44°
According to officials with Bilwin Development Affiliates, contaminated soil at the site of a former marble quarry landfill on Marbledale Road is scheduled to be completed by March 15, clearing the way for installation of a permanent cap and other remedial systems to treat vapors that will collectively complete the environmental cleanup at the site.
Testing of soil, air and groundwater throughout the site - beyond what is normally required by the state law of a Brownfield Cleanup Program site, developers noted - identified 11 contamination “source areas” that had to be be remediated before the site can be capped and construction on the hotel can begin.
State law defines sources areas as “having areas of concentrated contamination that exceed acceptable levels, thereby requiring remediation.” Specialists have cleared seven such areas, with the rest scheduled to be cleared before March 15.
The much-maligned project has been the topic of conversation in the village for more than a year, as a sizeable collective of residents have expressed concern about the toxic threat of the soil and potential vapors that may be produced during the project.
“Air monitoring stations throughout the site and at the nearby Waverly School have been measuring air quality and soil vapor to ensure that no harmful vapors, odors or dust are released during soil removal,” developers said. So far, none of the vapor sensors have detected any release of harmful vapors or dust.
“Community protection measures are in place to contain any such release including advanced water and foam suppression techniques, but thus far have not been required. Continuous monitoring of air and groundwater has yielded no harmful vapors to date.”
Officials noted that since cleanup began in January, contracting crews encountered one incident of Freon contamination. On Feb. 15, workers uncovered hundreds of aerosol cans, all labeled Mithcum deodorant and Mitchum cream. Developers believe the cans were disposed of prior to the closing of the municipal dump in 1978 when certain Freons were banned from consumer products.
The cans were contained to three dumpsters and crews are awaiting the test results of several samples taken at the site to ensure the cans are disposed of properly. The Freon was not airborne and has not been detected in the groundwater.
“We are progressing steadily toward remediation of the site, which has been a contaminated eyesore in this community for decades,” Linda Shaw, a lawyer representing Bilwin Development Affiliates, said in a statement.
“Within the next couple of weeks, the short-term impacts from the cleanup, including trucks removing contaminated soil, will end and the site will be regraded so construction of the hotel can begin. We are eager to deliver the many benefits of this project including new jobs and tax revenue for Tuckahoe.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Eastchester and receive free news updates.
