May 16, 2025
BAR HARBOR—Bar Harbor has been awarded a $510,000 Brownfield Cleanup Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remediate contaminated soils on a portion of the Mount Desert Island YMCA Park Street campus, the town announced May 16.
Coal ash. Arsenic. Lead. Cancer-causing chemicals. It all lurks in the top three feet of soil at the MDI YMCA’s 21 Park Street campus, a lot that’s owned by the Town of Bar Harbor.
“This is a big win for Bar Harbor, and it reflects the incredible teamwork behind the scenes,” said Town Manager James Smith. “We’re grateful to the EPA and proud of the strong partnership between the Town, the YMCA, and our local and state collaborators. This funding helps us protect children, expand access to recreation, and invest in the community’s future.”
The dangerous chemicals were verified in 2023 after 31 borings into the soil and around the YMCA’s foundation showed arsenic, lead, and other chemicals.
There were three options, according to Beacon Environmental geologist John Cressey at the time: to do nothing, to have a complete soil removal, or a limited soil removal with off-site disposal and the installation of a marker layer.
“It’s our yard. It’s our play space,” MDI YMCA Executive Director Anne Tikkanen told the town council in 2023. The board and trustees are also looking at a scope of study around the entire perimeter of the YMCA building and she said it has had great momentum in what they want to do.
According to Cressey, who did the “Phase II Environmental Site Assessment” report for his firm Beacon Environmental Consultants, LLC, some of those elements in the soil can be considered carcinogenic. Some is lead. Some is arsenic.
In 1998, before the Y was constructed, an investigation of the footprint of the building found some unsuitable fill. In 2019 there was discussion about expanding the YMCA’s building to the east, which was related to an initial discussion for the Jackson Lab’s childcare being built there. When tested, they found not just unsuitable fill, but urban fill.
According to the town, “In 2021, the YMCA closed a portion of its outdoor green space after hazardous urban fill was discovered and a 2023 environmental assessment confirmed unsafe levels of heavy metals and hazardous compounds. This grant will allow for the safe clean-up and revitalization of this important community space.
“Once cleaned up, the site will reopen as a safe, green space for youth programs, recreation, and environmental education, restoring a vital resource for families across Mount Desert Island.”
Maine defines a brownfield as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”
There were a total of eight contaminants that tested over the state’s RAG levels. They are listed below and they are each a link to the National Library of Medicine for that particular contaminant.
- Arsenic
- Benzo(a)anthracene
- Benzo(a)pyrene
- Benzo(b)fluoranthene
- Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene
- Indeno(1,2,3-cd)Pyrene
- Lead
- Naphthalene
Disclosure: The author of the article is an immediate neighbor of the MDI YMCA.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
For a fuller list of site locations and contaminant levels, click here.
For more information on brownfield sites in Maine you can go to the State of Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection website.
Coal Ash, Lead, and Arsenic in YMCA Soil
October 4, 2023
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