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EPA Selects $3 Million Cleanup Plan For Sources of Contamination at Superfund Site in Cortland, New York

Release Date: 04/13/1998
Contact Information:

(#98030) New York, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected a comprehensive cleanup plan for the Rosen Brothers Superfund site located in Cortland, New York. The selected remedy calls for the excavation of four hot spots of soil containing approximately 5,000 cubic yards that are contaminated with 1,1,1-trichloromethane above 1 part per million (ppm) or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) above 10 ppm. Depending on the concentration of the contaminants, the excavated soil will be disposed of off-site or in an on-site former cooling pond. The total cost of carrying out the plan is expected to be approximately $3 million.

"We have considered all the community's comments on the proposed plan in selecting this cleanup action," said Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox. "This is a comprehensive cleanup plan that will address all the environmental concerns at the site and is fully protective of public health."

The plan also involves capping the former three-acre cooling pond, which was used for the disposal of municipal waste and demolition debris. In addition to a surface cover that will be placed on the rest of the 20-acre property, groundwater monitoring and zoning restrictions on the use of the property, such as building residences and installing private drinking water wells, are also important parts of the plan. The effectiveness of the remedy will be reviewed at least once every five years.

Wastes at this former scrap-metal processing and automobile-crushing operation contaminated soil and groundwater with PCBs and volatile organic compounds. EPA responded quickly in 1987 to reduce immediate threats posed by the site by stabilizing leaking drums of chemical waste. EPA oversaw the removal and off-site disposal of the hazardous materials, which was completed by the responsible parties 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. More recently, over five-hundred tons of scrap metal (65 truck loads) were removed from the site and recycled.

In response to an outside interest to redevelop a portion of the site, the parties responsible for the contamination will shortly begin excavation of two of the hot spots and the installation of a cover on a portion of the site. EPA expects to begin negotiations with the parties responsible for the contamination to start the remaining cleanup work in the immediate future.

The remedy was proposed to the public for comment and was reviewed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which agreed with EPA's approach.

For more information contact:
Mary Helen Cervantes-Gross, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3673 FAX: 212-637-4445 E-Mail: cervantes.mary@epamail.epa.gov