The TechCity site, an
active industrial park, is a former IBM production facility that operated for
more than 30 years at 300 Enterprise Drive in the Town of Ulster, Ulster
County, New York. The 258-acre industrial park is bordered by residential
properties to the north and south and an active rail spur and commercial
properties to the east; to the west of Enterprise Drive is the western campus,
over 80 acres of which is now owned by the Ulster County Economic Development
Alliance.
TechCity’s former
owner/operators demolished a significant portion of the site in 2015 and 2016. During
demolition activities, improper asbestos abatement and demolition resulted in
the release of asbestos containing materials (ACM) at the site. The ACM
is present in the interior of building 1 and was present in/on building
2. Three large debris piles of regulated ACM (RACM), as determined by the
NY State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), were generated when building 25 was
demolished, and remain on-site.
Between May 2017 and
November 2019, EPA attempted to have the former owner/operators voluntarily
address the asbestos conditions of buildings 1, 2, and 25 through permanent
measures given that certain temporary measures were no longer effective.
The owner/operators covered the RACM piles with tarps as an interim measure to
help stop the threat to people’s health posed by the release of asbestos at the
site.
EPA sent a Notice of
Potential Liability and Request to Perform Response Action under CERCLA in
December 2019 to five potentially responsible parties (PRPs), including the
owner/operators. None of the PRPs agreed to voluntarily take on the work.
In March 2020, EPA used CERCLA
funds to seal the exterior of building 1 and demolish building 2. All ACM
associated with building 2 was properly disposed of off-site.
EPA issued an
Administrative Order in September 2020 that directed six PRPs to abate the
remaining significant threats posed by friable asbestos. The PRPs were required
to remove the three RACM piles as well as permanently abate friable asbestos in
building 1. Although three of the PRPs initially agreed, the parties
failed to clean up the site.
EPA repaired barriers,
installed temporary fencing, and posted asbestos warning signs around building
1 to make sure it was secured. The PRPs were charged with maintaining the tarps
on the RACM piles, with EPA re-covering or augmenting those tarps, as needed.
EPA signed a legal
agreement with iPark 87, LLC on June 7, 2022, to abate significant threats
posed by friable asbestos at the site and reimburse EPA for its past and future
costs. Under the agreement, iPark 87,
LLC, a developer that subsequently purchased the site, has agreed to, among
other things, remove the RACM piles as well as secure and/or permanently abate
friable asbestos in building 1. The
work, which will be overseen by EPA, is valued at approximately $4 million. iPark
87, LLC will also reimburse EPA for 100% of its past response costs, as well as
EPA’s future oversight costs.
IPark87, LLC has been
working with all involved parties to begin the cleanup in early August and work
on both the RACM piles and building 1, with EPA and NYSDOL oversight.
For more information on
the history of the site and redevelopment issues, see: Ulster County’s
website.
Additional
Contacts (during the work):
Town of
Ulster: Warren Tutt
iPark87
NYSDOL:
NYSDOL Contact
(Asbestos): Jason
Pensabene
NYSDEC Contacts:
Albany:
Danial
Lanners
mailto:kieran.mccarthy@dec.ny.gov
(counsel)
New Paltz (Region 3) :
David
Pollock
Additional Information:
Senator
Schumer addresses Asbestos at TechCity, Friday, July 7, 2021
NYSDEC Corrective Action:
www.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/356002/Decision%20Document.HW.356002.2013-03-30.OUs1.3A.6.7.Final_Corrective_Measures_SoB.pdf
www.epa.gov/hwcorrectiveactionsites/hazardous-waste-cleanup-ibm-corporation-kingston-new-york
