Region 2 Superfund

EPA added the Sinclair Refinery site in Wellsville, New York (Allegany County) to the Superfund National Priorities List on September 1, 1983, because of harmful chemicals present at the site. The refinery, located on a 100-acre site adjacent to the Genesee River, was built in the late 1800s and operated until 1958. Gasoline, oil, grease, acid and pesticide were manufactured at the refinery.

A 1991 EPA study found volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, some that can cause liver and kidney damage, in the site's groundwater and soils. Some 6,000 people live within one mile of the site and several businesses and the State University of New York at Alfred's Wellsville Campus occupy part of the site.

Clean up of the site began in 1983 when the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), the site's current owner, removed some harmful material, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Village of Wellsville and Allegany County acted to prevent contaminated soil from entering the Genesee River. During the '80s and '90s, ARCO further channelized the river, capped a landfill on the site, removed some 150,000 pounds of contaminated soil and materials, and demolished several buildings on the site. Today, EPA and ARCO are working to remove even more contaminated soil and treat groundwater to eliminate all risks to human health and the environment at the Sinclair Refinery site.