Youngstown Trustees hear Cold Storage plans

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, September 9, 2006

About 60 people listened to state Department of Environmental Conservation plans to clean up the deteriorating Youngstown Cold Storage site at a meeting Thursday night at the Village Red Brick Hall.

Mayor Neil Riordan called the meeting very informative and very civil. He said it cleared up the many rumors and misinformation circulating about the nearly 100-year-old facility that was abandoned in 1996 by a co-op of local farmers after escalating costs made it not profitable for apple storage, washing and packing. Village officials have called the facility adjacent to Veterans Park an “attractive nuisance” that is visited by local youngsters and wild animals. They want the property back on the tax rolls.

Plans Discussed

Michael J. Hinton, DEC environmental engineer, gave a presentation on the DEC findings, explaining the history of the building, how and where testing was done, what contaminants were found, the DEC proposals for remediation and cleanup costs for four alternative plans ranging in cost from $348,250 to $875,200. Then, the meeting was opened for questions from residents.

Found at the site during DEC testing earlier this year were contaminants associated with a former underground petroleum storage tank, arsenic in the northwest area of the main building, PCBs from abandoned equipment and building components in the former compressor room, and sub-slab lead contamination under the compressor room floor. No groundwater contamination was found.

Proposed cleanup activities include removing contaminated soil, demolishing the spray wash structure and part of the warehouse building (compressor room and block addition), the removal of sediment in a valve pit, removal of compressors and other PCB-contaminated materials, removal of the above ground storage tank and related contaminated soil, and removal of the sub slab material from under the compressor. Excavated areas would be filled with clean material.

This is considered alternative B1-Removal with Partial Building Demolition. The cost is estimated at $348,250. Other alternatives would have offered no action at all, or either removal of contaminated material and full building demolition or demolition of buildings with removal of some contaminated materials and some materials treated on site.

Questions/Answers

Among the questions raised by residents were:

•How long will it take to renovate the site? One construction season.

•Who is liable if something happened at the site? The co-op.

•After remediation would property use be restricted? No, but it is governed by village building, zoning and planning guidelines.

•How much is owed by the co-op? Not known exactly, but taxes and bank debt are substantial and haven’t been paid in many years.

•Can interested parties bid on the property? They must wait for Niagara County in a REM procedure and subsequent auction.

•Are there tax breaks for developers? Yes, for capital improvements and remediation.

•Is there contamination in the main building? It’s basically clean.

Cleanup work will be performed under the state’s 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act Environmental Restoration Program, which provides assistance to local government for investigation, cleanup and restoration of brownfield sites. The village received a $75,000 DEC grant to begin this process, and will pay $7,500 or 10 percent, Riordan said.

Copies of the DEC Proposed Remedial Action Plan are available for review at the Youngstown Free Library. Comments on the plan still may be made in writing. Send comments by Sept. 25 to: Michael J. Hinton, DEC, 270 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, NY 14203-2999.