Contamination Cleanup Done At Ex-BH Aircraft Site In Farmingdale

EAST FARMINGDALE, NY — The cleanup of contamination related to the BH Aircraft Site, at 441 Eastern Parkway, East Farmingdale, was completed under New York State's Brownfield Cleanup Program, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Tuesday.

Cleanup activities were done by 441 Eastern Parkway, LLC with oversight provided by the NYSDEC. 441 Eastern Parkway LLC submitted a draft Final Engineering Report, which will be reviewed by NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health, and states that cleanup requirements have been or will be met in order to fully protect public health and the environment.

In terms of cleanup, the following have been or will shortly be completed:

• Installation of a soil vapor extraction (SVE) system in the southwestern corner of the site to remedy volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination found during the investigation, and to prevent the spread of off-site soil vapors.
• Monitoring of indoor air to confirm that VOCs are not affecting indoor air.
• Installation of a site-wide cover system to allow for commercial use of the site. The cover system consists of a minimum of one foot of clean soil with a demarcation barrier, with the upper six inches of sufficient quality to maintain vegetation or concrete building foundations or other impervious surface.
• Implementation of a Site Management Plan (SMP) for proper monitoring and management of remaining contamination and protection of public health and the environment.
• Recording of an Environmental Easement as an IC to prevent future exposure to any contamination remaining at the site and to ensure implementation of the SMP.

Once the NYSDEC approves the report, it will be made public. A Certificate of Completion will then be issued, which would allow 441 Eastern Parkway, LLC to redevelop the site. In addition, the applicant would have no liability to the State for contamination at or coming from the site, subject to certain conditions, and be eligible for tax credits to offset a portion of the costs of performing cleanup activities and for redevelopment of the site.

A certificate could be modified or revoked if, for example, an applicant does not comply with the terms of its Brownfield Cleanup Agreement with NYSDEC.

The site is roughly 3.5 acres and within an industrially-zoned district. The site is part of the Town of Babylon and is immediately south of a Long Island Railroad right of way. The property currently contains just one building. An aircraft parts manufacturing company occupied the site from 1964 to around 2000. The site is currently occupied and used as a car dealership.

New York's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) encourages the voluntary cleanup of
contaminated properties known as "brownfields" so that they can be reused and redeveloped. These uses may include recreation, housing, business or other uses. A brownfield site is any real property where a contaminant is present at levels above the soil cleanup objectives or other health-based or environmental standards, criteria or guidance adopted by DEC that are applicable based on the reasonably anticipated use of the property, in accordance with applicable regulations.