Introduction
The
City of Rochester completed the environmental cleanup of a city-owned property
located at 937-941 Genesee Street. The project was being completed as part of
the City of Rochester’s Brownfield Cleanup Grant from the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The Site consists of one parcel of
vacant land approximately 0.25 acres and is located in the City’s Brooks
Landing Urban Renewal District which is also adjacent to the City’s Southwest
Neighborhood Service Center.
Site Map
Background
The Site was occupied by a former
auto repair facility from 1912 to 1941, and by a former dry cleaner and
Laundromat from 1946 until 2009 when the building was demolished after a
fire. The City obtained the property through tax foreclosure in October
2012. Recent private investments in the Brooks Landing area make the Site
a candidate for future redevelopment after completion of the cleanup
project.
Environmental Cleanup
Several
environmental investigations were conducted from 2002 to 2012 in order to
evaluate Site conditions and to strategize the cleanup approach to better
position the site for future redevelopment. Those investigations identified
soil and groundwater impacted with petroleum-related contamination at levels in
excess of applicable regulatory cleanup standards and guidance values.
The
Site was assigned Spill File No. 1206397 in 2012 by the New York State
Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC) based on the petroleum impacts found at the site. The City
entered into a Stipulation Agreement with NYSDEC for cleanup at the Site, and
NYSDEC provided oversight of the project. An Analysis of
Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) was completed
in November, 2015 by the City, which compared the feasibility of various
remedial strategies for Site cleanup.
The
remediation program took place between June 6 and October 6, 2016 which
included the demolition of building remnants, decommissioning of groundwater
monitoring wells, excavation, removal, and off-site disposal of approximately
845 tons of impacted soil in addition to the placement of both an
oxygen-release compound and imported backfill materials (that were subsequently
compacted). After backfilling the remedial excavation to existing grade, two
replacement groundwater monitoring wells were installed that were subsequently sampled.
During
the remedial excavations, two “orphan” abandoned underground storage tanks
(USTs) were discovered: a 500-gallon apparent Stoddard solvent tank, and a
500-gallon apparent gasoline or diesel fuel storage tank. The tanks and
associated impacted soil were removed and disposed of off-site in accordance
with State and federal regulations; tank removal reports are included as part
of the Remedial Construction/Closure Report, an electronic copy of which can be
downloaded below.
The results of post-excavation
groundwater sampling performed in October, 2016 did not indicate contaminant
presence in groundwater at levels above NYSDEC groundwater standards. In 2017,
the City was issued a “No Further Action” letter from the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation and the Site was determined to be
cleaned up to commercial and mixed use redevelopment.
Environmental Cleanup
More detailed information regarding
the City’s Brownfield cleanup efforts at this site can be found in the
following list of documents:
If you have additional questions about the project please contact
the City’s project manager:
Alexandra L. Zobel, Assistant Environmental Technician
Phone: 585-428-7094
Email: Alexandra.Zobel@cityofrochester.gov