led to significant opposition from StAB, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), and Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA). In response, MWRA, Cambridge, and Somerville asked for an extension to submit plans and hopefully will listen to community concerns.
Come to the meeting to learn more about what is going on and to share what you would like to see in plans for managing water quality and sewage in our waterways.
Hybrid meeting via Zoom or in-person (with pizza) at Just A Start: 430 Rindge Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140
Pizza + presentations and Q&A from: Save the Alewife Brook, Mystic River Watershed Association, Charles River Watershed Association, and Green Cambridge.
Learn more and register here.
Read more about the planning process and past meetings hosted by MWRA, Cambridge, and Somerville here.