Hiteman Leather Co.
Superfund Program Site #622007
Banks of the Unadilla River restored
with native riparian plants
Highlights
DEC will consider green remediation concepts during all phases of contaminated site cleanups, while ensuring that remedies continue to protect public health and the environment. The Hiteman Leather site is a great example of two agencies, DEC and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working together to implement a remedy that incorporates green remediation principles.
Green Remediation Principles:
- Reduce energy use, emissions, material consumption, and waste generation during remediation
- Maximize reuse options for land to preserve greenspace and slow suburban sprawl
- Integrate the cleanup with the reuse and promote sustainable redevelopment and end-use
Site Description
Contaminants at the site turned the soil
bright blue
The Hiteman Leather Company ran a former tannery and leather manufacturing facility at this site in the Village of West Winfield. the industrial wastewater generated by facility operations was routinely discharged into a two acre lagoon system by way of a sluiceway located behind the plant building. The Unadilla River crosses the property for about 800 feet. Wastewater, which contained tannery and beamhouse waste, lime, sodium sulfide and chromium, flowed through these lagoons, eventually spilling over into the nearby Unadilla River. The primary contaminants of concern at the Hiteman Site were metals used for the preservation of hides during the tanning process.
Remedy
Sediment and stream bank
excavation
The cleanup plan for the site called for excavation and consolidation of contaminated wastes, soils, wetland and river sediments, and approximately 200 feet of river bank. All excavated materials were consolidated into a fully lined impermeable containment cell on-site, reducing cleanup and avoiding the environmental impacts of transporting and disposing materials off-site. The remedy also required full, natural restoration of a wetland and stream bank and used engineering methods which would encourage plant growth and wildlife use. Additional downstream investigations on the Unadilla River and on-going to observe any effects on aquatic wildlife.
