Seneca Street Brownfield Cleanup Program Site
Fact Sheet - March 2009
Environmental Investigation and Cleanup Work Plan for 1132 & 1146 Seneca Street Site in Buffalo Available for Public Comment
Introduction
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) welcomes public comment as it reviews a Remedial Investigation/ Interim Remedial Measures (RI/IRM) Work Plan for the 1132 & 1146 Seneca Street site in Buffalo, Erie County. The work plan outlines planned site investigations and focused removal of PCB-impacted soil. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are large, bulky molecules that are oily in nature and hard to break down. The removal of the impacted soil is part of a cleanup action called an interim remedial measure (IRM). The IRM can be conducted relatively quickly to address obvious issues at the site and minimize environmental and health risks. In addition to impacted soil, groundwater may be contaminated as well. A site-wide remedial investigation (RI) will help to determine if other areas require cleanup.
The investigation and interim remedial measure work at the site will be performed under New York State's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The BCP provides existing or potential property owners financial incentives to promote the voluntary cleanup, redevelopment, and revival of brownfield sites. Flexo-Transparent, Inc. entered the BCP to clean up the site and plans to reuse it to expand their packaging materials manufacturing facility.
Public Comments about the RI/IRM Work Plan
The RI/IRM Work Plan is available for public viewing at the locations listed in this fact sheet and on the NYSDEC website (link provided below). NYSDEC will accept written public comments about the RI/IRM Work Plan for 30 days, from March 16, 2009 through April 14, 2009. Written comments should be submitted to the DEC project manager listed below.
Site Background
The project site includes two adjoining parcels, 1132 and 1146 Seneca Street, in a mixed industrial, commercial, and residential area of Buffalo, New York. The total size of the project site is 3.7 acres. The 1.7 acre western parcel (1132 Seneca St.) is mostly covered by a single large abandoned manufacturing building. This building is estimated to have been built in 1920. In the past this property was used for a lumber yard and a rail yard. The site was also used for manufacturing PCB-containing electrical transformers and fiberglass platforms. The 2.0 acre eastern parcel (1146 Seneca) currently has no building structures and is overgrown with grass and weeds. Historical uses include a lumber yard, a rail yard, a clay products manufacturing facility, and a gas filling station. A portion of the property also may have been used by Westinghouse and Eastern Electric for the manufacture of transformers. Previous environmental investigations on these parcels have confirmed elevated concentrations of PCBs in soil both beneath a loading dock within the manufacturing building and behind the building. Concentrations of some metals were also present in soil on both parcels at concentrations above regulatory criteria.
What Will the Upcoming Investigation and Cleanup Work Involve?
The planned IRM work will address immediate environmental concerns presented by contamination at the site. Under the oversight of DEC, upcoming IRM cleanup activities will include:
• Removing the interior rail road track and underlying concrete floor at the loading dock;
• Excavating PCB-impacted soil at two areas on the 1132 property and disposing it at a permitted facility;
• Sampling the side-wall and floor of each excavation to confirm that cleanup objectives have been achieved; and
• Backfilling excavations with clean soil.
The planned remedial investigation will provide additional data to determine if other areas are contaminated and need to be addressed. The RI work will include:
• Drilling soil borings;
• Excavating test pits;
• Installing groundwater monitoring wells;
• Sampling and analyzing surface soil, subsurface soil, groundwater, and sub-slab soil vapor; and
• Evaluating human health risks, if any.
Possible Health Impacts
Currently, access to the site is restricted, although there is evidence of past trespassing and illegal use of the site. There are no immediate health impacts from the site to the surrounding area, but anyone illegally accessing the site could be exposed to site related contamination identified in certain areas of the site. The proposed IRM will address areas of known contamination.
Next Steps
NYSDEC will consider public comments before it approves the RI/IRM Work Plan. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) must concur in the approval of the work plan. The approved plan will be available for public review at the locations listed below. After it is approved, Flexo Transparent, Inc. may proceed with the environmental investigation and IRM cleanup actions at the site. The RI and IRM are expected to be completed in 2009. NYSDEC will keep the public informed during the cleanup and redevelopment process of the 1132 &1146 Seneca Street Site through fact sheets similar to this one.
Who Should I Call If I Have Questions About the Site?
Environmental Questions
Mr. William P. Murray
Project Manager
NYSDEC
270 Michigan Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 851-7220
Health Questions
Mr. Cameron O'Connor
NYSDOH
Public Health Specialist
584 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 847-4385
Locations to View Project Documents
To keep you informed, NYSDEC has set up two locations at which you may view project documents. These locations include:
Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Dudley Branch
2010 South Park Ave.
Buffalo, New York 14220
Phone: (716) 823-1854
NYSDEC Region 9 Office
270 Michigan Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14203
Phone: (716) 851-7220
(Please call for appointment)
You can also view project documents online at the Region 9 Environmental Remediation Project Information page. Look for the Seneca Street entry under the Erie County heading.
