Environment DEC
From the November 2003 issue
First Application Received for New Brownfields Cleanup Program
DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty announced the receipt of an application to clean up and redevelop a brownfield site in the City of Kingston, Ulster County. The site is located on East Chester Street, the main commercial thoroughfare in the city, and includes three contaminated and under-performing properties. This project will be the first in the state under the new Brownfields Cleanup Program.
"The cleanup and redevelopment of this property will return a parcel to Kingston's tax rolls, remove hazardous material from the community, generate job opportunities for local residents by bringing in new business and allow for the remediation of a contaminated site using private investment," Commissioner Crotty said.
Governor Pataki signed landmark legislation to refinance and reform the state's remedial program in early October. The law creates a new brownfield program to foster cleanup of thousands of decontaminated properties throughout the state and encourages new investment and redevelopment of these sites.
Kingston Project
The Kingston site consists of a small corner property that includes an abandoned dry cleaning facility that has contaminated the ground underneath it and two adjacent parcels with perchloroethylene, a chemical frequently used in the dry cleaning industry. The adjacent parcels contain an old gas station and a trolley barn that were converted into a bus garage. Both have leaking underground petroleum storage tanks that have been contaminating soil and groundwater.
Under the new cleanup program, Stearns and Wheler (S & W) Redevelopment of North America will work with the city and the school district to make the site productive again. The school district will transfer ownership of the gas station and garage to S & W and make a contribution to defray remediation costs. In return, the school district will be relieved by S & W of all future financial and legal liability for these properties.
The city will foreclose on the tax-delinquent dry cleaners and transfer ownership of the property to S & W., which plans to complete a supplemental investigation and remedial action to mitigate site contamination under the new program. After a certificate of completion has been obtained, S & W will sell the property to Walgreens, Inc. for construction of a new, upscale pharmacy. With taxes from the new Walgreens, the city and the school district expect a return on their investment in about three years.
