Should Giant Troll Be Seated On A World War II-Era Landfill?

At the February 29 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presentation in Town Hall on their ongoing work on the former Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, the Army Corps cautioned that two sites selected in Ninigret Park for the placement of giant trolls are problematic and that one placement may increase the risk of the public’s exposure to potential contamination and potential munitions.

The giant troll sculptures, created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, and gardens planned around the trolls, are funded by the South County Tourism Council. The goal of the South County Tourism Council is to create events around the sculptures to increase tourism. You can learn more about the trolls at https://www.southcountyri.com/thomas-dambo-trolls/.

See our post from March 4 for background on the ongoing efforts by the Army Corps to study and remediate contamination in Ninigret Park

The Army Corps found out about the plan to install the trolls only by chance when attending the November 30 presentation of the final draft of a new Ninigret Park Master Plan during which the trolls were mentioned briefly.

The current plan is to place one giant troll along the southern shore of Little Nini Pond. The Army Corps has written that this troll location will likely not interfere with their immediate remedial investigations; however, it may interfere with future cleanup activities at this location. Because the lifespan of these statues, which are made from scrap lumber, is about 10 years, the troll may be gone before the Army Corps begins cleanup activities in this spot.

The second troll is slated to be placed close to an area that was used as a landfill by the Navy. The landfill is known as the “Charlestown Landfill,” and the area is where remedial investigations are taking place and where remedial work will likely occur. The “Charlestown Landfill” is in the northeast corner of Ninigret Park, abutting property owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The name “Charlestown Landfill” refers to the World War II-era landfill in what is now Ninigret Park and should not be confused with the town’s currently operating Charlestown Residential Collection Center located on Sand Hill Road off Old Coach Road.

Public access to the proposed location of the second troll statue is to be over a new footpath to be built near the Senior Center; however, the exact location of that trailhead and footpath has not been laid out yet, and the Army Corps expressed concern that the footpath may traverse through a portion of the “Charlestown Landfill.” Also, during construction work, such as clearing vegetation, grubbing, grading, or excavation, munitions may be encountered. For these reasons, this troll site will likely be changed.

Public access into the “Charlestown Landfill” is currently restricted at Park Lane with a chain and stop sign stating “STOP: AREA CLOSED.” Buried military munitions can be in the form of unexploded ordnance or used and discarded munitions. In some cases, a munitions constituent such as TNT may also exist in high enough concentrations to present an explosive hazard. These explosive hazards may be found on the surface or in the subsurface. Over the years, munitions debris has been discovered and removed from the “Charlestown Landfill.” These have included 1,000-pound sand-filled bomb casings found approximately 200 feet from the proposed location of the second troll statue.

The Army Corps performed a subsurface geophysical screening of the area around and in the “Charlestown Landfill” in 2022 that identified other areas of buried metallic debris. These areas have not yet been visually inspected, and a visual inspection of those buried debris areas for potential munitions is planned for 2024.

The Army Corps also performed soil testing in 2023 that identified potential contamination in the “Charlestown Landfill.” Several areas of the landfill will be further tested by taking numerous surface soil samples over a wide area as well as by additional soil borings and the installation of additional monitoring wells.

In the past, as part of many prior investigations, groundwater monitoring wells were installed around the “Charlestown Landfill,” and groundwater samples from those wells are routinely collected by the Army Corps.

Because the Remedial Investigation Stage is incomplete, the Army Corps cannot make a definitive determination as to the risks of potential contamination and potential munitions relating to former US Department of Defense operations in Ninigret Park. Additionally, because potential future remedies have not been selected, a definitive determination cannot be made as to whether the proposed location of the second troll statue would interfere with any future cleanup activities.

The Army Corp advised that should either of the troll statues require any soil disturbance below the ground surface, the Town should perform that work with full-time oversight by a munitions professional and perform soil testing to properly characterize and manage the disturbed soil.

The Corps also advised that the town coordinate with the Army Corps throughout the Ninigret Park planning processes and any future development to allow it to provide information about Ninigret Park that may assist the town in making decisions. The Army Corps stressed that should the town of Charlestown or a contractor working under the town cause the movement of onsite contaminated materials, the town may become a “potentially responsible party” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and be liable for a portion of the investigation and/or remedial costs.