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EPA Proposes Site in Rockland County Linked to Groundwater Contamination for the Federal List of Hazardous Waste Sites

Release Date: 05/11/2000
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(#00085) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add the Hudson Technologies, Inc. site, at 25 Torne Valley Road in Hillburn, Rockland County, to the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of the worst hazardous waste sites in the country.  This active recycling facility has a history of releasing Freon11 (a refrigerant) into the environment. In the past, these releases forced United Water of New York to close some wells in its public drinking water system.   However, United Water of New York relies on several wells and is providing safe and reliable water to the public. The most recent spill at the site involved 7,800 pounds of Freon 11 (a refrigerant) in April 1999.  Hudson Technologies, which has been operating an on-site groundwater treatment system since the mid-1990s, paid for the removal of 400 to 500 cubic yards of contaminated soil after the 1999 incident.  Nonetheless, chemicals from the site remain in the groundwater.  According to EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox, "The proposed listing of the site will lead to a thorough investigation of the groundwater problem in the area and a comprehensive cleanup. Without the federal Superfund, communities like Hillburn are left with no way to address serious problems like this that threaten their local environment."  In 1995, the Rockland County Health Department made Hudson Technologies close waste discharge points to prevent leaks into the environment. The company, working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, also installed wells to extract the contamination and an air stripping unit to treat the extracted water prior to reinjecting it back into the groundwater. The Agency periodically proposes sites to the NPL and designates proposed sites as final. Proposed sites are investigated further to determine the extent of the risks they may pose to human health and the environment. Sites that are placed on the final NPL are eligible for long-term "remedial action" or cleanups financed under the Superfund Trust Fund. This proposed addition to the NPL brings the total number of federal Superfund sites in New York to 87. EPA is soliciting public comments on its proposed listing of the Hudson Technologies, Inc. site on the NPL. The 60-day public comment period starts today when the NPL update is published in the Federal Register. Members of the public interested in obtaining copies of the notice, an updated NPL list or site description and commenting on the proposed addition, should contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810. Further information about the site and the Superfund program can also be obtained from EPA's homepage: https://www.epa.gov/superfund.