Brownfield Cleanups Completed in Communities Across the State

ALBANY, NY (01/28/2010)(readMedia)-- Ten cleanups of abandoned or underutilized contaminated sites in communities throughout New York were certified as complete by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in December 2009, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today. Two other sites were also completed earlier in the year. All twelve sites had remnants of industrial or commercial activities that led to varying degrees of contamination, and all will now provide new residential, recreational, or economic opportunities.

"The cleanups completed in the last year are great examples of the effectiveness of New York's brownfield redevelopment program and the impacts it can have in communities from Buffalo to the Bronx," Commissioner Grannis said. "These sites will become a mix of new housing, recreation, commerce and industry, showing that in good economic times and in bad, the redevelopment of contaminated properties continues to be a smart investment that benefits all New Yorkers."

Four of the sites are in the Greater Rochester area, three in Greater Buffalo, three in New York and one each in Schenectady and Broome counties.

The Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) was created in 2003 and improved by Governor David A. Paterson in 2008 to encourage cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites across the state, using tax credits as incentives. A brownfield is a contaminated property where the presence of pollution has impeded redevelopment. Many such sites are abandoned throughout the state and contribute to urban blight.

BCP-eligible sites can include any real property where the redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous waste or petroleum. Following a review of eligibility by DEC, a property owner, developer, or other authorized agent enters into an agreement with DEC to investigate and clean up a site with DEC and state Department of Health oversight and opportunities for public participation. Upon fulfilling all of the responsibilities in the agreement and cleanup plans, a "Certificate of Completion" is issued by DEC. It provides liability protections, triggers the availability of tax credits for eligible parties, and allows the certificate holder to redevelop the site, subject to certain restrictions if applicable.

A total of 68 BCP projects have received certificates of completion since the program's inception, including the 12 announced today. There are approximately 200 investigations and cleanups currently underway. More information about the BCP program can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8450.html on the DEC website.

Details of the 12 BCP sites that were issued Certificates of Completion (COC) in 2009 are provided below.

Former Endicott Johnson – Ranger Paracord (Southern Segment): Located in Johnson City ( Broome County), this 17-acre site has been host to a variety of industrial uses including shoe manufacturing, fiber mill processing, rubber reclamation and recycling, and leather re-tanning. Numerous investigations had taken place over the years and found soils contaminated with arsenic and other metals, along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons widely distributed across the site. A cleanup plan was implemented in 2008 that included an in-place cover system with institutional and engineering controls to prevent public exposure. A final engineering report and site management plan were submitted to DEC last summer; upon review and approval, DEC issued the completion certificate. The site is now being used for commercial purposes, including a bank and future Wal-Mart.

Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market: The site is a 16.5-acre parcel that is part of a larger 34-acre industrial and commercial use area known as the Bronx Terminal Market (BTM). Previously, the site had been used for industrial and commercial operations including rail yards; toy, photographic mounts, and refrigerator manufacturing; a lumber yard; a saw mill; a New York Police Department motorcycle storage and/or maintenance facility; and a New York City Department of Sanitation facility. Remediation was completed from September 2006 to February 2009 and included excavation of contaminated material, removal of underground storage tanks (USTs), backfill with clean fill, installation of vapor mitigation systems and vapor barrier membranes, and construction of a composite cover. Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market now includes approximately 957,000 gross square feet of retail establishments and 2,600 parking spaces in a multi-level parking garage and at-grade parking.

Foundation for Torah Studies: A 0.22-acre property located at 402 Avenue U in Brooklyn, this site had been a gasoline service station for approximately 40 years followed by an automotive maintenance facility and most recently a synagogue. The USTs associated with the service station were abandoned in place in 1992. Contaminants associated with past operations include petroleum and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have impacted the soil, groundwater, and soil gas. Since entering the BCP program in 2007, cleanup activities have involved soil excavation, groundwater treatment and installation of a vapor barrier. The completion certificate requires that groundwater monitoring continue for two years. The development of a six-story, 10,000-square-foot residential building and synagogue is ongoing.

West 61st Street Tennis Court Area: This site, in Manhattan, is part of a bigger site known as the West 61st Street Site which was approximately 1.44 acres. It consists of an approximately 100-foot-by-150-foot parcel bounded by West 61st Street to the north, a public school to the east, an apartment building to the south, and, to the west, another completed BCP site that is now a residential development. The site had been a gasoline station and contained underground storage tanks (USTs) with contamination that included petroleum, VOCs and metals. The cleanup involved removal of nine USTs with associated piping, post-removal soil analysis, soil excavation, installation of a composite cover system capped with asphalt, and institutional controls and an environmental easement to protect the integrity of the cover. Construction of tennis courts has been completed.

College Park Schenectady: The 8.36-acre site is located along at 1520 Maxon Road in Schenectady, Schenectady County. It was formerly owned and operated by the American Locomotive Company, then abandoned. Subsequently, the site was developed for retail businesses including a dry cleaning operation. A BCP agreement was signed in 2005, and investigations identified soil contamination from metals, petroleum, and dry cleaner solvents, and groundwater contamination for petroleum contaminants, vinyl chloride, Tetrachloroethene and Trichloroethene. Cleanup activities started in May 2008 and included removal and remediation of approximately 10,000 tons of contaminated soil, groundwater treatment, UST removal, and institutional controls including a vapor mitigation system. Cleanup work was completed last year and a completion certificate was issued on Dec. 18, 2009. The site is now the headquarters for the Golub Corporation.

Rochester Drug Cooperative Building: The site, a 2.7-acre property located at 320 North Goodman Street in Rochester, formerly was used as a lumberyard, a furniture manufacturer, offices, and a warehouse. Currently, the building is subdivided and occupied by multiple tenants. Previous investigations at the site identified significant petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater. The source of this contamination was four underground storage tanks that were formerly located on the eastern portion of the property and have subsequently been removed. A BCP agreement was entered into in 2004. Contaminated soils were removed and a sub-slab depressurization system was put in place to mitigate the potential for indoor air contamination. The site is capped by an asphalt parking lot and the on-site building. The site is going to be used for mixed-commercial purposes.

Former Vogt Manufacturing: The site, located at 100 Fernwood Ave. in Rochester, contains two buildings and parking areas. The larger building, vacant since 2002, was constructed in the late 1920s as a manufacturing facility for automobile trimmings. It was later converted for multi-tenant light industrial/commercial use, including plastic products manufacturing, tool and die makers, machine shops, painters, printers, graphics companies, and sheet metal contractors and led to contamination from petroleum products and chlorinated solvents. A BCP agreement was signed in 2004. In 2004 and 2005, five underground storage tanks that once contained petroleum products and plasticizers were removed. On-site soil treatment was conducted to address petroleum compounds and phthalates. A recovery system is operating to recover separate phase phthalates and institutional controls have been put in place to prevent exposure. A new townhouse development is planned for the site.

Former Steve Joy's Sunoco: The 2.5-acre site includes two properties located at 3865 and 3875 West Henrietta Road in Henrietta (Monroe County). Past use at the site included a gasoline station. Investigations detailed metals and petroleum-related compounds impacting the soil, and petroleum and chlorinated solvents impacting groundwater. A BCP agreement was signed in 2006. Underground storage tanks and hydraulic lifts were removed, and soil excavated and treated, and sub-slab mitigation systems were installed. Institutional controls are in place to prevent exposure. The site includes two buildings. The property at 3865 West Henrietta Road is currently a used car dealership. The 3875 West Henrietta Road property is currently vacant but a commercial reuse is planned.

Former Griffin Technology Site: The 3.64-acre site is located at 6132 Victor Manchester Road, Farmington (Ontario County). Griffin Technology was a small manufacturing company that operated from 1975 until the mid-1990s and made laminated photo ID cards. Between 1977 and 1986, Griffin Technology reported that it dumped 3/4 of a ton of spent trichloroethylene (TCE) solvent on ground adjacent to the west side of the building. Elevated levels of TCE and related contaminants were detected in groundwater. A groundwater pump extraction system operated from 1996-2007 to minimize the spread of off-site groundwater contamination. A BCP agreement was signed in 2007 and the cleanup plan included chemical oxidation that was completed in September 2008, followed by post-injection monitoring of the groundwater as well as an environmental easement. The site is being redeveloped for commercial use.

Former NL Industries Foundry: The 7.5-acre site is located at 3241 Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga (Erie County). The east side of the subject property was first developed for industrial purposes in 1892 by Buffalo Brass Co., with subsequent acquisitions by Magnus Metal Co., National Lead/NL Industries Inc., Domtar Industries, Anglo-Recycling Corporation, and Cascades Niagara Falls Inc./Norampac Industries, Inc. Activities included brass foundry operations, warehousing, and paper fiber recycling. Investigations found on-site soils and off-site residential properties contaminated with lead. In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested N.L. Industries begin to address the residential soils, with work to remove contaminated residential soils beginning in 2005 and likely continuing through 2010. Norampac's BCP application was approved in 2006, requiring excavating, consolidating and disposing of lead-contaminated soils from the western undeveloped sections of the property, capping consolidated soils, and using it as a new parking area. This action created over seven acres of clean property ready for development. The property continues to be used for paper recycling.

NOCO #S41: Located in an urban area on the southeast corner of Fillmore Avenue and Genesee Street in Buffalo, this 0.75-acre site is currently vacant. But prior to 2006, it was used as a gasoline station, automobile repair, and for general retail. A BCP agreement was signed in 2007. Work there included the removal of three underground storage tanks, piping and pump island, excavation of petroleum-contaminated soil, treatment of groundwater, and implementation of an environmental easement. Development plans are not yet specified.

Niagara Street and Pennsylvania Avenue: Located at 517 Niagara St. in Buffalo, this is a former gasoline station and automotive repair shop. A 2007 assessment identified several environmental concerns due to the potential for chemical and/or petroleum product releases from abandoned USTs, product dispensers and one in-ground hydraulic lift on the property. A BCP was signed in 2008. In 2009, cleanup involved removing five USTs, piping, and impacted soils. The property has been redeveloped as a Family Dollar store.