Contact Us

Newsroom

All News Releases By Date

 

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Cleanup Plan For Contaminated Soils and Sediments at the General Motors Superfund Site in Massena, NY

Release Date: 08/20/1998
Contact Information:

(#98105) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment and will hold a public meeting on proposed changes to its 1990 plan to clean up chemically contaminated soils and sediments at the General Motors Powertrain facility in Massena, New York. This new proposed plan, which is equally protective of human health and the environment, does not change any cleanup goals established for the site. It proposes off-site disposal, rather than on-site treatment, for contaminated sediments and soils. This site is being addressed under EPA's national Superfund program.

"We are looking to the public for input on this new proposed plan. Community concerns are an important consideration in our selection of effective cleanup plans," said Regional Administrator, Jeanne M. Fox.

EPA's new proposed plan suggests changes to only a portion of the 1990 Record of Decision (ROD), which selected a remedy for contaminated soils on GM property and St. Regis Mohawk Tribal lands, as well as contaminated sediments in the St. Lawrence and Raquette Rivers, Turtle Creek, and associated riverbanks and wetlands. The 1990 plan called for on-site treatment of all soils/sediments excavated or dredged from those contaminated areas in order to reduce the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to less than 10 parts per million (ppm). The 1990 plan also called for a site-wide groundwater control system, which included the collection and treatment of contaminated groundwater to site-specific cleanup levels.

EPA's new proposed plan does not recommend a change in any of the site-specific cleanup levels, but deals only with how the sediments/soils are handled after they are excavated or dredged. Other areas of the site will be addressed under a different proposed plan.

EPA now proposes to dispose off-site, rather than treat on-site, contaminated materials excavated or dredged from the St. Lawrence and Raquette Rivers, along with soils excavated during the installation of site-wide groundwater controls. Materials from these areas, with PCB concentrations greater than 10 ppm, would be shipped off-site to a facility that meets federal and state requirements. This is consistent with the cleanup level of 10 ppm outlined in the original ROD. Materials from these areas with PCB concentrations of 1 to 10 ppm would be contained on site and covered with a vegetated soil cap meeting New York State and federal Toxic Substances Control Act requirements for a chemical waste landfill.

Off-site disposal, which is expected to take 6-12 months to complete, is much easier to implement than the original on-site treatment remedy, which could take 2-3 years. In addition, the costs of off-site disposal have dropped significantly. The cost for off-site disposal of the materials from the St. Lawrence River, Raquette River and soils excavated during the installation of groundwater controls is approximately $3.8 million less than the on-site treatment of those materials.

By issuing this new proposed plan, EPA also formally withdraws its June 1995 Post-Decision Proposed Plan.

The comment period on EPA's proposed plan will start on August 21, 1998 and extends to October 5, 1998. The public meeting, at which EPA experts will discuss the proposal and take comments, will be held on September 17, 1998, at 6:00 pm at the St. Regis Housing Authority Auditorium, Route 37, in Hogansburg, New York. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has reviewed EPA's new plan and agrees with the proposal.

GM has operated an aluminum diecasting plant at the site since 1959. Until 1980, PCBs were a component of hydraulic fluids used in diecasting machines at the GM facility. PCBs provided protection against fire and thermal degradation in the high temperature environment of the diecasting machines. GM no longer uses the diecasting process or PCBs at the facility; however, PCB-contaminated materials remain at the site.

The public should send written comments to Remedial Project Manager Anne Kelly at USEPA, Region 2, 20th Floor, 290 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007-1866.

Site-related documents and copies of the proposed cleanup plan are available for public review at the Massena Public Library and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, Environmental Division, Health Services Building in Hogansburg, New York and the USEPA, Region 2, 18th Floor, 290 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007.


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