The former Crowe Rope Industries facility has been utilized for industrial operations since 1790. From 1790 to 1953, a portion of the facility was used by Georges River Woolen Mill to manufacture wool and from 1966 to 1997 the facility was used by Crowe Rope Industries, LLC to manufacture polypropylene rope. The site consists of approximately 1.9 acres of land along the St. George River. In 2004, Campbell Environmental Group was contracted through the Maine DEP Contract to conduct a Phase I and Phase II ESA at the site. The Phase I ESA identified several areas of concern in the vicinity of the site. These areas included the manufacturing building's floor drain system, construction materials within the building (asbestos, transformers, and pipes potentially containing oil), loading dock areas, former dye, coal, and oil houses associated with the former Georges River Woolen Mill, the location of former and out-of- service fuel oil underground storage tanks, and sediments in the St. George River. Based on the results of the Phase I ESA, CEG prepared an investigation Work Plan, which included a Health and Safety Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan for Phase II ESA activities.
The Phase II investigation was conducted to investigate the potential areas of concern identified during the completion of the Phase I ESA and to document any environmental issues that may affect future development.
Field investigation techniques included: excavation of eight test pits, installation of eight monitoring wells, groundwater sampling of select newly installed and existing monitoring wells, completion of a tidal survey using transducers, and collection of six sediment and six pore water samples. A building inspection for polychlorinated bi-phenyl (PCB) containing materials, asbestos containing materials and floor drains and discharge locations was also conducted.
Select soil and groundwater samples were analyzed for one or more of the following analyses: volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, priority pollutant metals, and PCBs. Soils were also screened on-site for select metals and VOCs using field instruments. Based on the results of the Phase II field investigation activities and associated analytical data, CEG prepared a comprehensive Phase II ESA investigation report.
