Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

By Andy Gardner

A representative with the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced at a Thursday, Jan. 16 meeting of the North Country Redevelopment Task Force that 250 percent more contaminated soil than anticipated has been removed from the former GM site to date. As a result, the project is over-budget.

But, tribal officials are confident the site will be properly cleaned up.

“RACER has pledged to complete the clean-up; they have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure the project is completed”, Chief Ron LaFrance said in an emailed statement sent Sunday.

“The EPA has given a commitment the project will continue, along with the RACER trust,” board chairman Tony Arquiett said at the meeting.

“The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe is concerned about the contamination amount, but maintains confidence in RACER’s commitment to ensure the project is completed to our satisfaction,” Ken Jock, Director of the Tribe’s Environment Division said in the statement.

Anna Kelly of the EPA’s Emergency and Remedial Project Response Division said a 2007 bankruptcy court settlement gave funds in expectation of removal of 121,000 tons of contaminated soil. But, 335,000 tons have been dug up so far and the project still has a ways to go.

“We far exceeded the estimated budget for the volume of matter,” Kelly said. A slideshow pointed out that they were planning on a cubic yard of soil to weigh in at 1.4 tons – it came out between 1.8 and 1.9 tons.

“We pay (for removal) by weight, not by volume,” according to Kelly.

This sometimes happens with Superfund sites, she and Mullen noted.

“It’s not unusual we’re in the situation we’re in,” RACER clean-up manager Brendan Mullen said.

“You really don’t know what’s down there until you start digging,” Kelly said.

The site is being cleaned up with funds put into the RACER trust by General Motors after a 2007 bankruptcy court settlement. GM bought back all the properties they wanted to keep and the rest, 89 locations in 14 states, were given to RACER. Most of the clean-up money went to the Massena site, just over $121 million. There is a $68 million cushion fund to be shared among all the RACER sites.

The $121 million is supposed to cover 100 years of operations, maintenance and monitoring.

“We haven’t gone through $121 million,” Kelly said.

But, Mullen noted that they may have to dip into the reserve fund this year. It’s not money they can just take as they please – they have to apply for it.

“It’s available for demonstrated need – we have a demonstrated need,” Kelly stated.

If the project goes over the $121 million budget and spends through the cushion fund, the federal Superfund program will cover the balance.

Kelly and Mullen both said their agencies will see the project to completion. He said the job should be done by 2016. Upcoming remediation will include a 10,000,000-gallon lagoon and the east disposal area. They will also install a groundwater control system.

“Not only are we committed, we’re liable,” Mullen said. “We’re going full-bore in 2014. We’re not laying up.”

Kelly noted that some of the increased tonnage is from deep underground pits of original, untreated sludge discovered about 40 feet down. She said the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was as high as 500,000 parts per million – federal regulations call for a clean-up at 10 parts per million.

“It’s really pure PCB product,” Kelly said. The sludge is known as TSCA waste, meaning defined under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

It is being soaked up with wood pellets from Curran Logging that are sent for disposal by train.

She noted that the former GM site is unique to RACER clean-up projects because of its area and depth.

“It’s a huge clean-up,” Kelly said. “This is a different kind of project. Sub-surface projects are unique.”

Despite going over budget, the task force board said it has been on-time and praised the cooperative work of local government, RACER, the EPA, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the contractors.

“It has been a very successful remediation project,” Mullen said.

The St. Lawrence County Planning Office has sent an application for a $360,000 Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) grant from the state’s Department of State to aid in selling the former General Motors site once remediation finishes.

The remaining $40,000 would come from the county, half in cash and half from in-kind services, including hours worked on the project by Heidi Ames of the county’s Planning Office.

“It takes two to three months” to get the grant approved, Ames told the North Country Redevelopment Task Force.

The county is working with the Revitalizing Auto Communities Economic Response trust to find a suitable buyer for the property. The Planning Office, using the grant funding, will figure out how the land can best be used and what types of businesses it would be suited for.

“[The BOA project] enhances what they (RACER) do so we can pull in the same direction,” task force chairman Tony Arquiett said.

Patricia Spitzley of RACER said CSX has shown serious interest in turning the property into a CSX select site. She added that a CSX consultant spent two days touring the property and speaking about the location with various officials.

“We believe the uniqueness of the site makes it an attractive piece of property,” Spitzley said. She noted its proximity to the Canadian border, availability of cheap power from the St. Lawrence-Roosevelt power dam and existing rail access.

“CSX Select Sites are the first, premium certified rail-served sites for industrial development and expansion. Select Site certification criteria include size, access to rail services, proximity to highways, workforce availability, natural gas, electricity, water, and wastewater, environmental and geo-technical standards,” according to the CSX website.

RACER is also making attempts to market the property in Canada.

“One of the best opportunities for re-development is across the border,” Spitzley said.

She noted that the property is being marketed with site selectors, which act as buying agents for corporations seeking new locations, of which there are about 20 worldwide.