Jason Subik reports for the Daily Gazette:
GLOVERSVILLE (NY)— The state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a public meeting Feb. 21 at Gloversville City Hall to discuss the proposed $18.2 million remediation plan for the former Niagara Mohawk Hill Street manufactured gas plant located at 20 Hill St.
The former gas plant site has been designated for remediation under the state’s Superfund program, which identifies inactive hazardous waste disposal sites that pose a significant threat to public health.
Acting Mayor Vince DeSantis said he encourages members of the public to attend the meeting and to provide questions and comments to state officials about the process. He said remediation of sites like 20 Hill St. is an important part of revitalizing the city.
“Every old industrial city has these sites, which were real job creators and wealth creators in the past, and now they need to be cleaned up, so it’s appropriate that the state and federal government is helping with that,” he said.
The 20 Hill St. site joins approximately 87 other Superfund sites in the state. The only other current Superfund site in Fulton County is the old Johnstown City Landfill.
DeSantis said Gloversville recently filed an application for a $300,000 federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help identify all of the potential Superfund sites in the city.
The proposed remediation plan for the site is available at the Gloversville Public Library at 58 East Fulton St.
Some of the highlights of the remediation plan include:
- Excavating and disposing of off-site of approximately 21,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil associated with the past manufactured gas plant (MGP) operations at the site
- Constructing a subsurface barrier wall to prevent further off-site migration of coal tar
- Installing recovery wells to remove potentially mobile coal tar
- Continued operation of on-site groundwater and stormwater collection and treatment systems
Part of the reason for the Superfund designation for the site is that contamination has been found downstream in the soil along the banks of the Cayadutta Creek.
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