Alewife Neighbors, Inc.
website: AlewifeNeighbors.org
e-mail: info@AlewifeNeighbors.org
 

IQHQ Releases Plans for site development

On January 11, 2021, IQHQ, the current owners of the former W.R. Grace site, have released their proposed plans for the site, which they are calling Alewife Park

View the IQHQ Press Release and the Presentation Materials

More info on the IQHQ/W.R. Grace site

Area Flooding

Excerpt from Notice from Cambridge Dept. of Public Works:

If you live or own property in Cambridge, especially in North Cambridge, Cambridge Highlands, Strawberry Hill, West Cambridge or Neighborhood 9 you should be aware of the revisions to the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2010. Your property may be in the proposed new flood plain limits and you may be required to purchase flood insurance. FEMA has updated the flood maps for Cambridge and surrounding communities. This process revised the limits of the flood plain, which in Cambridge is principally located in the Alewife area. Approximately 160 additional buildings were newly included in the revised flood plain limits in Alewife.

Further information is available at the DPW site: www.cambridgema.gov/theworks/ourservices/stormwatermanagement/stormwaterresources

The Alewife area near the Arlington border will be most affected by the proposed changes, with many houses houses near Mass Ave. proposed to be in the high risk area where mortgage holders may be required to buy flood insurance. Estimated rates for high risk areas are $2500 per year for $250,000 building coverage including standard contents coverage and deductible. Lower risk areas can be covered to the same level for about $500 per year

The following map was developed by Alewife Neighbors to show the approximate boundaries of the flood risk areas by taking data from city maps and the proposed FEMA flood maps

The Dept. of Public Works is coordinating Cambridge's involvement in the FEMA process. You can reach Catherine Daly Woodbury at DPW directly at 617-349-4818, and information is available at the city's website: www.cambridgema.gov.

One good resource about the National Flood Insurance Program is www.floodsmart.gov
It has lots of information and is fairly easy to read. One useful booklet is hard to find on the site, so we have copied it on this site: Answers to Questions About the NFIP

Click here -> Area Flooding <- for additional information

W.R. Grace Public Involvement Plan

At the request of Alewife Neighbors, Inc. and the Alewife Study Group, W.R. Grace agreed to update the Public Involvement Plan (PIP) for the site. The process described in the plan provides opportunities for community members to comment on how the public health and safety will be protected if the soil - contaminated with asbestos and hydrocarbons - is disturbed, such as if the site is developed in the future.

It was important to update the PIP because it was originally developed over 10 years ago before the significant levels of asbestos were found in the soil. Furthermore, at that time, it was not anticipated that the soil would remain contaminated, needing a deed restriction to ensure public health and safety. Also, plans to ensure health and safety during significant site activities had not been developed during the cleanup under state watch, because no such activities are currently planned. This PIP would ensure public concerns are addressed if such plans are made for future activities.

The community can now rest, after a decade of neighborhood vigilance, knowing that protections are in place with explicit requirements for public involvement in future plans.

Click here -> PIP <- to see the PIP that was approved (from MassDEP website)

Alewife Neighbors also has a copy of the notification mailing list (also available in the library and other public repositories for the site cleanup). If you haven't received mailings recently, it is probably because the contact information is out of date. E-mail info@AlewifeNeighbors.org to check if your contact info is up-to-date.

Click here -> W.R. Grace <- for additional information

State watch of Grace Site ends although asbestos contamination will remain in soil

State watch over the contamination at the W.R. Grace site has officially ended with the filing of deed restrictions to specify that only current uses of the property are allowed, and that if the soil will be disturbed, plans to control asbestos risk must be in place. The deed restriction specifies that the public will be involved in developing the plans. It was generally felt that leaving the soil undisturbed under current ground cover would present less risk than exposing contaminated soil in an effort to remove it. Periodic monitoring of the ground cover is require to ensure that it remains intact.

This deed restriction, called and Activity an Use Limitation (AUL), is filed with the Registry of Deeds, but can be changed in the future. The AUL allowed W.R. Grace to demonstrate that the asbestos in the soil will not pose any significant risks as long as the terms of the AUL are followed.

Any activities which could pose a significant risk would require W.R. Grace to file an Release Abatement Measure Plan with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, but would not require the state to be actively involved, as it had been for the past decade.

Click here -> WR Grace AUL <- for final AUL documents and background.

For a copy of the transcript of the December 16, 2004 public meeting, visit the Alewife Study Group website, click here -> [www.alewife.org]

click here for more info

[mission statement]
[board members]
[02140 newsletter]
[projects]
[reports]
Key Projects:
 [W. R. Grace Site]
 [Area Flooding]

Alewife Neighbors, Inc. was formed in 1996 to serve the residents of North Cambridge by providing reliable information on quality-of-life issues as impacted by past and future land use. The organization coordinates and participates in the monitoring and analysis of environmental, flooding, and traffic data collected with respect to land usage on parcels such as those at Russell Field, W.R. Grace properties, and the Alewife Reservation. ANI sponsors newsletters, neighborhood forums, and other public events. ANI is a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.

Alewife

The "Alewife" area near Boston, Mass. surrounds the meeting point of Cambridge, Arlington and Belmont; the centerpoint is the State's Alewife Brook Reservation, a large but little known urban wild. More prominent is the Alewife MBTA subway station which abuts the reservation.
For more information on the Alewife area click here -> [Alewife background information]

For another source of Alewife news and information, see the website of
The Alewife Study Group at www.alewife.org

site created: January 23, 2001
last update: January 12, 2021