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APR 28 - MAY 05, 2015

Only in NT: Brownfields a Toxic Opportunity

By Sweeney Payne

April 28, 2015

Wardell Boat Yard


Congratulations to NT for its recent recognition as a Brownfield Opportunity Area! Most of us knew it was one big brownfield before hearing of the designation. The focus of the current people running the City is on the downtown area and the Oliver Street corridor for putting the designation to use.

There is a website at www.homefacts.com/environmentalhazards/New-York/Niagara-County/North-Tonawanda.html which contains interesting cautionary information for people considering purchases of real estate in North Tonawanda.

It lists polluters found in North Tonawanda and describes “polluters” as having been found using the Toxic Release Inventory Program. Per the site, “The goal of the Toxics Release Inventory Program is to provide communities with information about toxic chemical releases and waste management activities and to support informed decision making at all levels by industry, government, non-governmental organizations, and the public.”

It lists as polluters: Taylor Devices/90 Taylor Drive; Swagelok Biopharm Services Co./76 Industrial Drive; Buffalo Pumps, Inc./874Oliver Street (three listings); Battenfeld Grease and Oil Corp./1174 Erie Avenue; An-Cor Industrial Plastics/100 Melody Lane (now using 900 Niagara Falls Blvd. as its address); and Aglade Industries, LLC/765 River Road.

It describes a brownfield site as “any land that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. Real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” The brownfield sites it lists in NT are: Competition Transmission/68 Main Street; Gateway Point 1/50 DockStreet; Gateway Point 2/18 Dock Street; Gateway Point 3/16 Dock Street; Gateway Point 4/82 River Road; Gateway Point 5/1 Sweeney Street; Gateway Point 6/78 River Road; Metzger Concrete Removal/235 River Road; Remington Rand Building/184 Sweeney Street; R. E. KrugCorp./190 Oliver Street; Triangle Area/400 Robinson Street; 110 Sweeney Street; 100 Sweeney Street; 34-38 Webster Street; 64-66Webster Street; 78 Bridge Street; 986 Oliver Street; Arida 33/4 Bridge Street; Arida 4/2 Bridge Street; Arida Site 1/133 Michigan Avenue; Arida Site 2/231 Michigan Avenue; and the City Incinerator/748 Walck Road.

It describes Superfunds as “any land that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. On that list are the International Paper Co. Tonawanda Mill site/50 Bridge Street; Schreck’s Scrapyard/55 Schenck Street; Booth Oil Co. site/76 Robinson Street; HolidayPark/Walck-Zimmerman-East Robinson; Gratwick Riverside Park; Roblin Steel-Buffalo Bolt site/101 East Avenue; North Tonawandaproperty/Walck Road & Old Falls Blvd.; Hooker Chemical & Plastics site/600-680 Walck Road; Buffalo Pumps/874 Oliver Street; National Grinding Wheel site/Walck Road; Koppers Co. site/940 River Road; Niagara Sanitation/Nash Road (in Wheatfield at NT border); Wurlitzer Co. site/908 Niagara Falls Blvd.; and the Botanical Gardens/Old Falls Blvd.

Under “Tanks & Spills found in North Tonawanda” it has: Wardell Boat Yard/1 Sweeney Street; Flanigan Chevrolet/27 Main Street; CSX/147Tremont Street; Placid Harbour Marina/17 Detroit Street; Hurtubise Tire/63 Oliver Street; North Tonawanda Water Dept./1 Archer Street; DeGraff Memorial Hospital/445 Tremont Street; Sukwinder Singh/139 Main Street; Metzger Removal, Inc./235 River Road; Spruce Elementary School/195 Spruce Street; Grant Elementary School/Grant Street; Smith Boys, Inc./278 River Road; R. E. Krug Corp. 89 Thompson Streetand North Tonawanda Yard/Oliver and Thompson Streets; Tondisco, Inc./80 Thompson Street; City Hall; North Tonawanda Water Treatment Plant; 51 Robinson Street; Val Kro Industrial Plating, Inc./369 River Road; and Lawless Container Corp./93 Robinson Street

Environmental remediation generally just means they have capped over most of the mess because it is impossible to ever remove it all. And there are others not on these lists, like the convenience store on Nash Road with buried but not removed gas tanks.

They are allowing a “bar & eatery” to open in the 64-66 Webster building using the address 62 Webster. The City’s Lumber City Development Corp. obtained serious grants and tax credits for the former Mayor who created LCDC during his tenure—and he has been remodeling it into a bar & eatery. The owner of the building who got all that financial help at taxpayer expense courtesy of LCDC will rent the “bar & eatery” space to appointed Alderwoman at Large Catherine Schwandt. Has anyone seen any signs of environmental remediation there? Anyone eager to eat there? Or in the former Remington Rand building restaurant? Or to move into the apartments there?

And what about that water provided by the City? Are we all being poisoned? And if those spills are bad, how can we still have children in Spruce and Grant Schools? And the recent fire at Placid Harbor Marina? Any connection to its tanks and spills? Would you live on Tonawanda Island or along the waterfront on River Road?

 

 

 

 

 

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