The Newstead Site located on Fletcher Road in Newstead, Erie County, New York. This site consists of a 6.6-acre parcel of land that was purchased by the Pratt & Lambert Corporation (P&L), Inc. in August 1992. This company was then acquired by Sherwin-Williams in 1996. The Site is situated in a rural residential community in the Town of Newstead, south of the Tonawanda Creek.
During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s a previous owner of the Site disposed of industrial waste, including drums and cans of various sizes containing paints and other solvents on the property. These containers were brought from a P&L facility in Buffalo, NY and taken to the northern portion of the Site where they were burned, and/or otherwise disposed of. From approx. May 1980 until 1989 the Site was used for residential purposes then purchased by the Pratt & Lambert Corporation, Inc. in August 1992 (acquired by Sherwin-Williams in 1996) and since then has been unoccupied.
On September 27, 1989, EPA issued an Administrative Order to Pratt & Lambert requiring it to relocate the family that had been residing at the Site to a comparable replacement dwelling and to pay interim housing costs until the relocation has occurred.
On September 26, 1990, EPA issued another Administrative Order to Pratt & Lambert requiring it to conduct an investigation of the release and threatened release of hazardous substances at the Site, and to evaluate potential cleanup alternatives.
During performance of the 1990 Order, Sherwin-Williams proposed to EPA and NYSDEC that it perform an expedited interim removal action at the Site to remove the hazardous substances and contaminated soils and sediments at the Site. Following lengthy negotiations for an order on consent pursuant to CERCLA between EPA and Sherwin-Williams for performance of that work under EPA oversight, Sherwin-Williams did not agree to EPA=s requirements with respect to an applicable work plan for such work, nor with respect to the terms of an order on consent to perform that work and, by letter dated June 11, 2002, EPA notified Sherwin-Williams that it was terminating discussions for consensual performance of the work.
Following the June 2002 cessation of negotiations with Sherwin-Williams, EPA commenced an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis Report (EE/CA) and prepared a Proposed Response Action Document (PRAD) for a non-time-critical removal action to address the contamination at the Site. On September 29, 2006, EPA issued an Action Memorandum selecting a removal response action to address paint and associated wastes, contaminated soils and contaminated sediments at the Site and to perform groundwater monitoring at the Site.
On October 24, 2006, EPA issued an a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) to Sherwin-Williams requiring it to conduct a removal response action to address paint and associated wastes, contaminated soils and contaminated sediments at the Site and to perform groundwater monitoring at the Site.
Site activities began on Monday, 30 July 2007 with the mobilizing of the excavation equipment to the site.
