The state Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting public input on a proposed remediation plan for Harrison Place Building 3, along South Street, which Kearney Realty & Development Group Inc. intends to transform to a mixed-use facility with apartments and retail space.
The remediation plan was drafted by the Kearney group, which purchased Building 3 from Greater Lockport Development Corporation in 2019, in consultation with DEC. Broadly, the plan calls for treatment of contaminated groundwater, excavation and removal of contaminated soil, installation of a subsurface carbon barrier along the northern property line to prevent groundwater migration, and installation of a depressurization system to mitigate soil vapor intrusion into the building. The work would be financed by the Kearney group, which entered the state’s voluntary Brownfield Cleanup Program and undertook remedial investigation of the site to inform its cleanup plan.
Cleanup project documents are viewable at Lockport Public Library, 23 East Ave., and through the DECinfo Locator at https://www.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/C932177/.
Public comments on the cleanup plan are being accepted by the DEC through April 15. Comments should be directed to Joshua Vaccaro, project manager, NYSDEC, 700 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY 14209 or joshua.vaccaro@dec.ny.gov. Anyone with questions may call Vaccaro at 716-851-7220.
According to the DEC, the primary contaminants of concern at Building 3 are chlorinated volatile organic compounds related to past use of chlorinated solvents. From the time of Building 3’s construction in 1922, through the 1980s, the building hosted Harrison Radiator production.
The DEC’s Wednesday update on Building 3 remediation notes that the Kearney group’s investigation found off-site migration of contaminated groundwater is occurring, and the DEC is “conducting additional investigation and remedial activities to address and eliminate” it.