News Releases from Region 02

Soil Cleanup to Begin at Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Superfund Site in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

EPA to Hold Public Information Session on November 13

(Albany, N.Y. –  November 1, 2018) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that cleanup of contaminated soil will begin later this month at the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Superfund Site in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The site, which was once used to manufacture gas from coal, is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This is the second and final phase of cleanup at the site. It includes cleanup of contaminated soil in a half-acre area near Excelsior, Warren and High Rock Avenues in Saratoga Springs. The work is scheduled to continue through spring 2019.

“This is an important milestone in site cleanup, involving close planning and coordination with state, local and private partners,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “Saratoga’s famed mineral springs have been a tourist attraction since the time of the Revolutionary War. Our cleanup adds an extra level of protection of the deep aquifer supplying the Old Red Spring well.”

The project area includes a section of Excelsior Avenue, a small green space containing the Old Red Spring well and pavilion, and a section of an adjacent paved parking lot. Under EPA’s oversight, Niagara Mohawk will solidify and stabilize contaminated soil in the Old Red Spring area with a cement-like material. Niagara Mohawk will also install underground barriers to contain and isolate contaminated soil beneath Excelsior Avenue.

During the cleanup, care will be taken to preserve the integrity of the Old Red Spring well and pavilion. The Old Red Spring well draws water from deep bedrock aquifer, which has not been impacted by contamination at the site. As an added level of protection of the aquifer, the Old Red Spring well will either be retrofitted in-place by adding a new protective steel outer casing or replaced at a new nearby location with a double-casing. Work on the Old Red Spring well may require temporary relocation of the Old Red Spring pavilion and will result in the well and pavilion being inaccessible to the public during cleanup.

Temporary chain-link construction fencing with a privacy mesh / screen will be installed around the perimeter of the work area. Excelsior Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic between Rock Street and High Rock Avenue while construction work is ongoing. An electronic message board will notify the public of construction-related traffic detours.

Following construction, work areas will be restored. A site-specific health and safety plan and a community air monitoring program will be in place while the work is being performed.

EPA will hold an informational meeting on November 13 at 7 p.m. at the Excelsior Springs Event Center in Saratoga Springs to explain the construction work in more detail and other aspects of the cleanup.

For more information about the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Superfund Site, please visit www.epa.gov/superfund/niagara-mohawk. 

Under the Trump Administration, the Superfund program has reemerged as a priority to fulfill and strengthen EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

On the one-year anniversary of the EPA’s Superfund Task Force Report, EPA announced significant progress in carrying out the report’s recommendations. These achievements will provide certainty to communities, state partners, and developers that the nation’s most hazardous sites will be cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible.

EPA’s new “Superfund Task Force Recommendations 2018 Update” is available at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-task-force-recommendations-2018-update

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