Region 9 - Environmental Remediation Project Information

Top Region 9 - Environmental Remediation Project Information

***Online Document Repository, including Remediation sites: DECinfo Locator, with more than 80 interactive data layers, lets users see and download permits, former industrial site cleanup plans, water quality reports, and more based on any street address, or zooming into a specific area of New York State's map. Selecting a map feature can bring up links to database records for petroleum bulk storage facilities, oil wells, or permitted mines. Users can also view potential Environmental Justice areas and Climate Smart Communities or find out what local wastewater facilities are doing to reduce their impact on New York's waterbodies. Several information layers can be activated at the same time, allowing users to see the many ways DEC is working to protect and enhance the state's environment and recreational opportunities. Additional information about how to use DECinfo Locator, including a YouTube tutorial, can be found on DEC's website. Check our layer description web page to see what is available, including layer icons, and how often it is updated.

Calendar of Scheduled Public Meetings and Comment Periods - for sites in DEC's cleanup programs in Region 9.

DEC's Division of Environmental Remediation in Region 9 is responsible for investigating and cleaning up sites throughout Western New York that were contaminated from past industrial activities. These sites that were once economic engines for the region now contribute to environmental degradation, potential health problems, urban decay, decreased tax revenue, and population loss.

Niagara Sanitation Company report uploaded: click here to jump to the Niagara Sanitation section.

New York State's environmental cleanup programs are transforming these sites, paving the way for restored ecological habitat, waterfront development, clean energy, new jobs, recreational opportunities, and enhanced appreciation of the environment. DEC is committed to cleaning up, restoring, and protecting Western New York's environment so it may be enjoyed and utilized both today and tomorrow.

Site numbers are linked to the public environmental remediation database. PDF documents available on the project pages may be abbreviated, but full project documents are always available at the site's document repository.

Remedial sites below may also contain environmental easements, located on a separate webpage for all DEC regions.

To receive electronic copies of Region 9 remedial program fact sheets as soon as they are issued, find the county you are interested in on the County Listserv page and sign up!

Allegany

Cattaraugus

Chautauqua

AlTech Specialty Steel (Site Number 907022) - The former AlTech Specialty Steel Corp. (AlTech) is an approximately 90 acre industrial site located in the City of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County. Select demolition activities are slated to begin in late February at the former steel plant. The demolition work will be focused on a portion of the Brigham Road Plant where historical pickling operations occurred.

Erie

Buffalo River Restoration - DEC, USEPA, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Honeywell, and USACE are working together in partnership to restore the Buffalo River. September 2013 Update: The partnership will begin environmental dredging of the Buffalo River (2 page PDF) this fall. Contaminated sediment close to the banks of the river will be removed, limited areas capped, and habitat restored.

Former Bethlehem Steel (Site Number 915009) - Bethlehem Steel, in the City of Lackawanna, was once a major engine of economic productivity in Western New York. Over the years the complex grew to over 1600 acres. Environmental contamination varies across the property with 400 acres listed on the Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal (SSF) Sites. This area is being addressed under the State's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program. An additional 500 acres are being remediated under the BCP by the current site owner, Tecumseh Redevelopment (see Tecumseh entries below).

Tecumseh Business Park (Site Numbers C915197, C915218, C915198, C915199, C915199G, C915199H, and C915205) - Tecumseh, Inc. is the owner of a large, approximately 1,100-acre property located south of Buffalo, New York, west of Route 5, in the City of Lackawanna and the Town of Hamburg. The property once was home to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation (BSC), Lackawanna Works, and was formerly used for the production of steel, coke and related products. Steel production on the property was discontinued in 1983 and the coke ovens ceased activity in 2000. Portions of the property were impacted by contaminants associated with steel and coke production. Tecumseh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Erie County and the City of Lackawanna to promote and implement redevelopment of the former BSC property following cleanup. A portion of the Redevelopment Master Plan incorporates a Business Park area along NYS Route 5. The property is divided into multiple sites to facilitate remediation and redevelopment.

Tonawanda Coke (Site Number 915055) - The Tonawanda Coke site is a 160 acre property located in an industrial area at 3875 River Road in the Town of Tonawanda. A portion of the site sits along the eastern bank of the Niagara River. Several coke oven batteries bake coal at extremely high temperatures to produce coke, used as a fuel and in steelmaking. Wastes associated with coke production were disposed on site. From 1981 through 1997, several investigations revealed widespread contamination impacting soil, sediment and groundwater. In 2005, an additional environmental investigation revealed the presence of volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, and metals.

Niagara

Durez North Tonawanda Facility (Site Number 932018) - A drainage improvement and wildlife revitalization project is planned for the former Durez Plastics site located at 700 Walck Road in the City of North Tonawanda in Niagara County. The site is currently operated by Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc. This work is being performed as part of the site's Operation, Maintenance and Monitoring (OM&M) requirements and will improve area surface drainage, reduce/eliminate potential surface runoff from the site to off site locations, remove trees and vegetation that could impact the perimeter interceptor trench, which provides groundwater containment for the site, and provide a response to neighborhood concerns regarding surface runoff from the site.

Durez Corporation - Niagara Falls (EPA ID No: NYD002103216) - Durez submitted an application to renew its 6 NYCRR Part 373 Hazardous Waste Management Permit at its facility in Niagara Falls.

FMC Corporation (Site Number 932014) - The FMC site comprises 102.85 acres located in the southwest corner of the Village of Middleport. FMC Corporation's Middleport Facility is a pesticide formulation and packaging plant that formerly manufactured arsenic-based and other pesticide products. As a result of past manufacturing operations and waste disposal practices beginning in the 1920s at this facility, chemical releases have occurred at the site that have affected sediment, surface water, soil, and groundwater at the facility's property and in adjacent off-site areas.

Love Canal (Site Number 932020) - The 80-acre Love Canal site is located in the LaSalle section of the City of Niagara Falls. Originally, the site was approximately 16 acres and was part of a power canal between the upper and lower sections of the Niagara River. From 1942 to 1953, Hooker Electrochemical Company disposed of industrial hazardous wastes and the City of Niagara Falls disposed of municipal wastes. For closure, Hooker installed a clay cap to grade. In 1953 the Canal site was sold to the Board of Education. This was soon followed by the construction of the 99th St. School in 1954 and residential dwellings bordering the site on 97th and 99th streets. In 1978, the Commissioner of the Department of Health declared the area a public threat to human health and orders restricted access along with a State of Emergency recommending the relocation of pregnant women and children under the age of two residing in homes adjacent to the canal. Under an Emergency Declaration in 1979, a permanent leachate collection system, clay cap to 22 acres and an activated carbon treatment plant was constructed. This was later expanded to cover over 40 acres. The site is currently being operated and monitored under an approved OM&M program and reports are submitted annually to DEC on site management activities along with certifications of the sites institutional and engineering control(s) status as to the effectiveness of the remediation.

Niagara Sanitation Company (Site Number (932054) - The Niagara Sanitation Company Site, also known as the Nash Road Landfill is an inactive landfill located directly north of City of North Tonawanda, adjacent to Nash Road, in the Town of Wheatfield, Niagara County, New York. The site was a swampy area before landfill activities occurred. Since landfilling, portions of the property are covered with surface water at certain times of the year, particularly in the spring. The current owner of the site is the Town of Wheatfield. The Niagara Sanitation Company Site was operated as a landfill by Niagara Sanitation Company between 1964 and 1968. Both municipal and industrial solid wastes, including caustic materials and sludges, are disposed at the site. Records show that the site was used for disposal by the Niagara Falls Air Force Base, Bell Aerospace, Carborundum, Frontier Chemical, Graphite Specialties, Continental Can, and Grief Brothers.