DEC taking comments on FMC soil excavation in Middleport
Courtesy of DEC: The yellow areas are to be remediated.
MIDDLEPORT – The public can comment on a cleanup plan in Middleport where the FMC Corporation will have seven sites excavated.
Those sites are immediately north and south of the canal and east of the Niagara-Orleans county line. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the sites were contaminated by FMC primarily with arsenic.
The DEC worked with the state Department of Health on the cleanup plan.
The contaminated areas are listed as a State Superfund Site. They are considered a Class 2 site on the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites. A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment with action required, the DEC said in a fact sheet about the project.
Details of the cleanup include:
- Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soils followed by restoration of excavated areas;
- Importing clean material that meets the established soil cleanup objectives for use as backfill;
- Implementing a Health and Safety Plan and Community Air Monitoring Plan during all ground intrusive activities; and
- Implementing a Site Management Plan for long-term maintenance of the remedial systems.
The DEC will accept comments about the plan until DEC is accepting public comments about the proposal through Nov. 16. To submit a comment, access the DEC’s project locator by clicking here. Enter site ID, 932014. Comments can be submitted to the DEC project manager listed under Project-Related Questions in the “Who to Contact” area at left.
About the site: The plant site was used for the manufacturing of a number of chemicals used as pesticides and herbicides between the 1920s and the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the plant shifted from manufacturing to only formulating pesticides (mixing and packaging) and is presently operating in this capacity.
During its manufacturing period, the plant released hazardous and non-hazardous wastes through production activities and disposed of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes in an on-site landfill and a number of surface impoundments.
