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121-123 Reynolds Street Environmental Cleanup

Introduction

 The 121-123 Reynolds Street Site (hereinafter referred to as the “Site”) was formerly two separate parcels containing a single family house located on the southern portion of the Site and a former gasoline service station located on the northern portion. The Site is classified as residential vacant land, is relatively level and covered with low vegetation.  The City acquired the two parcels that make up the Site via foreclosure in 2008 and combined them into a single approximate 0.2 acre parcel. The City was awarded a Brownfield Cleanup Grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the cleanup of this Site with additional funding from the City.   

 Note: Though this project has been funded, wholly or in part, by EPA, the contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of EPA. 121-123 Reynolds Street Site Map w. 2018 Aerial

History & Previous Studies

 A single family house located at 123 Reynolds Street was subsequently demolished by the City in 2010. The former gas station building was demolished prior to the City’s acquisition of the Site.  In June 2011, petroleum-type contaminated soil was encountered during excavation of the basement foundation of a new residential house on the adjoining 125 Reynolds Street parcel located off-site to the south of the Site. Historical information indicated that the northern portion of the Site (121 Reynolds Street) was formerly used as a gasoline service station with multiple underground storage tanks (USTs), and an auto repair facility. 

Multiple phases of environmental investigations were performed at the Site by the City from 2011 through 2016 that documented the presence of four abandoned USTs and which identified and delineated the extent and magnitude of petroleum-related impacts to soil and groundwater. The four USTs and a limited amount of petroleum contaminated soil were removed from the Site in accordance with applicable regulations as an interim remedial measure (IRM) in August 2011.  Due to the presence of petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) assigned Spill File No. 1103833 to the property.  More information about previous environmental studies can be found below in the Further Information section. 

US EPA Brownfield Petroleum Grant Cleanup Project

The City subsequently received a Brownfield Cleanup Grant (Agreement No. BF-96261018) from the EPA, and a remedial project was undertaken to address the identified impacts. The City entered into a Stipulation Agreement with NYSDEC for cleanup at the Site, and NYSDEC provided technical review and approval of all work plans and reporting for the remediation project.

Remedial actions were performed during the period July to August 2020 by TREC Environmental Inc. (TREC) under the direction of Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. (Stantec). The remediation was performed in accordance with a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) approved by the NYSDEC, which included a project specific Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). The primary elements of the remedial program included:

• Excavation and offsite disposal of impacted soils from the Urban Fill Area, UST Source Area, and Plume Area excavations;
• Confirmatory soil sampling in excavations;
• Placement of a soil amendment, Oxygen Release Compound-Advanced (ORC-A®; manufactured by Regenesis) in excavations to facilitate in situ bioremediation of residual impacts;
• Installation of injection piping in the UST Source and Plume Area Excavations for future applications of ORC-A® powder in these areas;
• Installation of two bedrock sumps to remove potentially impacted groundwater from the bedrock;
• Site restoration including backfill with clean excavated soil and imported material; and
• Post-remediation groundwater monitoring.

Approximately 899 tons of petroleum-impacted soil and 957 tons of urban fill material was removed and disposed of offsite at a NYSDEC permitted disposal facility. Results of the confirmatory soil sampling indicated that all post-excavation soil samples were either below laboratory detection limits (i.e., non- detect) or at concentrations below NYSDEC’s soil cleanup objectives (SCOs) and soil cleanup levels (SCLs). Results of post remediation groundwater samples from the last three quarterly sampling events indicated that all groundwater samples were either below laboratory detection limits (i.e., non-detect) or at concentrations below NYSDEC’s groundwater quality standards. The remedial program was successful in removing the majority of the petroleum contaminant mass (likely more than 95% mass reduction and an approximate 99.4% reduction in dissolved phase volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The Site was cleaned up to the approval of the NYSDEC and Spill # 1103833 was listed as closed by the NYSDEC as of September 3rd, 2021.
The following engineering controls and institutional controls (EC/IC) have been placed on the Site:

• A flag on the property was placed in the City’s Building Information System (BIS) indicating it has undergone environmental cleanup, but still contains some limited residual contamination. The BIS flag indicates that environmental restrictions exist for the property, and that the City must perform a site-specific environmental review before issuing any new City permits related to site development, construction or demolition, etc.
• A Soil and Groundwater Management Plan (herein referred to as the SGMP) for the Site was developed, which provides guidance for future Site activities that may result in disturbance of residual contamination.
• The Site was listed on the City Environmental Institutional Control (EIC) website (www.cityofrochester.gov/EICproperties). The IC website contains a listing of all properties located in the City for which the City or the NYSDEC have placed environmental ICs. The website also contains a PDF copy of the site-specific SGMP for the Site.

More information about the Brownfield Cleanup Project can be found below in the Further Information section.

Further Information

 For further detailed information, please refer to the following documents: 

 In Summary, the City completed an extensive source removal and in-situ groundwater remediation program resulting in a near complete removal of petroleum impacts from the 121-123 Reynolds St. Site.  The NYSDEC has removed the spill file for the Site from the Department’s active spill files and does not require active remedial efforts at this time.  The project accomplished all of the objectives identified in the EPA approved work plan and completed the project in accordance with the original project budget.  

 If you have additional questions about the project, please contact the City’s project manager(s):  

  •  Dennis Peck, Environmental Technician, Division of Environmental Quality (585) 428-6884, or  email them . 
  • Alexandra L. Zobel, Assistant Environmental Technician, Division of Environmental Quality (585) 428-7094, or email them.

SEE ALSO

Streets, Sidewalks and Infrastructure