For Release: Monday, December 3, 2007
DEC Announces Brownfield Grants For Franklin And Erie Counties
$1,123,440 Awarded for Environmental Cleanup Projects
The Franklin County Industrial Development Agency and the City of Buffalo were awarded more than $1,123,000 in Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act grants for the investigation of environmental contamination at sites in their communities, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced.
"New York State is committed to seeing brownfields cleaned-up and reestablished as economic and environmental assets to their communities," said Commissioner Grannis. "Today's grants demonstrate steps toward the restoration of these sites from neglected and underutilized properties to community assets where new businesses can be established, while benefiting the environment and public health."
The grant recipients are eligible for state assistance through the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) since they are not responsible for having caused the contamination. The grants provide up to 90 percent of eligible costs for on-site and up to 100 percent of eligible costs for off-site remedial activities.
The Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act authorizes $1.75 billion for important environmental programs. The Bond Act included $200 million for ERP grants to municipalities for costs associated with the investigation and cleanup of brownfields. To date, more than $162.2 million in Bond Act funding has been committed for 253 investigation and cleanup projects at brownfield sites throughout New York State. This funding includes 208 investigation projects totaling more than $78.7 million and 45 remediation projects totaling more than $83.4 million.
Other applications are under review by DEC and additional grants are anticipated in the near future. Brownfields are abandoned or underused properties where real or perceived environmental contamination hinders the potential for redevelopment.
The ERP grants announced today include:
$234,000 to the Franklin County Industrial Development Agency: For the investigation of environmental contamination at the Former Tru-Stitch Slipper Factory Vacant Lot in Bombay, Franklin County.
The Franklin County Industrial Development Agency (FCIDA) will investigate the property located south of State Route 95 in Bombay. The property consists of a 5.64 +/- acre parcel of vacant land that has been associated with the leather processing and manufacturing that occurred initially with JJ Shields Slipper Factory and more recently the Wolverine World Wide (Tru-Stitch) Corproration. The Tru-Stitch Slipper Factory operated from approximately 1980 to 1997. The FCIDA purchased the vacant property in 2000. Investigation activities are necessary to evaluate site contamination issues resulting from past operations.
The investigation will include subsurface investigations around the underground storage tank areas, drain areas, the septic system, ground penetrating radar, and a Human Health Exposure Assessment. The underground storage tanks will be properly disposed of as a part of this investigation process.
$289,440 to the Franklin County Industrial Development Agency: For the investigation of environmental contamination at the Former Tru-Stitch Slipper Warehouses in the Town of Bombay, Franklin County.
FCIDA will investigate the property located at the northwest corner of SH 95 and CR 1 in the Town of Bombay, consisting of four parcels totaling 15.81 acres in size. A 4,200 square foot warehouse and a 24,066 square foot warehouse remain on the site and were both used for the manufacture of leather products. When FCIDA bought the property in 2000, it was being leased by Gildan Activewear who produced tee-shirts and other active wear. No investigation and/or remediation activities are known to have been performed at the site.
The investigation will include test pit investigation, a comprehensive soil and groundwater investigation, a ground penetrating radar, a soil vapor intrusion survey if volatile organic compounds are detected, and a human health exposure assessment. At the conclusion of the Remedial Investigation, a determination will be made on the remediation activities necessary, if any, to make the site safe for reuse. The FCIDA plans to sell the property to a commercial/industrial tenant, possibly a tenant that will support the nearby ethanol fuel alternative plant.
$600,000 to the City of Buffalo, Erie County: For the investigation of environmental contamination at the 1318 Niagara Street site in the City.
The site is located at the intersection of Niagara Street and Lafayette Avenue, and is slightly over three-quarters of an acre in size. A brewery located on the site operated from before 1909 until 1987. The City of Buffalo acquired the property in November 2004 through tax foreclosure and, in May 2006, began demolishing the buildings on the site. During the demolition, the City's contractor found two 20,000-gallon underground storage tanks containing petroleum sludge contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and solvents. After cleaning of the tanks began in February 2007, workers found that one tank had leaked, contaminating the surrounding soil. Underground piping and a number of other areas on the property are also contaminated. Due to the obvious need for a complete site investigation and cleanup of the contamination, the City suspended its work and secured the site, then applied for state assistance through the ERP.
The City's investigation of the site will include the analysis of samples from locations across the entire property to ensure the identification of all areas that will require cleanup. The grant amount includes funding to remove obviously contaminated soil during the investigation process as an Interim Remedial Measure (IRM). An IRM is a limited cleanup action that can begin without extensive investigation and that becomes a permanent part of the final remedy for a site. Therefore, an IRM shortens the duration of an overall site cleanup. Upon completion of the investigation, DEC will make a determination as to whether any additional cleanup activities are necessary for the safe reuse of the property. The City would like to offer the property for redevelopment for commercial or light industrial use.
