Site Work: Brownfield + State Superfund

Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus’s (RITC) application to conduct the site remediation and restoration under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) Brownfield Cleanup Program was accepted by the agency on February 14, 2020. NYSDEC also announced that day a new Consent Order under the State Superfund program with Honeywell for three separate sections of the property. A Honeywell predecessor company owned the site prior to 1978.

RITC and Honeywell are conducting investigations under similar schedules and using data collected for both programs. The two programs are governed by similar requirements and design criteria. RITC and Honeywell also developed respective Citizen Participation Plans, which outline how the public will be kept informed and allowed to participate in the projects.

Active cleanup and investigations have been ongoing since signing the agreements for both programs.

On August 10, 2021, during the decontamination of a coke oven gas pipe some of the contents spontaneously combusted. The materials, which were on a concrete decontamination pad, were contained and subsequently tested. In accordance with the site emergency plans the Town of Tonawanda Fire Department and the NYSDEC were notified. The Fire Department extinguished the burning materials within 40 minutes and the NYSDEC inspected the site. RITC has successfully tested, and NYSDEC, NYSDOH, and State Fire Marshall, have approved a procedure to remove the remaining coke oven gas lines at the site.