Conley Terminal Soil Reclamation and Reuse Program: A Story of Successful Contaminated Material Management

As part of the improvement and modernization of the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal (Conley Terminal) in South Boston, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) constructed a new berth and expanded Conley yard onto the adjacent former coastal oil facility, a significantly oil contaminated site. Massport implemented a soil reclamation and reuse program that integrated sustainably into the new berth and terminal expansion that minimized impacts to the community and the environment. No urban fill, oily soil, or sediment was transported off-site for disposal in landfills. It was instead treated, rendered inert, or processed, and retained on-site. The program eliminated approximately 5,200 truck trips for off-site disposal and 3,500 truck trips for import of subbase material through adjacent residential neighborhoods. Eliminating these truck trips averted the use of an estimated 34,750 gallons of truck fuel, which translated to an estimated elimination of 2.64 short tons of NOx emissions and an estimated elimination of 390.94 short tons of CO₂ emissions.