Dozens of Abandoned, Leaking Petroleum Sites Across the State To Be Cleaned up Through Stimulus Funds

ALBANY, NY (02/12/2010)(readMedia)-- Dozens of petroleum spill sites across New York will soon be cleaned up and ready for redevelopment thanks to more than $9.2 million in federal stimulus funding, state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today. Funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is supporting the investigation and cleanup of approximately 60 sites with underground storage tank petroleum leaks, with several projects already underway.

The Recovery Act provided $200 million for cleanups nationwide that target orphaned or abandoned underground storage sites where a responsible party has not been identified or compelled to undertake the work. The sites – primarily former gas stations -- are "shovel ready," with DEC able to move quickly to implement the investigation and cleanup plans.

"New York's spill response program is among the most effective in the nation, with staff addressing thousands of spills a year in order to protect drinking water and other critical natural resources," Commissioner Grannis said. "The stimulus funding secured by President Barack Obama and our Congressional representatives, channeled through EPA will be a boost to investigating and cleaning up sites that may have otherwise remained vacant, contaminated parcels that hindered investment in local economies."

EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said: "A year after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it's clear that the environment, public health and the economy are benefiting from projects like the rehabilitation of the Courtney George site. Because of this cleanup, New Yorkers will see the elimination of a long-standing environmental hazard and a much-needed boost to the state's economy."

Approximately 15,000 petroleum-related spills are reported in New York each year, involving various industries and operations. DEC staff uses state and federal funding to address sites that threaten drinking water supplies or have other direct impacts to public health. The funding announced today will enable DEC to act more aggressively to address a specific type of site – those with underground storage tanks (USTs) -- that might not have a direct link to public exposure, but still pose risks to environmental and economic interests.

The stimulus-funded cleanups will not only remove petroleum contamination but also initiate new economic activity. Besides jobs related to the actual remedial work, communities will have new long-term financial benefits from private investment in these previously abandoned and under-used sites. In addition, the availability of the stimulus funding and DEC's ability to act quickly at the leaking UST sites have spurred some responsible parties to finally come forward to assume the costs of cleanup. This will provide additional up-front savings to the state and avoid the legal process of DEC cost recovery actions after the cleanups are done.

Congressman Paul Tonko said: "I am pleased to announce this funding for environmental mitigation which was made possible by the Recovery Act. Not only will this funding help us clean up spills and better our environment, it also helps put people to work and positively affects New York State's bottom line during these difficult economic times. This is another great example of the necessary role that the Recovery Act continues to play."

Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings said: "It is gratifying to see stimulus dollars support the remediation of the Courtney George site in North Albany. With environmental responsiveness as the overriding tenet as one of the best uses of federal dollars, I look forward to the day when this location will once again be ripe for development."

Fourteen sites have already begun or are close to starting work and one site in Chenango County has already been completed. Below is a sample of some sites being addressed. All projects being supported by the funding will need to be completed by September 2011.

Spill No. 0012512 – Courtney George, Albany, Albany County: The abandoned site is a former auto repair and gasoline station. Investigations have found contamination from petroleum. There are underground storage tanks present, as well as a pump island and related structures. Since 1994, some cleanup work has been conducted by the state and resulted in the extraction of an estimated 9,400 pounds of volatile organic compounds ("VOCs") from the subsurface. Additional work is needed and will consist of tank removal to access the contamination, excavation of an estimated 4,500 tons of contaminated soil, and treatment contaminated groundwater.

Spill No. 0165066 - ASP Auto/Lechner's Service Station, Sanitaria Springs, Broome County: This facility has five buried tanks, none of which are in compliance with DEC's petroleum bulk storage (PBS) regulations. There are two 10,000-gallon steel gasoline tanks, a 10,000-gallon steel diesel tank, a 4,000-gallon steel kerosene tank, and a 1,000-gallon steel tank with unknown contents. In order to investigate the facility, work will involve removal, cleaning, and disposal of the tanks and associated piping. Impacted soils, if found, will be removed and disposed of at a permitted facility.

Spill No. 0813680 - Lacona Market, Lacona, Oswego County: This facility is a closed grocery store that had two buried, 10,000-gallon, fiberglass-coated, steel PBS tanks. Both are not in compliance with DEC's UST regulations. Work completed to date includes a site investigation (soil borings, groundwater sampling); remediation (removal of UST system components to permit petroleum-contaminated soil removal), and excavation of about 1,400 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil which was stockpiled for disposal. Additional groundwater sampling is scheduled for Spring 2010.

Spill No. 0245097 - Sarvis' Mini Mall, Tupper Lake, Franklin County: This property has been vacant and abandoned since approximately 2002 and contains USTs and associated piping. Preliminary soil sampling indicates contamination consistent with a spill having taken place. The nature and extent of the contamination resulting from the spill(s) will be investigated and remediated as appropriate.

Spill No. 9807586 – Joe's Service Station, Guilderland, Albany County: This site had been an active gasoline service station until recently when the property owner passed away. There has been significant, historical gasoline contamination of the groundwater and subsurface soils. Total VOCs in the groundwater have recently been measured as high as 70,000 parts per billion. Investigational soil borings and additional groundwater sampling were completed in January, 2010.

Spill No. 0103320 – Former Vanilla Bean, Troy, Rensselaer County: This site had been a gasoline service station several decades ago and USTs still remain on the property without having been properly closed. Soils contaminated by gasoline have been identified in the subsurface. The cleanup will excavate the contaminated soils and remove the remaining tanks as necessary to access the contamination.

Spill No. 9970458 – Mike's Shamrock, Rochester, Monroe County: This site was a former gas station. While the owner was having the four USTs removed, significantly contaminated soil was encountered. The owner at the time could not perform the necessary investigation and remediation due to financial constraints. A preliminary investigation was performed that partially delineated subsurface soil and groundwater contamination. A supplemental investigation will be conducted to fully define the extent of soil and groundwater contamination. Once the investigation is completed, a cleanup plan will be prepared and implemented.

Spill No. 0808604 – East Ridge Enterprises, Rochester, Monroe County: Owners of the Ridge Seneca Plaza property (277-345 East Ridge Road) conducted a soil and groundwater assessment which identified gasoline contamination. Further investigation by the plaza owners identified a potential pollution source area at an abandoned retail gasoline station located across the street from the plaza (363-377 East Ridge Road). DEC performed an extensive subsurface investigation that quantified the extent of the contamination and identified the source as the gas station. In December 2009, one 20,000-gallon UST was removed allowing for excavation of contaminated soil. Cleanup will involve an oxygen injection system to be installed upon completion of the removal of the contamination's source.

COMPLETED:

Spill No. 0800300 - Toby's Auction, South New Berlin, Chenango County: This site is an auction house that never sold petroleum products, but a total of six unregistered tanks were found as part of DEC's investigation. Three tanks were closed in place with a slurry mix and three were removed, cut and cleaned. Approximately two dump truck loads of petroleum-contaminated soil were found and excavated. The work was completed on Dec. 4.

More information about these and other DEC spills can be found by accessing the remediation databases at http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/derexternal/index.cfm?pageid=2 on DEC's website.