Public Invited to Meeting On Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners Site

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in conjunction with the State Department of Health (DOH), will hold a public meeting to present a proposed clean-up plan for the Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners site in Farmingdale.  At the meeting, DEC, and DOH staff will describe the contents of the cleanup proposal (called a Proposed Remedial Action Plan).  DEC is proposing a No Further Action Plan with continued operation of the Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) system and the implementation of institutional controls and engineering controls as the remedy for on-site contamination at this site.  Soil vapor intrusion monitoring has been and will be conducted periodically at the site and the adjacent buildings to assess the effectiveness of the SVE system in protecting human health and the environment.  The SVE system has been operating at the site since November 2011.  The public comment period for the proposed remedy runs through March 24, 2012.  The off-site groundwater is still being investigated to determine the horizontal and vertical extent of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) plume.  This is the PRAP for Operable Unit (OU) 1, which deals with the on-site soil and soil vapor.  The groundwater for on-site and off-site portion will be discussed in a separate Operable Unit.  DEC developed the proposed remedy after reviewing a detailed investigation of the site and the evaluation of remedial options in the “feasibility study” submitted under New York’s State Superfund Program.  The Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners site is located at 450 Main Street, Farmingdale, Nassau County in the Waldbaum’s Shopping Plaza.  The site is listed as a Class "2" site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites (list of State Superfund sites).  A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment, action is required.

Next Steps   NYSDEC will consider public comments as it finalizes the No Further Action remedy for the site. The selected remedy will be described in a document called a "Record of Decision" that will explain why the remedy was selected and respond to public comments.

Site Background   The Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners (Site) is a dry cleaner located in the Waldbaum’s Shopping Plaza at 450 Main Street in Farmingdale, NY. The site is located in a suburban area and lies between the intersection of Main Street and Fulton Street. The shopping plaza consists of a single building and a paved parking lot, surrounded by apartment buildings and other commercial structures. This site is upgradient of the Liberty Industrial Finishing site which is a National Priority List (NPL) site.  The dry cleaner and the adjacent Waldbaum’s Supermarket are currently vacant. Two businesses in the plaza are occupied. The shopping plaza is zoned for commercial use. The surrounding parcels are zoned residential or commercial.   Waldbaum’s Shopping Plaza was reportedly constructed in 1983, at which time the Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners began operation. Investigations conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) at the Liberty Industrial Finishing site indicated there was a significant source of tetrachloroethene (PCE) upgradient.   Additional investigation by the USEPA around the shopping plaza from 2000 to 2003 identified the source is associated with the dry cleaner due to detections of PCE in a groundwater well south of the site and soil gas survey results from USEPA. These results suggest the probability of a source contributing to the groundwater plume in shallow subsurface soils in the vicinity of the site. As a result of data collected during the USEPA investigation, the Site was listed as a Class 2 on the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Site in December 2002. The Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) failed to sign an Order on Consent with DEC to investigate and remediate the site and in January 2005, the site was referred to the State Superfund for a Remedial Investigation (RI).

Operable Units and Site Geology   The site was divided into two operable units. An operable unit represents a portion of a remedial program for a site that, for technical or administrative reasons, can be addressed separately to investigate, eliminate or mitigate a release, threat of a release or exposure pathway resulting from the site contamination. Operable Unit 1 (OU1) consists of contaminated soil and soil vapor and includes the plaza property and portions of adjacent properties. Operable Unit 2 (OU2) deals with the groundwater issues both on-site and off-site.   The on-site soil consists of mostly sand. The depth of groundwater is about 15 feet below ground surface. The groundwater flow direction is predominantly to the south. A confining layer is encountered at a depth of around 90 feet below ground surface at some locations on-site.

Public Comment and Next Steps   NYSDEC is accepting written comments about the proposed plan for 30 days, from February 24, 2012 through March 24, 2012. The proposed plan is available for review at the Farmingdale Public Library and the DEC’s Regional Office in Stony Brook. Comments should be sent to   Mr. Chek Ng
Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7015
518-402-9620
cbng@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Project-Related Questions   Mr. Chek Ng, DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7015, Phone (518) 402-9620.
cbng@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Site-Related Health Questions   Ms. Sharon P McLelland, DOH, Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation, 547 River Street, Troy, NY 12180-2216, Phone (518) 402-7880

Receive Site Fact Sheets by E-mail:   As DEC continues its efforts to keep the public better informed of activities occurring in various projects occurring across New York State, DEC has created a new online listserv that can deliver project fact sheets directly to a recipient’s email inbox.
 
The listservs are divided by county, and DEC invites all interested individuals to sign up for one or more of these informational outlets which are available at the following web page: www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/61092.html.   It’s quick, it’s free, and it will help keep you better informed.   As a listserv member, you will periodically receive site-related information/announcements for all contaminated sites in the counties you select.   You may continue also to receive paper copies of site information for a time after you sign up with a county listserv, until the transition to electronic distribution is complete.