May 2013 Final Statement Of Basis

FMC Middleport Facility

Operable Units 02/04 and 05 (Air Deposition Area #1 and Culvert 105 Area)

Notice of Availability

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announces the Final Statement of Basis (FSOB) for the FMC Corporation site ("site") located at 100 Niagara Street, Middleport, Niagara County is available to the public (see Where to View the Final Statement of Basis below).

On Wednesday June 27, 2012, DEC held a public meeting presenting the draft Statement of Basis (dSOB) for the site. The comments received at this meeting and during the public comment period (June 15, 2012 through August 13, 2012), along with the administrative record, were considered in preparing the FSOB for the site. The FSOB presents the remedy selected to address contamination related to the site and the rationale for the chosen remedy.

This remedy has not substantially changed from the original remedy presented in the dSOB. However, after careful consideration of the comments received from the public and additional site information, the remedy was modified to address the concerns of the public and the additional site information. A Responsiveness Summary addressing the public comments received is also included in the FSOB.

Summary of the Chosen Remedy

Soil will be excavated and removed within the identified areas to achieve an arsenic remedial goal of 20 parts per million (ppm). DEC will employ flexibility on a case-specific basis to consider the nature, extent and location of removal, or to accommodate property owner concerns with structures, trees, etc.;

Contaminated soil removed as part of the cleanup may be managed on-site in a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU), if FMC can address a number of technical, legal and scheduling conditions. If not the soil will have to be disposed of at a permitted off-site facility or beneficially reused. Soil or waste exhibiting hazardous waste characteristics will be disposed off-site at a permitted hazardous waste disposal facility.

Soil from the Interim Corrective Measures that is temporarily stored in the Eastern Surface Impoundment (ESI) will be left in the ESI as part of an approved remedy for this area, if the final closure plan for this area determines this is appropriate. If not, contaminated soil will be disposed at a permitted off-site facility or beneficially reused as approved by DEC. Soil or waste exhibiting hazardous waste characteristics will be disposed off-site at a permitted hazardous waste disposal facility.

Where to View the Final Statement of Basis?

The site FSOB with Responsiveness Summary can be viewed at the following location:

Middleport Free Library
9 Vernon Street
Middleport, NY 14105
(716) 735-3281

Background

The plant site was used for the manufacturing of a number of chemicals used as pesticides and herbicides between the 1920s and the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the plant shifted from manufacturing to only formulating pesticides (i.e., mixing and packaging) and is presently operating in this capacity. During its manufacturing period, the plant released hazardous and non-hazardous wastes through production activities and disposed of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes in an on-site landfill and a number of surface impoundments.

Hazardous Waste Program Activities: On-site investigations began in 1973 with an extensive soil boring program and confirmed the presence of buried wastes and elevated arsenic in soil over much of the plant property. Further investigations performed in the 1980s identified several hazardous constituents in on-site soil, surface water and groundwater, as well as releases to off-site areas via past production discharges, contaminated surface water run-off, and air emissions. Some of these off-site areas are addressed in the FSOB. These include Operable Unit 2 (OU2) (off-site Air Deposition Area 1 [south of Canal and west of Niagara County Line] where soil has been impacted by past air emissions [primarily arsenic]); Operable Unit 4 (OU4) (Royalton Hartford High School, located within Operable Unit 2); and Operable Unit 5 (OU5) (off-site Culvert Area 105 storm sewer pipe/ditch where surface sediment/soil and subsurface soil has been impacted by past surface water releases). An operable unit represents a portion of a remedial program for a facility that for technical or administrative reasons can be addressed separately to investigate, eliminate, or mitigate a release, threat of release, or exposure pathway resulting from the site contamination. In 2009, USEPA and DEC determined that a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) was necessary to address soil / sediment contamination (mainly arsenic) in Air Deposition Area 1 (including OU2 and OU4) and in the Culvert 105 Area (OU5) based on the results of the remedial investigation of these areas. In 2010 FMC submitted a Draft CMS Report which evaluates a number Corrective Measures Alternatives (CMAs) based on different arsenic cleanup goals. This draft report was reviewed by the Agencies and was public noticed in June 2011. Based on the review of the comments and the CMS report, a public meeting was held on June 27, 2012 which included a presentation and discussion of the proposed remedy (Draft Statement of Basis) and distribution of fact sheets; An associated public comment period was held from June 15, 2012 - August 13, 2012; the responsiveness summary for these events is being issued as part of this FSOB; two availability sessions were held on June 28, 2012 and July 26, 2012 in Middleport to discuss the remedy; the FSOB was issued in May 2013.

Who to Contact

Comments and questions are always welcome and should be directed as follows:

Project Related Questions
Sally Dewes
Project Manager
NYS DEC
Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany NY 12233

Site-Related Health Questions
Nathan Freeman
Project Manager
NYS DOH
Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation
Flanigan Square
547 River Street
Troy NY 12180

Where to Find Information

Project documents are available at the following location to help the public stay informed.

Middleport Free Library
9 Vernon Street
Middleport, NY 14105
(716) 735-3281

Documents will also be made available on FMC Middleport - Public Involvement page and the Middleport Community Involvement Group (MCIG) web site.

For More Information

We encourage you to share this fact sheet with neighbors and tenants, and/or post this fact sheet in a prominent area of your building for others to see.

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