Army Corps hosting public information session for FUSRAP Seaway Landfill site

Submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, will hold a public information session for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program Seaway Landfill site in Tonawanda.

This event will provide an opportunity to engage with members of the USACE project delivery team to gain a deeper understanding of the construction activities starting in mid-May at the Seaway site.

The meeting will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Town of Tonawanda Senior Center, 291 Ensminger Road (https://maps.app.goo.gl/rCBSUFRpkzpJ4MLh8).

USACE awarded a $17.6 million contract to Mark Cerrone Inc. in September 2023 to install a 22-acre engineered cap to cover areas A, B, and C of the Seaway Landfill site.

Air monitoring will take place for 30 days prior to work beginning on the site. The contractor has conducted staging of equipment, site preparation, and implementation of safety measures, with construction of the engineered cap scheduled to begin in May 2024 and conclude in spring 2025.

The contractor will only be delivering materials to complete the engineered cap – they will not be removing any FUSRAP materials from the site. The protection of human health and the environment is of paramount importance to USACE. The safety of the public and workers is our No. 1 priority. We will continue to communicate with the public and stakeholders to keep them informed of monitoring, work and preparations.

Additional information on the Seaway Site can be found at: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Mission/Projects/Article/3612995/seaway-site/ and https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/3635370/usace-buffalo-district-awards-176-million-contract-for-engineered-construction/ (includes imagery of the site).

Seaway Site Background

The Seaway Site is within the 100-acre Seaway Industrial Park located along River Road in the Town of Tonawanda, north of Buffalo and just south of the Niagara River. The site was operated as a landfill by Browning-Ferris Industries through 1993. After ceasing operations, most of the landfill was capped by BFI in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The Seaway Site was created when materials containing low levels of residual radioactivity were disposed of on the adjacent federal government leased Ashland 1 property. These radioactive residues were the result of activities conducted at the former Linde Site to support the nation’s nuclear weapons program. This material was later relocated by Ashland Oil to the Seaway Site Areas A, B, C, and the Ashland 2 Site.

FUSRAP Background

Under FUSRAP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cleaning up sites with contamination resulting from the nation's early atomic energy program. FUSRAP was initiated in 1974 to identify, investigate and, if necessary, clean up or control sites throughout the U.S. contaminated as a result of Manhattan Engineer District or early Atomic Energy Commission activities. Both the MED and AEC were predecessors of the U.S. Department of Energy.