Environment DEC
From the August 2006 issue
More than $10 Million in Grants Awarded for Brownfield Projects Across the State
Governor George E. Pataki recently announced Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) grants of $9.27 million for the investigation and cleanup of environmental contamination at two sites in Erie County, and $1,056,787 to local governments for the investigation or cleanup of environmental contamination in seven counties across New York State.
From the left: City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, City of Tonawanda Councilman Rick Davis, NYS Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, City of Buffalo Councilman Michael Kearns, Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, DEC Commissioner Denise Sheehan, NYS Senator William Stachowski, NYS Senator Marc Coppola
Wide Ranging Projects
The larger grants include more than $6 million to the City of Buffalo and Erie County to clean up contamination at the Hanna Furnace Sub-Parcel 3 site, also known as the Union Ship Canal site, and $3.24 million for the investigation of contamination at the Spaulding Fibre Redevelopment Project site in the City of Tonawanda.
The smaller grants were awarded for projects in the City of Glen Cove, Nassau County ($340,200); the City of Schenectady, Schenectady County ($180,000); the City of Rochester, Monroe County ($130,299); the City of Fulton, Oswego County ($117,000); Steuben County ($113,788); the City of Utica, Oneida County ($90,000), and the City of Port Jervis, Orange County ($85,500).
"Restoring formerly contaminated sites is vital to the economic and environmental renewal of cities and towns across New York State," Governor Pataki said. "We are pleased that the State is able to partner with these communities to restore these contaminated sites and create a cleaner environment and healthier future."
This former brownfield in Yonkers
now offers a beautiful view and
recreational opportunities
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan said, "These grants build upon the success New York State has had in assisting municipalities throughout the state in cleaning up brownfields and providing more environmental, recreational, economic and health benefits from the reuse of these sites."
To follow are brief descriptions of the two largest grant projects:
Hanna Furnace/Union Ship Canal Project
The City of Buffalo and Erie County were awarded a grant of $6.03 million to jointly remediate environmental contamination at the Hanna Furnace Sub-parcel 3 site, located at 2 and 4 Fuhrmann Boulevard in the southwest corner of the city. The site consists of approximately 22 acres of land in a 200-foot wide band surrounding the eastern portion of the Union Ship Canal.
In June 2002, the State awarded the City of Buffalo approximately $100,000 from Environmental Restoration Program to conduct an investigation of a subdivided section of the Hanna Furnace property known as the Sub-parcel 3 site. This investigation confirmed that past disposal of industrial fill materials in a once marshy area and the operations of the iron smelting facility had contaminated soils and groundwater at the site with hazardous substances, including heavy metals and semi-volatile organic compounds.
The cleanup remedy, approved by DEC, includes removal of debris from the site and canal bottom; grading the site to accommodate future use as a park; covering the site with clean soil; stabilizing the canal wall; increasing fish habitat, and engineering and institutional controls of the cleanup process.
Spaulding Fibre Redevelopment Project
A $3.24 million grant was awarded to Erie County, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA) and the City of Tonawanda for the investigation of environmental contamination of the area designated as the "Spaulding Fibre Redevelopment Project." This site is located at 310 Wheeler Street, approximately one mile south of the Niagara River, in the City of Tonawanda.
The grant will be used to investigate 20 acres of the approximately 46-acre Spaulding Fibre plant site, which is now abandoned. Contamination at the site resulted mainly from former bulk chemical handling and waste handling practices. Previous investigations of the plant site showed significant soil and groundwater contamination in a number of areas across the property. DEC is cleaning up these distributed areas under the State Superfund Program. The ERP funds will support further investigation by ECIDA to determine what cleanup actions, if any, might be necessary to prepare this section of the 20-acre site for redevelopment. This determination will take into consideration the proposed future use of the site, which is for light industrial and commercial purposes.
More Grants Anticipated
To date, more than $119 million in Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act funding has been committed for 214 investigation and cleanup projects at brownfield sites throughout New York State. This funding includes 179 investigation projects totaling more than $62.8 million and 35 remediation projects totaling more than $56.5 million. Other applications are under review by the DEC and additional grants are anticipated in the near future.
