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EPA Proposes Plan to Clean Up Fulton Avenue Site

Release Date: 03/05/2007
Contact Information: Pat Carr, 212-637-3652, carr.patricia@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a plan to clean up the Fulton Avenue Superfund site in Garden City Park, Nassau County, New York. The plan, which will be subject to public comment through March 24, calls for the installation of systems to remove contaminants from the ground water, the injection of a chemical (referred to as an "oxidant") to treat potential residual contamination in ground water, and extensive monitoring of ground water.

“The plan gives us a roadmap for cleaning up the contamination and reducing any potential risk to surrounding communities," said Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. “Now we can address the polluted legacy left behind by the facility.”

The Fulton Avenue Superfund Site was previously a fabric-cutting mill that shut down in 1974. Along with milling operations, extensive dry cleaning of fabrics, primarily using tetrachloroethene (PCE), was done at the facility. The chemical seeped into the soils, got into the ground water below the buildings, and spread.

In the mid to late 1980's, the Nassau County Departments of Health and Public Works conducted several site visits and investigations at the site and documented various potential environmental concerns. Surface and subsurface samples taken within the mill and nearby areas revealed a variety of contaminant releases impacting numerous public supply wells. The presence of contaminants in the wells led the EPA to place the site on its National Priorities List (NPL) in 1998. The NPL is a list of the most contaminated sites in the country.

In 1999, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued an administrative order to Genesco, Inc., a potentially responsible party to conduct an investigation and address the contamination from the impacted wells.

Interested individuals can comment on the plan through March 24, 2007. EPA will also hold a public information session for residents at 7:00 pm on March 6, 2007 at the Garden City Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York.

For more information on the Fulton Avenue site: https://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/fulton/


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