Orchard Whitney Environmental Cleanup

Introduction  

The Orchard-Whitney Site comprises two separate city-owned parcels located at 415 Orchard St and 354 Whitney St that are 1.31 and 2.76 acres respectively. The site is located within the boundaries of the City’s Lyell-Lake-State Street Corridor (LYLAKS) Brownfield Opportunity Area. The Site was remediated with funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) and additionally by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Brownfield Cleanup Program. In June, 2017 the City Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) obtained a Certificate of Completion (COC) from the NYSDEC for the environmental cleanup.

Site Map

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History

Both 415 Orchard and 354 Whitney were used for a variety of industrial and commercial purposes including: manufacturing, tool and die shops, printers, a shoe factory; and electronics parts manufacturing. Many of the occupants of record were RCRA hazardous waste generators, and many were permitted by the City of Rochester for the storage of combustible materials, flammable materials, highly toxic materials, etc. Additionally, there have been documented spills on these parcels. 

Demolition & Cleanup

The City of Rochester completed a comprehensive Environmental Site Investigation and Interim Remedial Measures (IRMs) at these abandoned industrial brownfield properties. The investigation was funded in part by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). An additional $200,000 in grant funding was awarded through the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Brownfield Cleanup Program to be used to implement site cleanup. The purpose of the investigation and IRMs was to identify the nature and extent of contaminants present on-site, to assess the potential risks to public health and/ or the environment, to implement the necessary cleanup measures in order to achieve a “No Further Action” Remedial Alternative determination by the NYSDEC, and to market the Site for future commercial redevelopment. The investigation included: performance of a facility-wide hazardous materials inventory, waste characterization and disposal; PCB, lead and asbestos containing materials surveys and abatement; building demolition and subsurface soil and groundwater characterization and treatment or disposal.

After asbestos abatement and demolition of the remaining seven-story building at 415 Orchard Street structure in the spring of 2015, the following activities were completed: excavation and removal of arsenic-contaminated boiler ash and debris in the former chimney stack sump; exploratory excavation, characterization and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous petroleum impacted soils from several Areas of Concern across the site); and in-Situ (“in place”) treatment of chromium-contaminated soil and groundwater in the area of the former facility plating area.

A Pre-Development Site Conditions Analysis (PDSCA) Report was completed in order to detail existing site conditions so that realistic, future redevelopment strategies can be evaluated. Components of the PDSCA include: completion of a geotechnical study; an infrastructure and utility capacity study; and completion of a vapor intrusion study. The City completed a redevelopment feasibility study 2015 with funding from the USEPA. Links to all documents referenced above can be found below.

Further Information