VOCs Discovered In Sewer Improvement Project Near John Street Superfund Site
Honeywell International is addressing the situation and formulating plans for remediation.
A statement from Hoosick Falls Village Mayor Rob Allen:
This is to provide an update on a situation that recently occurred during the ongoing Sewer Improvement Project in the areas of John Street, Lyman Street, Superior Street, and Church Street.
On Thursday, November 14, while the Village’s contractors were working in John Street, an old culvert was discovered. Once equipment began working to uncover and remove the culvert, strong fumes were detected. Air monitoring results showed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Work was immediately halted, and the culvert was covered.
The Village, along with its environmental consultants Sterling Environmental Engineering, contacted New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, who visited the site. The Village, its consultants and attorneys immediately initiated discussions with Honeywell International, who is responsible for the John Street Superfund Site. The Village also reached out to nearby business owners near the site to make sure they were aware of what had been found and to keep them informed throughout the process.
Results from soil samples taken inside the culvert showed high levels of localized contamination. The highest detection of VOCs in the samples were 11,000 ppm of Trichloroethene (TCE) and 120,000 ppm of 1,1,1-Tricholoroethane. These values are over a thousand times higher than any results obtained in the Remedial Investigation that is being conducted by Honeywell at the John Street site.
Honeywell has accepted responsibility for the situation and has taken the lead on addressing it. As an interim measure and with DEC’s approval, it has properly covered and filled in the area where the culvert was unearthed, temporarily addressing the immediate hazard within a week of its discovery. Honeywell has also started developing a work plan to remediate the culvert, and once the work plan receives DEC approval, it will address the situation, likely in the spring of 2020.
The Village and its engineers and contractors modified the existing Sewer Improvement Project plans so that the John Street portion of the work could be eliminated. This allows the project to continue without delay and/or extra cost to the Village.
As any additional updates become available, the Village will post them on its website.