Site history: The Remington Gun Club began operating a trap and
skeet shooting club at the Site in the 1920s.
Location: Stratford, Conneticut.
Trustees:
Case status: Restoration Planning.
Overview: The Lordship Point Site is a peninsula located at the
mouth of the Housatonic River estuary adjacent to Long Island Sound. The Site
encompasses approximately 29 intertidal and upland acres and 12 acres in the
shallow subtidal zone. Since the 1920s the Site was used as a firing range with
lead shot falling into the water and salt marsh of the Housatonic River
estuary/Long Island Sound. Remington Arms/DuPont was found responsible for the
lead contamination.
Before remediation, lead concentrations in the shallow subtidal zone were as
high as 12 percent and lead pellets were commonly found on the beach. Based on
aerial and vertical distribution of lead shot and the concentration in surface
sediments, the total amount of lead in the sediment, before remediation, was
estimated in 1987 to be 4.8 million pounds. Lead shot was not found further
than approximately 500 feet from the shoreline.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the Site regulatory
agency, issued an Order in August 1985 which required an investigation of lead
contamination of sediments and associated aquatic life at the Site, and an
evaluation of lead shot impacts on waterfowl. The Order also required that
Remington cease discharge of lead shot by December 31, 1986. The State of
Connecticut provided oversight of the Site assessment.
The remedy, completed in 2001, included the removal of lead shot from the
intertidal and shallow subtidal environments. (DuPont demonstrated that lead
found in deeper waters was being buried naturally and therefore did not wash
onto the beach or remain available to living marine organisms.) The remedy
included restoration of the small wetlands that were removed during the
remedial activities. Additional goals of the remedial action included:
restoring the Site wetlands to the conditions existing prior to the start of
the project; preventing the ingestion of shot by black ducks and other species;
minimizing impacts to the benthic community; and, minimizing effects to oyster
seedbeds.
These efforts commenced in October 2000 and were completed the following year.
Approximately 71,000 cubic yards of soil/sediment was removed. Monitoring
activities at the Site are in place to detect transport of remaining lead shot
and to evaluate the condition of the subtidal benthic community.
