Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Contaminated ash found at Niagara Falls housing site

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Exclamation Contaminated ash found at Niagara Falls housing site

    Contaminated ash found at Niagara Falls housing site
    Falls authority pledges Center Court work will comply with requirements for soil
    By Denise Jewell Gee - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
    Updated: 07/22/08 9:18 AM

    NIAGARA FALLS — Soil tests at a former park scheduled to be redeveloped as a public housing complex show the land near Centre Avenue contains up to 10 feet of contaminated incinerator ash in some areas, Niagara Falls Housing Authority representatives said Monday.

    The ash — believed to be from a 1930s incinerator in the North End — contains contaminants that exceed levels allowed by the state in residential areas, said Linda Goodman, director of project development for Norstar Development USA.

    Plans call for using the park and other land west of the Center Court housing complex as the site of the first phase of a $72 million project to replace Center Court with 282 mixed-income housing units under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI housing rehabilitation program.

    Because of the new test results, the developer has extended its soils management plan to cover the entire 22-acre site of the first phase, Goodman said.

    Under the plan, contaminated ash and soil up to 2 feet deep will be removed and replaced with 2 feet of clean soil.

    Once the apartments are built, digging on the site will be restricted, Goodman said.

    The soils management plan initially was limited to a strip of land south of Centre Avenue where earlier environmental tests showed elevated levels of arsenic near a former railroad yard.

    But tests completed last week showed a “significant amount of incinerator ash under a layer of surface soil” in areas north of Centre Avenue, Stephanie W. Cowart, the Housing Authority executive director, wrote in a letter to The Buffalo News.

    “We are doing everything we’re supposed to do,” Cowart wrote. “We are following industry and government standards on all environmental procedures for HOPE VI.”

    Soils that have tested above acceptable limits set by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation will either “be covered with hard surfaces such as roads, buildings driveways or sidewalks, capped with 2 feet of suitable soils; or removed from the area entirely according to [state Department of Environmental Conservation] standards,” Cowart wrote.

    Goodman did not identify what contaminants were found in the ash.

    Work is under way on foundations and buildings in areas not affected by the recent soil testing and “poses no health risk to those who live in the area,” Cowart wrote.

    James J. Devald, Niagara County director of environmental health, said he had not received the report on the recent soil tests.

    Mayor Paul A. Dyster said the city received the report Monday morning and city staff members were reviewing the results.

    “It’s going to take a while to get through this and digest it,” Dyster said.

    Plans call for rebuilding public infrastructure in the neighborhood and constructing 115 rental units during the first phase of the HOPE VI project.

    Goodman said Norstar and the Housing Authority were reviewing the impact of the soil management plan on the project budget.

    “It is going to add to the budget cost,” Goodman said. “We’re still getting estimates on that.”

    The project’s financing partners — which include private investors, the city, the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal and HUD — have been given copies of environmental reports, Cowart wrote.

    “In the long run, all of us are fortunate that we discovered this problem when we did,” Cowart wrote. “Revitalization of industrial cities, such as Niagara Falls, mandates the clean up of what others left behind decades ago.”

    ************************************************** **********

    DEC should go through their archives for past contaminations in the site. I'm sure there are people in Niagara Falls who know exactly what's under there. If there are 10 feet of contaminated "ash", why is DEC only allowing 2 feet to be removed? It would be nice for a change if we can just clean up all the contamination and not just part of it for once.

    Who bought the land for the HUD project and who sold it to them?

    We keep ending up with the bill for the cleanup! Regulations important? I think so. Those who feel regulations hinder business, do you want the culperate to pay the price of pollution or do you want to pay from our taxpayer money later?

    This area will be coveted in the next 50 years, don't ruin it by doing a half ass job. We have 90% of our nations fresh water supply, black gold soil, and great people, do it right the first time.

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    17,449

    Jackpot!

    Amazing Carnac says: They will now have it certified as a Brownfield, and get get tax credits under the Brownfield Cleanup Program, sell the tax credits, and make tons of money off this.

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Exclamation Censoring scientific analysis

    Censorship anyone? I have neve seen so much blackouts and cross-offs and comments in a scientific study by ASTDR. Why do we need backup of old files? This is why. Locations crossed off, exposures crossed off, and so forth and so on. It is really disgusting!

    http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/grtlakes/pd...PeerReview.pdf

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Lightbulb Watchful eye

    Work halted on Center Court project
    Environmental health director seeks data on contamination at former park in Falls
    By Denise Jewell Gee - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
    Updated: 08/05/08 7:07 AM

    NIAGARA FALLS — The county’s director of environmental health wants more information about contaminated soil in a former park slated for new public housing in the city’s North End and has asked the developer to halt construction until his questions are resolved.

    In a letter dated last Wednesday, James J. Devald, the environmental health director, asked Norstar Development USA to stop all residential construction in the Center Court project until several “deficiencies” in a recent environmental assessment and soils management plan are cleared up.

    Linda Goodman, Norstar Development’s director of project development, said she received Devald’s letter Monday and planned to meet with county health representatives to discuss the issues.

    “We certainly intend to appropriately deal with everything and the concerns that they have so that we can move forward with a successful project,” Goodman said.

    Last month, Norstar Development released a Phase III environmental assessment of a former neighborhood park, where new housing is planned, showing that the site contains up to 10 feet of contaminated ash believed to be from a 1930s municipal incinerator that operated in the area.

    The assessment found contaminants in the soil that exceeded levels allowed by the state in a residential area. Norstar had planned to remove and replace the top 2 feet of soil to alleviate the contamination.

    But letters from the state and county health departments dated last week spell out the fears of public health officials that the environmental assessment and soils management plan would not fully resolve potential contamination issues.

    Construction continued Monday on two project areas outside of the former park where the most recent soil tests were done, but Goodman said no work has been done on the former park where the environmental assessment was completed last month.

    The Niagara Falls Housing Authority project is slated to replace the Center Court public housing complex with 282 mixed-income housing units in the North End and LaSalle sections of the city.

    The $72 million project received a $20 million federal grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI housing rehabilitation program.

    The first phase calls for building 115 rental units on the former Center Court park and nearby land.

    Workers already have begun constructing foundations and building frames on land south of Centre Avenue and west of Aaron Griffon Way that was not part of the former park.

    Devald’s issues about the completeness of soil tests in the former park were echoed Thursday in a letter from Matthew J. Forcucci, a state Health Department public health specialist.

    Hazardous waste in a planned residential project site “makes the continued current development of this site problematic,” Forcucci said.

    Both letters called for a meeting with Norstar Development, Niagara Falls Housing Authority and several state and county agencies.

    Forcucci also noted that because Norstar Development and its environmental consultant were attempting to characterize the site without “proper comment or oversight” from the state and county health departments and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

    He added that they “have chosen a course of action that will lead to long-term exposure potentials to documented hazardous waste that will be difficult to correct in the future and may subject the property owner to future liabilities.”

    Goodman said that, under its standard operating procedures, Norstar had submitted plans to the Niagara County Health Department in February for approval of water and sewer lines.

    Stephanie W. Cowart, the Housing Authority’s executive director, said in a letter to The Buffalo News last month that the developer is following industry and governmental standards for environmental procedures.

    She also said current construction on areas outside of the park “poses no health risk to those who live in the area.”

    Both Mayor Paul A. Dyster and Niagara County Legislator Renae Kimble, D-Niagara Falls, have said they are closely watching the recent project developments.

    “At this point in time, we still need answers,” Kimble said. “I do feel that there needs to be more testing, because we need to know if the land is safe or not.”

    djgee@buffnews.com

    __________________________________________________ _______________

    Dear Ms. Kimble,

    Please make sure they make it safe for babies and small children.

    The company Norstar must consider looking at the old record of the area for full history of the land there, just ask the DEC in Albany and Niagara County before making any additional statements.

    I understand the need for housing but, not at the risk of our most valnerable groups in our society.

    With housing stock as cheep as it is in Niagara Falls, why not rehab it using HUD monies? Most people would like to have a home v.s. a big builidng with bunch of strangers. All those millions of dollars can do so much to keep a neighborhood/family atmosphere. This also will help those who are in need be able to have a garden and a real family life in a home. It's all about quality of life and dignity no matter what age or economic situation you are in.

    Have the houseing near bus routes for those who don't have a car.

    Just a suggestion.

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Suspicious soil stalls housing project

    Suspicious soil stalls housing project
    By Thomas J. Prohaska - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
    Updated: 08/08/08 6:49 AM

    LOCKPORT — More soil sampling is needed on the site of a giant public housing project in Niagara Falls, it was decided during a meeting here Thursday.

    Niagara County Environmental Health Director James J. Devald said, after the 2z-hour meeting with a consulting firm hired by the developer, that construction on the portion of the site affected by findings of hazardous waste cannot resume for one to two weeks, depending on the test results.

    Devald and representatives of Panamerican Environmental of Cheektowaga, the consultants chosen by Norstar Development USA, agreed that more samples will be taken as soon as this weekend on the site of the HOPE VI housing project.

    The Niagara Falls Housing Authority hired Norstar to develop the massive project, which in full form is to include 282 housing units costing a total of $72 million.

    However, last month Norstar disclosed that environmental investigations at the site discovered a 10-foot layer of ash in the Center Court park, apparently left over from a 1930s municipal incinerator that once operated at the site.

    “We all agreed the project is on hold based on the need for more soil samplings,” Devald said after Thursday’s meeting.

    He said the tests, which take about five days to run, will look for arsenic, mercury and lead. Norstar’s July report showed mercury levels more than 50 times higher than those considered safe in state environmental regulations.

    A state Health Department letter last week complained that Panamerican and Norstar seemed to be “trying to use the best comparison numbers to minimize the problems at the site.”

    These tactics, state Public Health Specialist Matthew J. Forcucci wrote, constitute “a course of action that will lead to long-term exposure potentials to documented hazardous waste that will be difficult to correct in the future and may subject the property owner to future liabilities.”

    Peter Gorton, a Panamerican staffer who took part in Thursday’s meeting, declined to comment on its outcome because the Housing Authority and Norstar had not given him permission to speak.

    Stephanie W. Cowart, executive director of the Housing Authority, declined to comment until a statement is released today. Norstar executive Linda Goodman could not be reached late Thursday.

    tprohaska@buffnews.com
    ************************************************** ********

    3 properties they are testing is not enough. I suggest you go further and check with DEC to identify what happend in the past before any decison is made. Saying it was ash from 1930's muncipal waste is not sufficient. Many things were burned, landfilled, and the testing must be done to protect the children and the valnerable.

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745
    HOPE VI: County gets information from developer
    Decision on project’s status expected soon

    http://www.niagara-gazette.com/archi...238170543.html

  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Exclamation

    DEVELOPMENT: Project still on hold, county health officials reviewing site information.
    By Mark Scheer
    E-mail Mark
    Niagara Gazette
    The Niagara Falls HOPE VI project remains on hold and is not expected to resume until after the Niagara County Health Department has all it needs from the project’s environmental consultant.

    http://www.niagara-gazette.com/archi...237230313.html

  8. #8
    Member Sylvan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    beyond the sun
    Posts
    4,755
    Quote Originally Posted by therising
    Amazing Carnac says: They will now have it certified as a Brownfield, and get get tax credits under the Brownfield Cleanup Program, sell the tax credits, and make tons of money off this.
    Instead of tax credits cant the feds just hire them to clean it up?

  9. #9
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Exclamation Where are our representatives?

    Money from the FED is hard to come by these days with the way this administration. Louise Slaughter and Shumer must get involved to serve our community. The Mayor should be doing this. I hope the eyese are open and observing.

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Exclamation

    http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local...266235307.html

    What is going on here?

    Will anyone stand up and say stop putting our neighborhood's safety in jeopardy?

    We can't landfill contaminated ash on city property!

    It goes against economic development when you landfill solid waste on city property. What will happen down the road when someone wants to use that city property for economic development?

    Common sense, where is it?

  11. #11
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

  12. #12
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    745

    Thumbs up HOPE and PROGRESS

    CITY COUNCIL: HOPE not lost
    $3M for cleanup at site OK’d, with conditions
    By Rick Forgione
    E-mail Rick
    Niagara Gazette


    http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local...330000711.html

    I am personally very happy to hear Mayor Dyster has made an executive decision to clean it up and thank you to the city council members who have voted for the cleanup.

    Our community does need HOPE. I also would like to thank Mr. Devald for the extra testing. It is encouraging to know we have people in our county government who listens.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Tourists in Niagara Falls want more to experience
    By Enough in forum City of Niagara Falls NY
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: July 10th, 2008, 06:24 PM
  2. The Nation Of Islam in Niagara Falls
    By Dr Funky in forum City of Niagara Falls NY
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: February 3rd, 2008, 06:26 PM
  3. Niagara Falls hospital’s psychiatric units face closure
    By Dr Funky in forum City of Niagara Falls NY
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: January 19th, 2008, 02:15 AM
  4. Niagara Falls home gets new life from Habitat
    By Dr Funky in forum City of Niagara Falls NY
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: January 8th, 2008, 02:22 AM
  5. Housing in The Falls getting worse
    By Dr Funky in forum City of Niagara Falls NY
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: January 19th, 2007, 03:10 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •