A $3.3 million dollar toxic waste Superfund site clean-up is beginning right in your backyard.
Work is about to begin that will address contamination related to the Rye Former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Site located at 178 Theodore Fremd Avenue, the site of the current 9 acre Con Edison service yard. The cleanup activities will be performed by Sevenson Environmental Services, a contractor to Con Ed, that has a longstanding business of hazardous waste clean-up starting back with the Love Canal in Upstate New York in 1979. The project is expected to last six months.
(PHOTO: a Rye Superfund site in your backyard.)
Prior to the interstate piping of natural gas, many towns and cities produced gas for local consumption from coal. The Rye former manufactured gas plant was one of about 250 manufactured gas plants in New York State, and operated from approximately 1887 to 1926 by Con Edison predecessor companies. The site has been used for the maintenance and dispatching location of Con Edison’s fleet of service vehicles since the cessation of MGP operations.
The primary contaminants of concern are MGP-related coal tar and its constituents, identified as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Coal tar impacted soil was generally found within and adjacent to certain underground structures relating to the MGP process. Coal tar was also observed within the bedrock. The coal tar impacts and higher concentrations of BTEX and PAHs were found in the center to northwestern areas of the site. Shallow groundwater flows to the north, toward the Metro North railroad property.
The goal of the cleanup action for the site is to achieve cleanup levels that protect public health and the environment, including:
• Excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 4,000 cubic yards of coal-tar contaminated soil;
• Installation of recovery wells to collect coal-tar present within the bedrock;
• Maintenance of the existing site cover;
• Removal of three underground petroleum storage tanks;
• Placement of an environmental easement on the site that allows the use and development of the site only for commercial and industrial uses as allowed by local zoning laws;
• Development and implementation of a Site Management Plan that will identify all use restrictions and specify procedures to be followed in the event of future site excavation. In addition, the plan will provide for the evaluation of the potential for soil vapor intrusion for any buildings developed on the site.
A site-specific health and safety plan and a community air monitoring plan will be implemented during remediation activities. The plans establish procedures to protect on-Site workers and residents and includes required air monitoring as well as dust and odor suppression measures.
After cleanup activities are completed, Con Edison will prepare a Final Engineering Report (FER). The FER will describe the cleanup activities completed and certify that cleanup requirements have been achieved or will be achieved. NYSDEC will keep the public informed throughout the cleanup of the site.
