The Site is a defunct tissue paper manufacturer aka paper converting) located in a rural area of Greenwich, NY, 20 miles east of Saratoga Springs, NY.
The company became defunct 2 years ago, had filed for liquidation bankruptcy, and the owner walked away from the property. The plant was purchased by St. Regis Investments, LLC, a company based in California. The original intent was to reopen the plant, but due to economic considerations the plant will be demolished and sold for residential development.
The Site occupies 27 acres in a rural/residential area, and is perched on the edge of a cliff over the Battenkill River. It has one large brick and wood, multi-level manufacturing consisting of a warehouse, two hydroelectric power plants, manufacturing areas, a lab, offices, and repair shops. There is a boiler house and an associated 20,000 gallon AST for waste oil. There are a number of small out-buildings used for vehicle and misc. equipment storage.
Security guard service was in-place from 8AM to 6PM, seven days a week, but was discontinued. The facility has limited access via a dirt road, however, the property is unfenced and the buildings are unlocked and unsecured.
Initially, this was an RP-lead removal action without an enforcement document. However, at a point in the removal activities the RP informed EPA that he did not have the funds to continue the removal action, and asked that EPA take over. After deliberating on the turn of events, and with a written site referral from the NYSDEC, EPA agreed to complete the removal action.
In connection with this proposed activity, the OSC and members of the US Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team visited the Site on September 6, 2005 to conduct field sampling/testing on 10 drums of unknown chemicals staged at the Site. Test results revealed the presence of corrosive waste chemicals and flammable waste chemicals.
Chemist from ERRS completed lab-packing. Personnel from the USCG AST assisted chemist in haz-cating activities, and approximately 80 drums were sampled and haz-cated as of 01/19/06. Based on the chemical characteristics learned, ERRS devised bulking schemes for composite sampling for disposal profiling, and the RFP for T & D was issued on 2/14/06. ERRS chemist has almost completed bulking compatible waste streams together to reduce chemical volumes.
OSC has begun contacting chemical suppliers to make arrangement for them to send trucks to retrieve their chemical totes at no cost to the government. As of 2/14/06 three chemical suppliers have already agreed to retrieve 12 chemical totes, containing a total of almost 1,500 gallons of chemicals, at no cost to the government.
Milder winter temperatures continue to help thaw frozen chemical containers, but sub-freezing night time temperatures create ice hazards in the early part of the day, hampering outside movement.
At the direction of the OSC, ERRS has begun to demobe equipment no longer deemed necessary to Site operations.
OSC will continue contacting chemical suppliers to convince them to retrieve their chemicals and/or chemical totes.
Site to be partially demobed pending receipt of bids for T & D.
Continue returning totes to suppliers.
Wait for receipt of T & D bids.
Prepare drums for shipping.
Key issues remain unpredictable, adverse winter weather that could hamper removal activities, T & D of bulked chemicals, and returning chemical totes to chemical suppliers.
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