United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region II
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

In September, 2007, NYSDEC Region 5 rep. Mike McClean contacted the EPA Region 2 Regional Response Center and requested EPA assistance with an abandoned paint store in the City of Glens Falls, NY.  The building had been acquired by the City through a tax foreclosure and the dangerous condition of the building was discovered by while the property was being evaluated for a Brownfields redevelopment Grant.  

The building was located in the center of a residential area, adjacent to an elementary school and ball field.  The materials inside the building were identified by DEC and Brownfields assessors as paint and solvents.  

On September 20, 2007, OSC Eric Daly met with NYSDEC and City officials and performed a preliminary assessment of the building.  OSC Daly observed that the roof structure was deteriorated and that approximately 1,000 rusted containers of paint and solvent were haphazardly stacked throughout the facility.  EPA conducted air monitoring along the perimeter of the building, inside the premises, and along the school grounds.  

The building consisted of the main level, a partial basement, and an attic.  The entire structure was unstable.  The roof was dramatically bowed and perforated and the main room ceiling was collapsing.  Containers of solvents and leaking/rusted containers of paint and unknown substances were located on all 3 levels and haphazardly stacked.  

EPA was officially requested to conduct a removal action by the Mayor of Glens Falls, the Glens Falls Fire Department, and the Principal of Sanford Street Elementary School.  NYSDEC issued a verbal referral of the site to EPA on September 20, 2007, and, based on the verbal referral, on September 20, 2007, ERRD Director G. Pavlou gave a verbal authorization to proceed with a removal action.  A formal written referral was received by EPA on September 21, 2007.

EPA mobilized its ERRS contractor on September 24, 2007. Initial efforts focused on stabilizing the structure and identifying/consolidating the containers.  All hazardous substances were packaged into cubic-yard boxes, staged in Conex shipping containers  in an adjacent parking lot, and shipped off-Site for disposal.  On October 10, 2007 the removal action was completed.  

The City demolished the empty structure in the fall of 2007, and   hired a consultant to perform a Phase II soil analysis.  On June 24, 2008, the City received a report which revealed the presence of elevated levels of mercury in the soil underneath the footprint of the building.  Following the release of this report, EPA received a written request from the City for assistance in removing the contaminated soil, and a written referral of the Site to EPA from the NYSDEC for additional removal work was sent on 8/6/2008.  Following receipt of that request, EPA conducted a removal assessment of the Site, including the acquisition of numerous soil and paint samples which were tested for hazardous constituents.  Based on the analytical results and the close proximity of a public school, a decision was made to initiate a response action.  This decision is documented in an Action Memo which was signed on 8/18/2009.  

While excavating the Frasier Site ERRS uncovered what looks like the remains of a house or kitchen area.   We have unearthed china, crockery, dishes, cups, more than 25 old bottles, clam shells, small bones and other household items.  The OSC notified Tom Donohue, our contact in City Hall, and he brought Wayne Wright, the City Historian, to the Site.  Mr. Wright thinks what we found is the remains of a kitchen or privy (outhouse) of an up-scale tavern that was located on the Site back in the 1870s.  He believes it was part of a large racetrack complex that was  situated where the Sanford Street School now sits, across the street from the Site.  

The City wants to explore this further, and EPA is going to work with Mr. Wright for a few days on a mini-archeological dig to see what he can uncover that might be historically significant for the City.

The removal action will continue, but ERRS will remove soil from the other side of the Site until the City can complete it's exploratory activities.