For Release: Thursday, August 31, 2006
DEC Terminates Consent Order with Exxon Mobil for the Remediation of Lighthouse Point in Ogdensburg
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan today announced that the DEC has terminated the consent order, dated October 31, 2003, between Exxon Mobil and the Department for the investigation and cleanup of petroleum contamination at Lighthouse Point in the City of Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County. As a result, DEC will take immediate action to remediate the site.
"Over the course of the past two years, DEC has worked hard to identify a remedy which would protect public health and the environment and meet the needs of the community," Commissioner Sheehan said. "Unfortunately, ExxonMobil has failed to agree to commit to implement the selected remedy and as such, DEC will be spearheading the implementation of the cleanup."
Exxon Mobil and its predecessors owned and operated a petroleum products storage and distribution terminal on Lighthouse Point from 1898 until 1984. The former operations included a facility on the eastern side of the peninsula that was used to offload barges delivering fuel to the terminal. On the western side of the peninsula, Exxon Mobil owned and operated a tank farm, a pump pad/pipeline manifold, and a truck load rack. The barge dock and tank farm properties were connected by a pipeline corridor that was used to convey fuel from the barges to the storage tanks. The contaminants of concern at the site that the cleanup will address are petroleum, petroleum byproducts, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
On October 31, 2003, DEC and Exxon Mobil entered into a consent order whereby Exxon Mobil agreed to investigate petroleum contamination at Lighthouse Point. Since that time, extensive site investigations have been undertaken and several remedial actions were evaluated. When DEC proposed the remedy in May 2006, a public meeting and public comment period was held.
In late July of this year, DEC advised Exxon Mobil that the Department had determined the most appropriate remedy for the site. This remedy consists of excavation of contaminated soils that exceed DEC soil cleanup criteria. In accordance with the Department's July 25, 2006 letter and the agreement of the parties, Exxon Mobil had until August 25, 2006, to advise the Department that the company would proceed with the DEC's selected remedy. ExxonMobil failed to advise the Department that it would implement the selected remedy by the agreed upon deadline, and as such, DEC today issued a letter to Exxon Mobil that terminates the consent order.
Under the New York State Navigation Law, DEC can undertake the cleanup of petroleum spills independently and then recover the costs of the cleanup from the responsible party. A DEC remediation contractor will develop a work plan and implement the cleanup of the site so that when completed, it will be fully protective of public health and the environment.
