Andrews Street Environmental Cleanup

Introduction

The Andrews Street Site consists of four city-owned parcels (300, 304-308, 320 Andrews Street, 25 Evans Street), in a commercial area in Downtown Rochester. All parcels have been in City ownership since the 1990's. The property is a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) Cleanup Site. In December, 2015 the City Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) obtained a Certificate of Completion (COC) from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for the environmental cleanup.

Site Map of Andrews Street Environmental Cleanup

History

The Site was previously used for various commercial and industrial purposes since the early 1920s, including plumbing supply, electrical supply, bakery, printing press, commercial bus depot and bus repair garage, gasoline station, chemical sales/distribution, dry cleaning equipment distributor, fuel oil, contractor, and warehousing. In 2007, The City of Rochester entered into a State Assistance Contract agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) under the Environmental Restoration Program and secured funds to investigate and clean up the Site.

Demolition & Cleanup

The former Greyhound Bus Station, former bus repair building, former dry cleaning distributor building, and the remaining buildings were demolished in 2010. Perchloroethylene, commonly used as a dry cleaning solvent and herein referred to as PCE, was found in several areas of the Site. Underground piping, a trench drain system, two underground petroleum storage tanks were all removed during the building demolition with the exception of the building slab in the former dry cleaning distributor building, which was subsequently removed as part of an Interim Remedial Measure (IRM) to excavate and dispose of PCE-contaminated soils within the footprint of the former dry cleaning distributor building. A portion of sewer piping in the former Evans Street right-of-way (ROW) was removed and disposed of off-site, as it was also contaminated by PCE and had the potential to act as a preferential pathway for PCE to migrate off-site. Impacted soil generally above the groundwater table that was contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including PCE, metals, PCBs and Semi-VOCs to concentrations below applicable New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) criteria were removed and disposed of off-site.

An IRM consisting of In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) to remediate PCE and VOC contamination present in saturated soils and overburden groundwater took place in 2014. A clean cover cap system consisting of crusher run stone was installed over the property and an Environmental Easement was executed. A Site Management Plan (SMP) has been developed and implemented for Andrews Street Site to provide guidance for handling materials on the property that may contain residual contamination.

Further Information

For further detailed information, please refer to the following documents:

If you have additional questions regarding its purchase and development, please contact Anne DaSilva Tella at (585) 428-6124 or email her. If you have any questions regarding the cleanup please email Jane Forbes, Senior Environmental Specialist.