fort devens

BUENA VISTA ST

Fort Devens (closed in 1996) is located 35 miles west of Boston. The former Fort Devens was comprised of approximately 9,280 acres divided into North, Main, and South Posts. The facility was located in the towns of Ayer and Shirley in Middlesex County, and Lancaster and Harvard in Worcester County. Massachusetts Highway 2 divides the South post from the Main Post. The Nashua River runs through the North, Main, and South Posts. The area surrounding the former Fort Devens is largely rural/residential. Two municipal drinking water wells are located within one mile of the Shepley's Hill Landfill (on the Main Post) - the McPherson water supply well (located west of the wetlands near Nonacoicus Brook) and the Devens Grove Pond Wellfield (located on the south shore of Grove pond and upgradient of the landfill). Camp Devens was created as a temporary cantonment in 1917 for training soldiers from the New England area. In 1932, the Camp was formerly dedicated as Fort Devens and trained active duty personnel for World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars. In July of 1991, the North and Main Posts of Fort Devens were slated for closure and the South Post for realignment under the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC). The installation ceased to be Fort Devens on March 31, 1996 at which time the remaining Army mission was assimilated by the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (DRFTA). Fort Devens was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in November 1989. In May 2007, DRFTA was renamed Fort Devens. The closure of Fort Devens accelerated the investigations and cleanup to protect human health and the environment in a timely fashion and facilitate economic redevelopment. To date, approximately 1,080 acres has been transferred to other federal agencies and almost 3,000 acres has been transferred to the MassDevelopment, a quasi-public state finance and development authority responsible for the redevelopment of Devens. Only 150 acres of the former Fort Devens remains as leased parcels that will be transferred as cleanup ends over the next few years.

• Macgillis & Gibbs Co./bell Lumber & Pole Co. (New Brighton, MN)
• Parsons Chemical Works, Inc. (Grand Ledge, MI)
• Mckin Co. (Gray, ME)
• Monticello Mill Tailings (usdoe) (Monticello, UT)
• Natick Laboratory Army Research, Development, And Engineering Center (Natick, MA)

• Silver Bow Creek/butte Area (Butte, MT)
• Navy Ships Parts Control Center (Mechanicsburg, PA)
• Saco Municipal Landfill (Saco, ME)
• Metamora Landfill (Metamora, MI)