Cleanup To Continue At Former PepsiCo Site

The second phase of site cleanup at the former PepsiCo bottling facility in Long Island City is set to begin this spring.    The site, 9.5 acres of land along the East River, will be home to four new buildings constructed by Rockrose Development Corp. Rockrose has already erected three buildings — one pending completion — on the adjacent lot.

   The remediation site consists of two properties owned by Queens West Development Corp. in the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. The site’s remedial engineer is TRC Companies Inc. Posillico is conducting the cleanup.
   The project’s boundaries are Anable Basin to the north, high-rise residential buildings to the south, the East River to the west and 5th Street to the east.
   NYSDEC, working in conjunction with the state’s Department of Health, is accepting public comment on the remediation proposal until March 17.
   At a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 13, officials from both departments outlined past and future work to be conducted at the site.
   Major site damage occurred primarily between 1850 and 1937, explained Daniel Walsh, with DEC. The area was a farm until the mid 1860s, when it became an oil refinery. In 1937, PepsiCo took over the site. The company’s plant was demolished in 2003 to make way for new development.
   Multiple environmental studies — beginning in 1986 — showed the presence of petroleum on site. “This is the target of our remediation,” he said, noting that the goal is to make it safe for the public and the environment, as well as suitable for future use.
   Development plans include the construction of four buildings, a waterfront park, a school and roads and utilities. The largest building will include 750 apartments, a parking garage and retail amenities. There will also be a second condominium and additional residential apartments in the remaining two buildings, said Jon McMillan, director of planning with Rockrose Development. Space has been reserved for construction of a public school.
   A remediation report conducted over several months between September 2005 and April 2006 uncovered storage tanks, buried piping and other volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater in addition to the petroleum, according to the DEC.
   The current remediation plan, set to begin in April and wrap up approximately 10 months later, will include removal of the contaminants and future monitoring of the site.
   The cleanup will require installing two tents on site to protect the surrounding environment while materials are removed from the air and soil. Excavated soil and piping will be covered and trucked off-site to treatment facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Air will be sucked out of the tents directly into an on-site treatment system, where it will be cleansed and re-released.
   The effort will also include additional air monitoring during and after remediation. Once excavation is complete, the site will be filled with clean soil.
   Residents can expect to see drilling rigs on site for 3 to 4 months, a vacuum truck for oil extraction and the two tents, which will be moved around the site as remediation progresses, Walsh said.
   The public is welcome to submit verbal or written comments on the plan to the DEC until March 17. Comments should be addressed to Shaminder Singh, NYSDEC, 47-40 21st St., Long Island City, N.Y. 11101. Call Singh at (718) 482-4909 or email him at spsingh@gw.dec.state.ny.us for more information.

   To learn more, visit the Web site at http://prod.trcimg.com/QWDCStage2.

 by Annmarie Fertoli

Queens Chronicle