Environment DEC
From the October 2008 issue
Two Brownfield Cleanups and One Site Redevelopment Announced
Abandoned industrial parcels in Poughkeepsie and Corning are the first sites approved for clean up under the state's revamped Brownfields Cleanup Program. The recently announced redevelopment of the cleaned-up Bossert Manufacturing site in Utica will put that long-abandoned parcel back in productive use and remove it from the Superfund Registry.
Poughkeepsie and Corning Projects
This former brownfield site in Poughkeepsie, now a restaurant and banquet facility, is adjacent to the new brownfield site scheduled for cleanup.
"It is fitting that the first sites to be reclaimed under the new law are located upstate, where local officials, business and environmental groups expressed strong support for a better brownfields program--one that would steer cleanup money where it's most needed," Commissioner Grannis said. "The Poughkeepsie and Corning projects will have positive economic and environmental impacts on their communities."
The parties performing the cleanup have signed a Brownfield Cleanup Agreement with DEC-a requirement for those participating in the Brownfields Cleanup Program. The agreement commits the parties to the provisions of the new law as they undertake certain investigation or cleanup activities under DEC's oversight and with Department of Health input.
An explanation of the revamped Brownfield Cleanup Program and summaries of the Poughkeepsie and Corning projects are included in the complete press release on this topic. Additional information about the sites can be found in the DEC's Environmental Site Remediation Database as the investigation and cleanup activities move forward.
Bossert Site Redevelopment
Over 16,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil and debris were removed from the Bossert site.
Governor David A. Paterson and DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis joined Utica Mayor David R. Roefaro to mark the official completion of the extensive and complicated cleanup of the former Bossert Manufacturing facility in West Utica recently. With data showing that the site meets state health and environmental guidelines, DEC has removed the Bossert site from the Superfund Registry.
"The cleanup of the former Bossert Manufacturing site will serve as an important revitalization tool for central New York, with the potential to chip away at the economic barriers that Utica and many of our upstate communities face," said Governor David A. Paterson. "As evidenced with the historic brownfields agreement signed into law earlier this year, New York is on a path to restore former industrial sites for beneficial uses, and this is just one example of how the economic landscape of upstate will begin to change. I applaud DEC and the City of Utica for working together to restore this formerly toxic site."
"Utica residents and leaders have waited to hear these words for a long time: Bossert is no longer a toxic site," Commissioner Grannis said. "The site has undergone a great transformation through a cleanup that not only has addressed the contamination, but has also restored the potential for attracting new businesses to West Utica. DEC looks forward to continuing to work with Mayor Roefaro and other partners across the state to clean up contaminated sites and return them to productive use."
Decades of Contamination
The former Bossert Manufacturing site is located at 1002 Oswego Street in Utica, Oneida County. This site is in a mixed industrial, commercial, and residential area known as West Utica. It is currently vacant and Utica will be seeking to redevelop the site. Bossert ceased operations in 1985. Prior to demolition, the site consisted of an abandoned 210,000-square-foot production facility located on a 6.9-acre parcel. The multi-story complex of connected buildings had been a metal stamping, welding and fabricating assembly factory from approximately 1896 to 1985. Past investigations had found that a number of hazardous materials including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, petroleum products and contaminated waste, were improperly disposed of at the site. It was placed on the Superfund list in 1986. The City of Utica acquired the property in 1987.
Complicating the cleanup, PCBs were again discovered on the site after demolition was completed in 2002, as were the remnants of a number of previously unreported petroleum spills and an underground fuel storage tank. DEC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Utica removed the tank and offending materials and, to date, the agencies have spent over $10 million to clean up the site. Work at the site included the removal of 28 PCB-contaminated metal presses, the removal of several underground petroleum storage tanks, demolition of all the buildings, and the excavation and disposal of more than 16,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil and debris.
A Superfund Site No More
The city has placed a mulch cover over the soils at the site to prevent any dust migration. The site will continue to have controls in place to prevent any potential future health or environmental effects at the site. Deed restrictions regardless of property ownership include limits on groundwater use, an approved soil-management plan, maintenance of a protective cover, and a restriction of use of the site to industrial/commercial purposes.
Following extensive reviews of data collected from the cleanup activities, DEC and the New York State Department of Health agreed that the site no longer presents a threat to public health or the environment and completely removed the site from the Superfund Registry in September. See the complete press release on this topic for additional information and remarks of the other officials present at the announcement.
