Elevated Nitrate levels at Merrimack Premium Outlets

Staff photo by Bruce Preston

 by Jake Berry - Nashua Telegraph

MERRIMACK – Rock blasting has come to a stop at the Merrimack Premium Outlet mall once again – this time, one week before crews expected to complete the blasting work.

Town officials ordered the work suspended last week after tests showed elevated nitrate levels in surface water on the construction site, off Exit 10 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike.

The initial tests, conducted in late September and early October, showed nitrate levels that reached 10 parts per million – twice the amount permitted under the project’s development agreement.

The project developer, Premium Outlets of New Jersey, has since taken steps to correct the issue, and more recent tests have shown lower rates, said Tim Thompson, Merrimack’s community development director, who decided Friday to allow blasting to resume on part of the construction site.

But town officials and consultants alike are awaiting further test results before they restore blasting fully, Thompson said.

“The monitoring is in place, and the blasting has ceased,” he said. “As of now, there’s no imminent risk to the wells. The drinking water is still safe.”

Project managers had expected to complete the blasting Tuesday, the same day of the next round of tests.

“This will obviously affect their schedule,” Thompson said Friday.

The stoppage marks the fourth time town officials have suspended blasting at the controversial mall since work began last fall.

Blasting crews were forced to stop three times over the winter after they exceeded permitted noise and vibration levels. Prior to this instance, however, no issues had been reported since February, when developers implemented a revised blasting plan.

Project officials believe this latest violation may be related to the heavy rains that fell over the last month.

“Our blasting plan worked as it was designed,” said Michele Rothstein Sr. vice president of marketing for the Simon Property Group. “As can happen with any construction project that includes this type of work, recent heavy rains, including Hurricane Irene, contributed to the runoff of some materials from our site’s surface.

“Our water-testing wells detected this situation, and we suspended blasting, as called for in our plan. We have nearly completed our blasting program and expect to resume the few remaining blasts early next week.”

Following a major rain storm on Oct. 4, representatives from Emery and Garrett Groundwater, the town’s water consultant, noticed a breach in a trench that allowed rainwater to reach a nearby wellhead protection area.

This water, which likely picked up nitrates as it flowed downhill, likely contributed to the raised levels within the protection area, according to Premium Outlets officials and representatives from the Merrimack Village District, the town’s water provider.

“There is (nitrate) in the blasting compound they use,” Village District Superintendent Ron Minor said Friday. “At this time, the nitrate levels do not threaten the quality of the groundwater.”

Responding to the initial test results, work crews immediately replaced pumps and repaired the site de-watering system, Premium Outlet officials wrote in a company release Friday.

They increased the frequency of water sampling and testing, and they’ve issued a revised blasting sequence, Thompson said.

“They’ve been very cooperative,” he said.

But town officials are still waiting for further test results before they allow blasting to resume within the groundwater protection area.

“We’re paying more attention,” Minor said.

Meanwhile, other construction work has continued on the site, according to the project developers. Frames and walls are in place for three buildings on the northernmost side of the construction site, with three other buildings quickly following suit.

About half of the parking areas have been paved, and landscaping work has started, developers wrote in the company release.

Despite the blasting delays, the project is still expected to be complete and open by summer, they said.

When it’s complete, the $100 million project is expected to include 100 high-end retail stores. It’s projected to generate more than $140 million in retail sales each year and to create as many as 800 full- and part-time retail jobs.

Last year, project opponent Michael Mills filed a lawsuit against Premium Outlets as construction began, accusing the developer of failing to adhere to the water-testing conditions required under the development agreement.

A Hillsborough County Superior Court judge dismissed the suit in December, saying that, as an individual, Mills can’t enforce the town’s contract.

Mills couldn’t be reached Friday for comment.

“The petitioner does not have any legal rights under the agreement between the Town of Merrimack and (Merrimack Premium Outlets),” Judge Jacalyn Colburn, of Hillsborough County Superior Court, wrote in her initial decision.

Mills “does not have any cognizable claim against (the developer) to enforce the conditions contained in the … plan.”