Site history: The Site was used as a petroleum product storage
area since 1939 and as an improper storage facility for hazardous wastes since
1974.
Location: Glenwood Landing, NY.
Trustees:
Case status: The groundwater and soil remediation at the AES
Superfund site is in the operation, maintenance and monitoring phase. The salt
marsh restoration conducted by the natural resource trustees at the off-site
Bar Beach Lagoon is in the monitoring phase.
Overview: The Applied Environmental Services (AES) Superfund
Site, located on Hempstead Harbor in Long Island Sound, was used as a petroleum
product storage area since 1939 and as a storage facility for hazardous wastes
since 1974. Many types of hazardous wastes were accepted including waste oil,
heavy metals, chlorinated organic solvents, acids, paints, benzene, toluene,
heavy metals, and a variety of other organic chemical compounds. Site
contaminants measured at the highest concentrations included ethylbenzene,
toluene, and xylene. Improper handling and storage of these hazardous
substances led to the contamination of groundwater, surface water, soils,
sediments, and air.
Contaminated shallow groundwater and leachate, which flowed through deteriorated
bulkheads, discharged to the mudflats of Motts Cove and Hempstead Harbor.
Saltwater marshes adjacent to the property were damaged by this contamination.
Striped bass, American shad, flounder, and shellfish use the harbor and sound
for spawning and nursery habitat and were also potentially affected. NOAA
worked closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the
selection of a protective remedy and monitoring at the site. NOAA continues to
follow the progress of the remedy.
NOAA, serving as the lead Natural Resource Trustee, worked with its co-trustees,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of New York, and with the
responsible parties to implement the 1992 natural resource settlement. Under
the terms of this settlement, the responsible parties agreed to replace the
deteriorating bulkhead and provide funds for primary habitat restoration
on-site, additional off-site habitat enhancement and monitoring and past
assessment costs.
Restoration was delayed until sediment contaminant conditions at the site
improved. When the sediment contamination was sufficiently abated for the
Trustees and the responsible party to implement the restoration, concerns
regarding the potential success of on-site restoration in the inlet adjacent to
the site (unrelated to historical releases of hazardous substances from the
site) caused the relocation of the restoration actions proposed for Motts Cove
and the Hempstead Harbor inlet. The Trustees and the responsible parties worked
together to identify and evaluate off-site restoration options. A public
comment period allowed community input on restoration options, including the
Trustees’ preferred Bar Beach Lagoon restoration project. A Final Restoration
Plan and Environmental Assessment was issued in
September 2002 identifying the Bar Beach Lagoon area, located across
the harbor from the Superfund Site, for restoration. The Bar Beach Lagoon
restoration project was completed in 2003 and met the performance criteria
established for the project in 2006. The bulkhead replacement was completed by
the responsible parties in 2004. Remediation of groundwater and soil
contamination is ongoing.
