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 contractors on September 24, 2007. Initial efforts concentrated on stabilizing the structure and identifying, and 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.
The Action Memo for this Site was signed on August 18, 2009, authorizing a restart of the removal action at the Site and providing additional funding. The OSC has selected Earth Tech Inc. as the removal contractor. Earth Tech was also the removal contractor for the initial removal action initiated by OSC Ericd Daly in September, 2007.
The Administrative Record has been compiled and a local repository for the documents establishing the need for a response action by EPA has been set up in the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. A public notice announcing the start of the removal action and the location/availability of the Admin Record will be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Glens Falls area.
Given the close proximity of the Site to the Sandford Street elementary school, a meeting will be convened with school/town officials prior to restarting the response action to discuss: logistics, noise, fugitive dust controls, hours of operation and other potential concerns. Concurrently, the EPA removal contractor will be making advance plans for the disposal of the lead paint chips, low-level radioactive fly ash, and the mercury contaminated soil. This will minimize the stockpiling of waste at the Site, however, due to the possibility of a long lead-time for disposal approvals for the fly ash it may be necessary to stage the waste in drums at the Site for a short period of time. Efforts will be made to find a temporary staging area for this waste at a secure government facility such as a State motor pool or highway maintenance area.
Dig Safely New York will be contacted and asked to mark-out the location of all underground utilities at and adjacent to the Site prior to any excavation being started.
Kristen Skopeck, Community Affairs Specialist at the EPA Hudson River Field Office, will prepare a public Fact Sheet and a Press Release for the removal action and will be the point-person for general inquiries from the public and press.
See above.
See above.
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