USA: EPA Changes Farmingdale Cleanup Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a change to its plan to clean up ground water at the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund site in Farmingdale, New York.

Industrial operations at the Liberty site, including aircraft parts manufacturing during the Second World War and metal plating and fiberglass manufacturing in the post-war years polluted ground water at the site. In addition, dry cleaning operations at the Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners, located 1,000 feet to the north of the site, resulted in a second source of ground water contamination. In both instances, the ground water was contaminated with volatile organic compounds, which can cause serious damage to people’s health and the environment. In 2002, the EPA issued a plan to install two separate systems to treat the portion of ground water contaminated by the manufacturing facility and the portion contaminated by the dry cleaner site.

The system to treat contamination from the industrial operations at the site has been constructed and is currently operating to treat that contamination. In July 2012, the EPA proposed the cancellation of plans to construct the second system because the dry cleaner site is being cleaned up by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Recent monitoring data shows that the contamination levels in the portion of ground water under the Liberty Industrial site that was contaminated by the dry cleaner site have dropped significantly.

The EPA held a public meeting in Farmingdale on July 26, 2012 to explain the changes to the ground water cleanup plan. The EPA took public comment for 30 days and considered public input before finalizing the plan.

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Press Release, October 12, 2012