The facility is located at 30 Kellogg Road, City of Cortland, Cortland County, New York, 13045. The property is approximately 50 acres in size and contains a large main production building, interconnected with several smaller production buildings, an office building and several support buildings, including a flammable storage building and a hazardous waste storage garage. The total size of the facility buildings is estimated at 367,000 ft2.
The Buckbee-Mears facility was purchased by International Electron Devices (IED) on October 26, 2004. IED operated the facility until May, 2005, when they closed due to a lack of funding. A large number of the bulk chemicals used in production and the chemical wastes from past operations were abandoned on Site. These materials included: strong acids and caustics in large tanks, drums, process piping and numerous small containers throughout the facility. Approximately seven cylinders of chlorine gas were also abandoned on Site.
During the summer of 2006, the Cortland Police Department responded to a report of vandalism and became concerned when they discovered the large amount of chemicals which had been abandoned at the Site. The Cortland Police subsequently notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) of their findings. On July 27, 2006, representatives from the NYSDEC, the Cortland Police and Fire Departments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a Site visit. The visit confirmed the presence of numerous hazardous substances in drums, tanks and cylinders throughout the facility. The potential for a chemical release was deemed serious because the facility was idle with no security and all utilities had been terminated. On August 1, 2006, the NYSDEC formally requested the EPA to conduct a removal action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) at this Site.
Negotiations with the PRP to perform the required clean up actions resulted in EPA issuing an Administrative Order on September 29, 2006. The PRP initially complied with the Order, but ceased correspondence with EPA in early November, 2006. Following several acts of vandalism at the facility, EPA initiated a Removal Action on January 10, 2007.
Site security was in place during all non-working hours this period and no incidents were reported.
A demolition permit, for razing buildings 1 and 2, was received from the City of Cortland during the first week of June. Appropriate equipment for implementing the approved demolition plan was ordered. WRS personnel completed pre-demolition activities in both buildings prior to demolition beginning on June 19th. Scrap metal was removed and stockpiled while equipment of potential value was placed inside the warehouse. Hazardous and non-hazardous concrete is being segregated with the hazardous portion being placed into roll-offs. Prior to demobilizing for the Fourth of July holiday, approximately 25% of building 1 and been accomplished. In addition, piping continued to be drained and cut. An additional 6,950 feet of various chemical feed lines were addressed, bringing the total to date to 132,980 feet. In excess of 250 gallons of corrosive liquid was collected and transferred to an on-site clarifier. Four 40-CY roll-off of non-hazardous C&D debris and one 30-CY of hazardous debris were shipped off-site for disposal.
On Thursday, June 12th, a meeting was held on-site. In attendance were executives from the State Bank of India (mortgage holder) and their counsel, two commercial/industrial realtors, EPA-ORC, and the Mayor for the City of Cortland. A site tour was provided and discussions were focused on the removal schedule/cost, liquidating remaining assets, and proceeding forward with the required legal documents.
The AST continues to monitor work zone safety and provide air monitoring.
Discussions are underway to formulate a sampling and analysis plan for determining the extent of contamination in surface and subsurface soils and water.
Building conditions continue to deteriorate due to extensive roof leaks, burst water and chemical feed pipes and significant mold growth. Leaking acid feed pipes accelerate the deterioration process. These worsening conditions significantly have required the EPA to increase the scope of their removal action. In addition, the information offered by a former maintenance person at the facility proved inaccurate; that resulted in far more contamination remaining in the process piping than originally thought.
EPA will continue Site security during all non-working hours. ERRS will pursue disposal, recycling, and scrapping options for waste materials and metal remaining on-site. The AST will continue to provide air monitoring and oversight of work zone health and safety and compliance to the HASP. Demolition operations are expected to be completed by the end of August.
Since the condition of the buildings has worsened, EPA has increased its scope of work to include removal and disposal of process piping, cleaning and dismantling of tanks, decontamination of building interiors, salvaging equipment, scrapping of metal components and, demolition of buildings 1 & 2
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