Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Safety-Kleen Corporation - Congers 2-118-01 in Congers, New York
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
The facility has conducted several investigations and has also implemented a number of interim corrective measures. A pump and treat system was installed in the area of the Mineral Spirits Tanks, and eight monitoring wells were installed and have been in operation since January 1993. A vapor enhanced recovery pilot system was installed at the south-west portion of the site in August 1994 to evaluate the distribution of subsurface impacts present side-wide. An air sparging system was designed to address the groundwater and soil contamination which exists in the northeastern portion of the site. A soil vapor extraction system was designed to remove unsaturated absorbed-phase hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in the contaminated zone, and to collect contaminated air generated by the air sparging system.
Quarterly groundwater monitoring data for target chemicals shows that contaminant concentrations have steadily decreased since the start-up of the remedial systems; in fact, since October 1996, sampling results from all but one well from the site have been at below groundwater protection standards or non-detect. Sampling results from this well have been compliant since early 1998.
As a result, it was recommended in a letter dated March 11, 1998, that the groundwater remedial systems be shut down. Quarterly groundwater monitoring has continued since that time, and the remedial systems will be reactivated if there is any "reflux" or "bounce back" effect of contaminants at the site.
Because groundwater contamination levels in all wells at the site have remained below the New York State Groundwater Protection Standards for greater than three consecutive years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) recommended in a letter dated November 17, 2003 that Safety-Kleen Congers no longer be required to sample the wells associated with the remedial systems. NYSDEC has further determined that the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Post-Closure Permit have been achieved, and therefore recommended Safety-Kleen submit, in accordance with 6 NYCRR part 373-2.7(j), a certification of completion of post-closure care, and a petition for termination of the RCRA Post-Closure Permit.
Site Description
Safety-Kleen Corporation, the Congers facility is located at 68 North Harrison Avenue, Congers, Rockland County, New York. The facility is about 2,000 feet northeast of the intersection of Congers Road and Kings Highway, situated atop a small hill located between DeForest Lake and the Hudson River, in an area zoned as residential. There are no known drinking water wells, schools, wetlands or endangered species within one quarter mile of the facility.
The facility operated as a storage facility from August 1976, until July1992. Safety-Kleen Corporation is an international service-oriented company which both provides and recycles products such as solvent, degreasers, and oil to small quantity generators such as auto repair shops, paint shops and dry cleaners.
Underground Storage Tanks #1 and #2 were certified closed and clean-closed in March and September of 1992, respectively. The remaining on-site solid waste management areas (the Return/Fill Station, the Container Storage Area, and the IB-Metal Shelters) were decommissioned in accordance with the approved Closure Plan dated July 20, 1992. The facility moved all operations at the site to a new facility located on Snakehill Road in West Nyack, New York and is currently operating as a transfer station only.
Contaminants at this Facility
Soil and groundwater samples collected from the soil borings and monitoring well locations indicated that both absorbed and dissolved phase minerals spirits, as well as some volatile and halogenated organic compounds were present in varying concentration in the areas of the former Underground Storage Tank #2 and the former Return/Fill Station.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for regulatory oversight of site remediation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action program.
A post-closure permit was issued to the facility on November 23, 1998 to regulate the operation and maintenance of the existing remedial systems: a vacuum-enhanced recovery system and a soil-vapor extraction/air sparging system, and to address residual contamination at the site. The permit expired on November 23, 2008.