Spring 2004
This is an archived article. Facts and links are current as of publication date.

The Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA) Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Environmental Office recently completed environmental cleanup of the Hingham Training Annex, Hingham, Mass., allowing the land to become part of the state Department of Environmental Management's (DEM) park system.

With approval from the lead environmental AuthorBlaity agency – the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) – the land transfer adjoining Wompatuck State Park will expand RFTA by 125 acres.

Cleanup involved nearly 10 years of removing asbestos, arsenic, underground storage tanks and contaminated soil. As a result of the vigorous work and ensuing transfer, light recreational activities such as biking, walking, hiking and jogging will be allowed.

"Lots of hard work was done, and this is the result," said Ben Goff, manager of the Devens RFTA BRAC Environmental Office. "We're glad to see the transfer take place. All involved agencies worked very hard to make this project successful."

Charles Cristello, Hingham town administrator, is excited about his town having new open space without the worries of managing it.

"It feels terrific, and it's wonderful we got to this point," said Cristello. "At times, it looked like everything would fall apart and that we would all have to go back to the drawing board, but it didn't."

In the past, the Hingham annex was a separate entity from the Town of Hingham. The site consists of 125 acres of a former 3,747-acre annex, which was once a naval ammunition depot. The annex is located in a region of small, rocky hills and swampy areas, two miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The former navy annex stored and handled explosives for sea and air activities from 1941 until 1971, when it was purchased by the Army.

In 1993, MADEP listed the annex as a "priority cleanup site." In 1995, Congress mandated that the annex close under the Base Realignment and Closure act. The Army transferred the remaining 3,622 acres to the state, partly in 1971, the rest in 1985. This now serves as Wompatuck State Park. There has been no activity on base since 1982.

State Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) grew up in Hingham. He walked the trails of Wompatuck State Park routinely and remembers the "mystery" behind the fence. "Wompatuck State Park gets lots of use as a metropolitan Boston park. Now there will be more land to use," he said.

Several MADEP project managers worked with the Devens RFTA BRAC Environmental Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, on the Hingham Annex project. Anne Malowicz, one of the MADEP project managers who grew up near Hingham, said that the transfer of land is especially meaningful to her from a professional and personal perspective.

"It's awesome to see what happened here," said Malowicz. "I think it's a very positive thing to use this land for all to use. As a kid, I used to play down in that area, but never had a chance to see what was on the opposite side of the fence. Now people will, and they will find it to be a nice place."

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