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24 & 32 York Street Environmental Cleanup

Introduction  

 24 York Street and 32 York Street are two adjacent properties that were acquired by the City on September 12, 2019 after completing environmental due diligence on both parcels. The City of Rochester was awarded a Brownfield Cleanup Grant under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the cleanup of the Site. In addition to the funding from the USEPA, this project is also funded by the City. Though this project has been funded, wholly or in part, by USEPA, the contents of this webpage do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of USEPA. The cleanup of 24 & 32 York Street took place from September to October 2022. 

Please see below for updated newsletters:

Site Map

24 & 32 York Street site map

Background 

24 York Street was historically used as a blacksmith shop, a wood working shop, a painting and harness shop, an auto repair facility, and a gasoline station with at least eight (8) underground storage tanks. 32 York Street is approximately 0.16 acres and previously contained a building that was recently used as a church and historically as a post office. The building was demolished in December, 2020 prior to the cleanup phase of this project in accordance with the USEPA approved work plan.  Both parcels are located in the Bulls Head Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA).    

NYSDEC Petroleum Spill #1901036

Phase II environmental site assessment investigations were conducted in June, 2019 for both 24 and 32 York Street in order to evaluate subsurface environmental conditions. There was sufficient evidence of petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater to warrant reporting a spill to the NYSDEC (NYSDEC Spill #1901036). The City of Rochester DEQ completed additional investigations for both 24 and 32 York Street to further delineate the extent of the petroleum contamination in November, 2019. The City was awarded a USEPA Brownfield Cleanup grant in September, 2020 for the cleanup and remediation of these two properties. As part of the proposed cleanup, the City has retained an environmental consultant (LaBella) to assist with preparing and implementing a site-specific CAP (CAP), a Site Management Plan (SMP), in addition to updating and finalizing the Alternatives to Brownfield Cleanup Analyses (ABCA) and developing a Citizen Participation Plan (CPP). The finalized ABCA, CPP and CAP can be found in the section below. See below for information on the USEPA Brownfield Petroleum Grant Cleanup Project and current status as of October, 2022. 

USEPA Brownfield Petroleum Grant Cleanup Project & Current Status

The City subsequently received a Brownfield Cleanup Grant (Agreement No. BF-96251020) from the USEPA, and a remedial project was undertaken to address the identified impacts. The City entered into a Stipulation Agreement with NYSDEC for cleanup at the Site, and NYSDEC provided technical review and approval of all work plans and reporting for the remediation project. 
Remedial actions were performed during the period September to October 2022 by LaBella Environmental LLC (an environmental contractor) under the direction of LaBella Associates D.P.C, a Rochester-based consulting firm that specializes in environmental cleanups. The remediation was performed in accordance with a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) approved by the NYSDEC, which included a project specific Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). The primary elements of the remedial program included:  

  •  Pre-characterization study consisting of the advancement of six (6) soil borings to characterize regulated waste present in the subsurface at the Site;  
  •  Excavation and offsite disposal of historical fill material (HFM) and petroleum contaminated soils (see section below for tonnage) 
  •  Dewatering/containerizing impacted groundwater, treating impacted water, sampling treated water as per MCPW temporary discharge permit regulations, and discharging to local storm drain as per NYSDOT regulations;  
  •  Confirmatory soil sampling consisting of eleven (11) confirmatory samples taken in the excavation area as per NYSDEC DER-10 guidance; 
  • Placement of a soil amendment, Oxygen Release Compound-Advanced (ORC-A®; manufactured by Regenesis) in excavations to facilitate in situ bioremediation of residual impacts; 
  • Installation of injection piping in the excavation for future applications of ORC-A® powder in these areas;•
  • Installation of four (4) overburden monitoring wells to add to the existing three (3) remaining on-site overburden monitoring wells to be a part of the post-remediation groundwater monitoring program that is anticipated to begin January, 2023;
  • Site restoration including backfill with imported material and clean reusable site soils and hydro-seeding

Approximately 1,853 tons of petroleum-impacted soil and urban fill material was removed and disposed of offsite at a NYSDEC permitted disposal facility (Mill Seat landfill). Results of the confirmatory soil sampling indicated that nine (9) out of the eleven (11) post-excavation soil samples were either below laboratory detection limits (i.e., non- detect) or at concentrations below 6NYCRR Part 375 Restricted Residential soil cleanup objectives (SCOs) and NYSDEC Commissioner Policy (CP-51) soil cleanup levels (SCLs); two (2) of the post-excavation soil samples exceeded Restricted Residential SCOs and CP-51 SCLs for semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) only; however, they are located in an area where a parking lot is proposed as part of current redevelopment plan; NYSDEC approved leaving the material in place beneath a minimum of 1-foot of clean cover during the duration of the cleanup. Post-remediation groundwater sampling is planned to consist of four (4) separate groundwater sampling events that will occur quarterly starting from January, 2023.   

The Remedial Construction Completion Report (RCCR) and Soil and Groundwater Management Plan (SGMP) are both forthcoming and will be included in the Further Information section below. Once the RCCR is complete and the SGMP is in place, the City will petition to NYSDEC for spill closure of NYSDEC Spill #1901036. 

Further Information 

More detailed information regarding the environmental conditions and the City’s Brownfield cleanup efforts at 24 and 32 York Street can be found in the following list of documents: 

This website will be periodically updated as new information is obtained. If you have additional questions about the project please contact Jane Forbes, Senior Environmental Specialist at jane.forbes@cityofrochester.gov.