Meeting on Exide cleanup Jan. 10

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will hold a public session on Exide’s latest plans to remediate the lower Mill River Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, 785 Unquowa Road, Fairfield.

The plan by the battery maker that once operated on the Post Road is the result of 30 years of negotiations with the state and town on how to clean the site. Click here to download a town review of the proposal.

Nutmeg TU is concerned about the effects the cleanup could have on the river, its’ wildlife and its ongoing Mill River Improvement Project.

Exide proposes dredging the sediment from the bottom of the river. According to a review of the plan by Fairfield officials, that could stir up contaminants in the river.

The Exide plan also would not address contamination caused by a plating company still in operation on side of the Mill River opposite the former Exide site.

Ron Merly and Ross Ogden of Nutmeg TU have met with Fairfield conservation officials, and Merly told the board of directors Dec. 6 that the plans are “very vague.”

One current proposal, Merly said, would begin work during the annual Herring migration up the Mill River.

Nutmegtrout.org will be updated with coverage of the hearing.