Waterfront Cleanup History and Update: Spring 2007

Early History: Public Trust and the Filled Lands of the Waterfront

In the mid-1800’s, Burlington was the third largest lumber port in the country. To support these activities, the shoreline of the Burlington waterfront (once a long, sandy crescent) was repeatedly filled and expanded: a process that would go on into the 1950’s. Thousands of yards of fill from the City’s hillside, railway construction, and other unknown locations, were placed into the lake behind timber and rock cribbings to create new acreage.

This expansion of Burlington's waterfront was allowed for through the state-mandated “Public Trust Doctrine”: a determination that these new lands would become a direct public benefit. At that time, the expansion of waterfront land was critical to the livelihood of most Burlingtonians, and was accepted as justifiable under Public Trust.

Under the Public Trust Doctrine, over 60 acres of new land area were created (roughly from the current bikepath west), on which millions of board feet of lumber were processed and shipped, thousands of trainloads and barge shipments processed, and hundreds of people worked and lived.

To see an 1830 etching of Burlington's Waterfront, click here.

The 1800’s waterfront was an incredibly active and lively place, and the economic driver of the City. Engravings from the period show a waterfront where every available space was used for lumber storage, rail siding, and other commercial activities.

Early 20th Century The lumber industry began to decline in the early 1900's, and profound changes began to occur on the waterfront. Early 20th century drawings show a large increase in rail tracks and infrastructure during the expansion of rail’s dominance in freight and travel. The rail yard was beginning to subsume the filled “Public Trust” lands, changing the landscape and use patterns significantly. In the early and mid-20th century, with rail in decline, the waterfront moved with the times again, evolving into a bulk petroleum facility. Gasoline, diesel, JP4 jet fuel, and fuel oil was shipped to the local market in large transport barges through the Hudson River/Champlain Canal system. Millions of gallons of fuel were being shipped by water annually until the early 1990’s when trucking and rail became a more cost-efficient means of transport. At its peak, huge above ground storage tanks lined most of the shoreline from Oakledge to North Beach.  At one time, there were 83 above ground bulk storage tanks on the Burlington waterfront.		To see an early 20th century view from Battery Park, click here.
In recent years, barge traffic has ceased on the lake, a result of navigational difficulties (siltation in the south lake) and a shift in petroleum to transport to rail and truck.  While most of the bulk tanks are gone, the vestiges of the barge  era (oil bollards in the harbor, residual soil and groundwater contamination, subsurface equipment and piping) still remain.

Late 20th Century: A New Era for Public Trust

By the end of the 1980’s, the filled lands of the waterfront had fallen into decay. Petroleum shipments by barge were being phased out, rail was in decline, and conditions of remaining equipment and buildings were poor. The Moran Generating Plant was decommissioned in 1986, leaving additional impacted acreage and a vacant industrial building. By the mid-1980’s, the majority of the north waterfront was completely inaccessible: locked gates and barbed wire surrounded bulk petroleum tanks, scrap metal, old rail siding, abandoned rail cars, and rubble.

To see an a picture of closed access in the 1980's, click here.

Vermont Railway, then the owner of the Urban Reserve and Waterfront Park, was managing a series of leases for petroleum storage, many of which were being canceled. Conditions in the north waterfront were worsening, soils were stained with petroleum, equipment was beginning to rust away, and there were no apparent solutions being offered for cleanup and re-use.

The City Takes Leadership

	To see a view of the north Waterfront in the late 1970’s, click here.		The City of Burlington took action in the late 1980’s. With the leadership of then-Mayor Bernie Sanders and CEDO Director Peter Clavelle, the City used the Public Trust Doctrine in court as a means to re-claim the filled lands of the waterfront for public use. In an historic Supreme Court ruling, the lands were all deemed to be “impressed by the Public Trust Doctrine”, further ruling that the petroleum storage and rail siding were no longer uses beneficial to the general public. The Court directed the Vermont Legislature to create a list of acceptable uses of public trust Lands based on the findings of the ruling. The State legislature then defined Public Trust Lands as those reserved for: "indoor or outdoor parks and recreation uses and facilities including parks and open space, marinas open to the public on a non-discriminatory basis, water dependent uses, boating and related services." Thus the filled lands of the waterfront were to be transformed forever, with a focus on public access and enjoyment.

Subsequent to the Supreme Court ruling, the City was able to acquire over 60 acres of waterfront lands from Vermont Railway, but in turn took on the responsibility for cleanup of the properties. A conservation easement was placed on the land for 50% of the acreage, along with restrictions for use within a 100-foot shoreline buffer strip. A rare species was identified on the eastern hillside, now protected by the easement. Thus was the beginning of the current effort to “re-naturalize” lands that were all man-made and impacted by a series of industrial uses over a 150-year period.

To see the north extent of the Urban Reserve during tank decommissioning, click here.

Waterfront Cleanup, Community Boathouse, Waterfront Park

Late 1990's: New EPA Funding

In 1998, the City’s Brownfields Program received the first of several EPA grants to conduct assessments on the City’s brownfields sites. With new resources in hand, a simple strategy for the Urban Reserve was initiated:

• Identify public safety issues and mitigate

• Conduct environmental assessment and remediate hazards

• Remove abandoned buildings and infrastructure

• Remove asphalt and concrete, establish vegetation

• Improve condition of riparian strip

• Address environmental issues in harbor

• Promote re-naturalization of area

The Brownfields Program commissioned a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment of the entire Urban Reserve, Moran Plant, and Interim Development Area. The State of Vermont DEC received the completed Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in 2000, which reported on the site’s past use as a bulk oil terminal, rail yard, scrap yard, and power plant. The investigation included data from extensive soil sampling and subsurface groundwater wells, and provides the baseline of information needed for each cleanup activity: all of which is pre-approved by Vermont DEC and supervised by consultants.

Lake Street Macadem

In 1999, the City removed 800 yards of macadam from under Lake Street, which was being rebuilt. Macadam is a combination of oil and gravel, which were combined in the past to make roadways. The macadam was stockpiled, then placed into “windrows,” naturally remediated until the petroleum compounds were benign, and placed into the subsurface with a clean fill cover.

Dog Park

In 1998 and 1999, the City placed clean fill at what is now the Waterfront Dog Park, with Vermont DEC pre-approval. The fill provides separation between petroleum hydrocarbons in the soils and people using the site. It allows for the compounds to naturally break down over time, additionally aided by the roots of plants now growing in the soils. The dog park now provides a location where owners clean up after their animals, and has been a success at significantly reducing the amount of dog waste on the waterfront, a major contributor to water quality degradation.

Astroline Building Demolition In 1999 and 2000, the City focused on the so-called “Astroline Site”, a 3-acre site on the Urban Reserve which was the main distribution point for petroleum. Using a combination of capital and Waterfront Bond monies, the City demolished three buildings, decommissioned the pump house, removed a subsurface oil-water separator, and disposed of asbestos, lead, and other hazardous wastes left in the buildings.

To view building demolition at the Astroline site, click here.

Breakwater, Lighthouses and Cleanup Resources

To view an historic replica lighthouse, click here.

From 2000-2003, the City worked with the Senator Leahy’s office, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard to rebuild the Burlington breakwater and create historic replica lighthouses. These projects were staged at the Astroline site, which offers both landside and waterside access. Using lease income (for staging the breakwater and lighthouse projects), services donated by contractors, and an equipment barter with the City of South Burlington, the City was able to conduct additional cleanup activities, remove significant amounts of concrete and asphalt, repair the seawall, remove a large steel walkway, and place 18’ of clean fill over the Astroline site at no cost to the taxpayers.

Contractors also located an old car and other large objects on the harbor floor and removed them for disposal. The lease income was also used to remove the old Pease Grain Tower foundation and re-grade the site. Seeding of the Astroline site was scheduled for 2005, but the site rebounded with natural cover, as did the dog park area several years earlier.

Oil Bollards

To view an oil bollard in North Harbor, click here.

A priority for the City is the mitigation of eight oil bollards located in the harbor. Some bollards still have pumps and piping installed, with their internal conditions and unknown and submerged piping still in place. Working with Senator Leahy's Office, an authorization has been placed in the US Army Corps budget for the 2008 removal of the bollards and for the cleanup of rubble and siltation.

The Skate Park

In 2000, the City constructed a Skate Park in an area formerly used for scrap metal storage. Data from the Urban Reserve Phase II ESA was crucial in helping Vermont DEC provide clearance for construction, specifying how the top layer of soils were to be managed, and ensuring that there were no public health or safety issues.

Stormwater Upgrades

To view the College Street outfall system, click here.

Over the past eight years, the City has been working on solutions to several key issues with Senator Leahy’s and Senator Jeffords’ offices. A high priority is the improvement of stormwater filtration into the College Street basin. Currently, stormwater from catch basins located as far away as upper Pine Street empty directly into the harbor, creating a water quality issue during storm events. The Lake Champlain Basin Program/US Army Corps of Engineers Partnership Program selected the College Street Stormdrain project for support in 2006, with design and engineering activities ongoing for fall 2007 construction. Concurrently, the Mayor has convened a Task Force to tackle administrative, operational, and regulatory issues related to stormwater.

Siltation

Lake Champlain Transportation is repairing the seawall that spans the south side of their property at Perkin’s Pier. During construction, LCT will remove several hundred cubic yards of silt that has built up from street runoff over the decades. As a follow-up, the City will be working to craft solutions for stormwater capture and filtration to prevent the buildup of silt in the harbor. Funding is being sought for this and for the removal of oil bollards, rubble, and old encumbrances from the harbor bottom, and for land-side infrastructure improvements.

Preparing for Next Steps: More Studies Performed

In order to take the next steps in the cleanup and restoration process, the City is now generating additional data about the Urban Reserve and harbor. The City, using state and federal grant funds, conducted several studies on the North waterfront in 2004-5:

Future Projects

The City will continue to mitigate pockets of contamination on the waterfront, part of the continuing effort to improve environmental conditions. In the short-term, mitigation of soils at Moran, the removal of oil bollards and associated infrastructure, and improved stormwater management will continue to be priorities. Using a combination of federal, state and regional funding, leveraged funds and bartered services, there are a number of other actions being considered in the next few years:

• Urban Reserve riparian strip “Softening”: remove asphalt, concrete, and rubble from the Lake’s edge, introduce natural vegetation and place rip rap to reduce erosion, encourage vegetative growth and improve habitat and water quality;
• Utilize trees and vegetation to promote degradation of old petroleum hydrocarbons or “phytoremediate” subsurface soils and groundwater;
• Remove additional concrete and asphalt, place clean fill over areas and allowing to naturally re-vegetate;
• Re-create natural slope on hillside (near railroad tunnel, east of bikepath) with clean fill and plantings.

Page last updated July 06, 2009