A one-third mile stretch of the creek, now clean, had held some of the contaminated soil that the since-defunct Raymark Industries had dumped across Stratford while manufacturing automotive brake products before shutting down in 1989. Since September 2020, an EPA-led project has removed about 95,000 cubic yards of the contaminated soil from the creek and 28 properties of commercial and open space, including roughly 9,000 in Ferry Creek, according to the agency. Blumenthal said Stratford could be an example of environmental cleanup efforts and that prevention was preferable to remediation. “We should take a lesson from Raymark, which has become synonymous with environmental catastrophe — Pay now or pay later. Prevent it or pay for it,” Blumenthal said. “And the costs are astronomical when we fail to respect the environment.” Despite the cleanup progress, EPA environmental engineer Jim DiLorenzo, who is managing the project, said at least 65,000 more cubic yards of Raymark contaminated soil are still in the ground. He said construction crews plan to finish another 5,000 cubic yards by June on the EPA’s Ferry Creek Boulevard headquarters, in addition to some wetlands and open space on Lockwood Avenue.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stratford-raymark-contaminated-soil-remediation-19447104.php