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Sites in Reuse in New York
Kenmark Textile Corporation
The 5-acre Kenmark Textile Corporation Superfund site, in East Farmingdale, New York, has been home to several textile dying and printing and screening businesses since the early 1900s. Wastewater generated in the production processes was chemically treated on site and discharged to outdoor concrete-lined lagoons. The wastewater, which was contaminated with heavy metals, was allowed to settle and evaporate before the residue was placed in drums for off-site disposal. In 1979, the state issued a permit requiring Kenmark to treat its wastes properly, and discharge them into the municipal sewer system. In 1981, the Suffolk County Department of Health temporarily closed the company for illegally storing drums of hazardous waste, and, in 1986, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. More than 50 drums containing hazardous waste were removed from the site. Susquehanna Textile Corporation now leases the facility and disposes of waste in a manner that does not pose a threat to human health or the environment.
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Love Canal
The 70-acre Love Canal Superfund site is an inactive industrial landfill located less than one mile from the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, New York. The landfill was originally a canal excavated by William Love in the 1890s for a hydroelectric project that was never built. In 1942, Hooker Chemicals and Plastics, now Occidental Chemical Corporation, used the canal to dispose of 21,000 tons of hazardous wastes. Hooker stopped using the canal for waste disposal in 1952. The area was eventually covered so that the property could be developed. Complaints of foul odors and chemical residues, first reported in the 1960s, increased during the 1970s, as heavy rainfall caused the ground water to rise, flooding area basements. More than 900 families were forced to leave their homes so that the site could be cleaned up. The problems at the site were publicized nationally and considered a major factor in the passage of the Superfund law in 1980. The site was officially placed on EPA's list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1983. EPA worked with the state to cap the land to prevent rainwater from reaching the waste, build a system to clean water draining from the site, clean out debris from the sewers and surrounding creeks, and remove polluted soil from nearby schools and residential properties. As a result of the cleanup, the site is now safe and is being returned to productive use. More than 200 new homes have been sold, creating an environmentally safe neighborhood on land once contaminated.
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Marathon Battery Corporation
The old Marathon Battery plant in Cold Spring, New York, has been removed, the property has been cleaned up, and a conservation organization has purchased a portion of the site as part of a land preservation effort along the Hudson River. The site began as a manufacturing plant in 1952, producing military and commercial batteries. For years, plant operators dumped wastes directly into the Hudson River and a nearby marsh which contaminated soil and ground water. In 1983, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup, and played an active role with the state to clean it up. The Agency removed contaminated soil on the plant grounds and neighboring yards, completely demolished the former battery facility, and dredged one foot of sediments from a part of the Hudson River adjacent to the site. EPA completed site cleanup and deleted it from the list in 1996. By cleaning up the site and signing a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, EPA opened the door for reuse. The PPA ensured the Scenic Hudson would not be held responsible for preexisting contamination and required the group to maintain the restoration cover for the marsh. Hiking trails now run through the property, and the conservation organization has plans to renovate a 130-year old building next to the site to display ancient artifacts found during the cleanup.
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Old Bethpage Landfill
The town of Oyster Bay, New York, disposed of municipal and industrial waste on the 72-acre Old Bethpage Landfill from 1957 to 1986. In 1979, local and federal officials determined that the waste at the landfill was hazardous and posed a risk to the local drinking water supply. In 1983, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. In 1988, the town of Oyster Bay agreed to clean up the site under the State of New York's supervision. It put in place a system to capture, store, and treat the liquids leaking from the landfill. It built a cap over the site, and revegetated the property. It installed a methane gas collection system to capture the gas generated by the contaminants. The town sells the gas, generating revenue for the local economy. In addition, the town uses the Old Bethpage Landfill property as a waste management facility and a waste transfer station.
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Rosen Brothers Scrap Yard
Thanks to a unique agreement among EPA, the City of Cortland, the State of New York, and the Susquehanna and Western Railroad, the abandoned Rosen Brothers Scrap Yard will soon be transformed into an intermodal transfer facility, generating jobs and revenue for the community. Previous owners of the site had dumped hazardous wastes into a large, unlined pit, and drums of unknown chemicals littered the property. For years, the city had cited the owners for violating state and county hazardous waste laws. After discovering metal contamination in both the soil and ground water, the city requested EPA's assistance. In 1989, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. EPA immediately removed the drums, hazardous debris, and contaminated soil, and helped construct a cover over the entire 20-acre property. During the cleanup, the city approached EPA to discuss building an intermodal rail-to-road transport facility on a portion of the site. EPA worked closely with the city to negotiate a Prospective Purchaser Agreement that ensured the city would not be held responsible for previous contamination at the site, and that the cover would not be damaged by any future redevelopment. In addition, EPA joined with several others to recycle over 700 tons of abandoned scrap metal on the property.
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SMS Instruments, Inc.
The SMS Instruments Superfund site is located on a 1.5-acre parcel in a light industrial and residential area of Deer Park, New York. From 1971 to 1983, SMS Instruments, Inc., overhauled military aircraft components, and dumped wastewater from degreasing and other refurbishing operations into a leaching pool. Ground water and soil became contaminated with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals such as chromium and lead. In 1986, EPA placed the site on its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. The Agency pumped, filled, and sealed the leaching pond and cleaned up the soil. Ground water pumping and treatment is underway. The site has been returned to productive use by Fernanda Manufacturing, a kitchen, bathroom and household utensil manufacturer.
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Tronic Plating Company, Inc.
From 1968 to 1984, the Tronic Plating Company operated in a corner of a building in an industrial park in Farmingdale, New York. The company provided electroplating and metal protective coating services for the electronics industry. During operation, the facility discharged industrial wastes containing copper, silver, iron, zinc, lead, and cadmium into a storm sewer and four underground leaching pools. Ground water, soil, and storm drain sediment and water were contaminated with volatile organic chemicals and metals. EPA placed the site on its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1986. The contaminated soil and sediments were removed from the site. The portion of the industrial park once occupied by Tronic has been returned to productive use with three small businesses as tenants.
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Wide Beach Development
As temperatures climb and Lake Erie begins to thaw, residents of the Wide Beach Development in Brant, New York, prepare for the annual migration of summer vacationers to this scenic resort town. Vacationers and homeowners alike come to this area for the beauty and relaxation that Lake Erie has to offer. However, in the early 1980s, the discovery of contamination on many properties and local roads almost led to the abandonment of this serene lakeside resort. For over ten years, the Wide Beach Development Homeowners Association had sprayed thousands of gallons of waste oil onto area dirt roads to control dust. Unknown to members of the Homeowners Association, the waste oil they used was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs), a suspected cancer-causing agent. EPA placed the site on its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1983. EPA worked closely with the state and the homeowners to remove the contaminated soil from the roads and yards. The cleanup and continued use of the site was successful due to the partnership among all interested parties.
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