Forum Scheduled on Contaminated Waldbaum's Site

Farmingdale residents are invited next week on the ongoing environmental cleanup at the Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners site on Main Street.

The meeting, which is being sponsored by the the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health, is on March 8 at 7 p.m. at

More than a decade ago the Environmental Protection Agency was studying the and found unusual soil levels upgradient. Additional investigation around the shopping plaza identified the dry cleaner as the source. According to the DEC, the potentially responsible party failed to sign an order of consent for them to investigate and remediate the site in Jan. 2005 so the case was referred to the New York State Superfund program.

At the March meeting, the state departments will announce a "No Further Action Plan" for the site, but say and to monitor the soil to make sure the system is protecting human health and the environment. The off-site groundwater is still being investigated to determine the impact of a volatile organic compounds plume. 

The DEC developed this remedy as part of New York’s State Superfund Program. The site is Class "2" in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites, a classification the DEC says represents a "significant threat to public health or the environment."

The DEC will consider public comments until March 24. The entire proposed plan is available for review at the Farmingdale Public Library and the DEC’s Regional Office in Stony Brook. Comments can be sent to Mr. Chek Ng at cbng@gw.dec.state.ny.us. 

The site, which lies between the intersection of Main Street and Fulton Street, consists of a single building and a paved parking lot surrounded by apartment buildings and other commercial structures. The dry cleaner and the adjacent Waldbaum’s Supermarket and two businesses in the plaza are occupied. 

Meanwhile, the Town of Oyster Bay is also planning a community meeting this spring about the nearby, formerly contaminated 

Will you go to the meetings? What do you think about this contamination in Farmingdale? Tell us in the comments.