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EPA To Hold Public Meeting On Plan To Cleanup Sources Of Contamination at Superfund Site in Cortland, New York

Release Date: 12/01/1997
Contact Information:

(#97164) New York, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a public meeting on Tuesday night, December 9, in the New York State Grange Building at 100 Grange Place in Cortland, New York to present its proposed plan for a comprehensive cleanup of the Rosen Brothers Superfund site. Wastes disposed of at this former scrap-metal processing and automobile crushing operation contaminated soil and groundwater with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds. EPA responded quickly in 1987 to reduce immediate threats posed by the site by repackaging and staging leaking drums of chemical waste. The removal and off-site disposal of the hazardous materials, conducted by the responsible parties under EPA oversight, was completed in April 1990. Since then, a remedial investigation, a risk assessment and a feasibility study have been completed. Structurally unsound buildings have been demolished, an oil pit has been removed, and an abandoned underground storage tank filled with fuel oil has been emptied. Most recently, over four-hundred tons of scrap metal were removed from the site and recycled.

The plan to be discussed at the public meeting, starting at 7:00 p.m., addresses the excavation and disposal of the contaminated soils on the 20-acre property. It also calls for measures to cap a former cooling pond which was used for the disposal of construction and demolition debris. The installation of a site-wide cover is also included.

The public comment period on EPA's proposed cleanup plan for the Rosen Brothers Superfund site began on November 17 and runs through December 17. Changes to the plan may be made if public comments or additional data indicate that such a change will result in a more appropriate remedy. The plan and related site documents are available for public review at the Cortland Free Library at 32 Church Street. Written comments on the plan should be addressed to Mark Granger, Project Manager, Central New York Remediation Section, Emergency and Remedial Response Division, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007-1866. Telefax: (212) 637-4284 and Internet: granger.mark@epamail.epa.gov

For more information contact:
Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: cahill.richard@epamail.epa.gov