DEC to start more cleanup near FMC in Middleport
Press Release, Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in consultation with the New York State Department of Health (DOH), is resuming cleanup of properties in neighborhoods adjacent to the FMC Middleport Facility Site located at 100 Niagara St. in Middleport, Niagara County.
Based on the March 2013 Final Statement of Basis, the cleanup includes removal of contaminated soil from residential parcels located near the facility. A remedial design will be implemented on a property‐specific basis to successfully remove the contaminants from impacted properties. This will be the fourth year of a multiyear cleanup effort. A phased approach is being implemented in an effort to minimize disruption to the community.
Participation in the remediation is voluntary. DEC will meet with participating property owners to review the remedial design and restoration plans for their properties. During construction, contaminated soils will be excavated and transported off‐site for disposal at a permitted facility. Specific excavation depths will be identified during the remedial design. Clean fill material will be brought in to restore the areas that are disturbed during the clean‐up to pre‐remediation conditions.
Mobilization is anticipated to begin this month. Work and equipment operation will typically take place five days per week (Monday through Friday), generally between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. A Property‐Specific Safety Plan and a Community Air Monitoring Plan will continue to be implemented to provide protection for site workers, property owners, residents, and the nearby community during cleanup activities. Copies of these plans have been placed onto the DEC project web page and into the document repository identified below.
Highlights of the upcoming cleanup activities include:
• Up to 30 additional properties that were contaminated as a result of operations by FMC Corporation at its nearby facility will be remediated during 2018, pending property owner agreement.
• Landscaping and other restoration activities will be completed at properties where remediation was completed during 2017, but final restoration could not be completed before winter.
• Residential cleanup activities will primarily occur in areas on Vernon Street, South Vernon Street, South Main Street, Park Avenue, Maple Avenue, and Hammond Parkway.
• Contaminated soil will be removed and transported off‐site for disposal at a permitted facility.
• All areas that are disturbed during the cleanup will be restored to pre‐existing conditions, in consultation with each property owner. Prior to being brought to the site, all backfill materials will be tested to demonstrate that they meet DEC soil cleanup requirements.
• Cleanup activities will be conducted by National Vacuum Environmental Services Corporation of Niagara Falls, NY, and Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc. of Cheektowaga, with oversight by DEC. The contractors will use existing staging areas located south of the FMC facility along Telegraph Road.
Next Steps
DEC and DOH will review and finalize excavation and restoration plans with property owners during spring 2018, and oversee completion of remediation and restoration activities by DEC contractors throughout 2018.
Background
FMC Corporation (FMC) currently owns and operates a facility in the Village which, as a result of historic air emissions and surface water releases, contaminated a significant number of nearby residential and other properties, predominantly with arsenic. In May 2013, a final remedy was selected to clean up a portion of those areas. This plan is fully described in the Final Statement of Basis, dated May 2013.
Priority was placed on remediating the properties with the highest concentrations of arsenic in the soil as determined during remedial design investigations conducted by FMC prior to 2009, while also considering the unique features of each property and efficiency of working on adjoining properties.
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