ALBANY, N.Y. - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and TCI Inc. of New York have entered into an agreement that outlines the initial steps TCI must undertake to begin site cleanup of the facility after the fire in the town of Ghent, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced.
The agreement details the initial steps that TCI must take to ensure a full cleanup of the site that is protective of public health and the environment.
"This is an important first step in the proper cleanup of this site," Martens said. "DEC will ensure the safe and complete cleanup of this site to protect public health and the environment in a manner that will restore the site to allow it to be put back into productive use."
The agreement calls for plans to ensure the safe dismantling and demolition of all remains at the site and the proper treatment and disposal of any remaining petroleum or other waste material resulting from the fire.
It will also allow the on-site treatment of any stormwater, as well as the investigation of the area surrounding the building footprint and outlines the requirements for additional environmental testing at the site.
The agreement requires TCI to prepare a work plan for DEC's approval that details how the demolition and dismantling of the remains at the site will be performed. The work plan must include a sampling protocol to determine the proper disposal methods for the debris as well as determine the level of contamination left after the debris is removed so proper cleanup methods can be implemented.
Before any stormwater can be discharged at the site, TCI must test the water and, if any low levels of PCBs are detected, must treat the water to remove the PCBs to meet very stringent water quality standards. The treatment must continue until DEC determines it is no longer necessary based on water sampling.
TCI must also prepare a work plan for DEC's approval to investigate areas of the site that are outside the immediate building footprint and conduct additional onsite sampling of the septic system, the onsite water supply well and areas of the site where stormwater may have been discharged.
DEC has established a webpage that contains test results, site maps, status of the implementation of the work plans and a copy of the consent order at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/84125.html.
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