Polluter Will Clean Up Nassau County Superfund Site, Pay for Village's Water Decontamination

The federal government settled a lawsuit against a company that contaminated Garden City's water supply, and the company will now pay millions to clean up its mess.

Tennessee-based Genesco Inc. has agreed to clean up contaminated drinking water at the Fulton Avenue Superfund Site in the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead. Specifically, the site is located at 150 Fulton Ave. in Garden City Park. The settlement, which is valued at no less than $5.25 million, requires Genesco to ensure the operation and maintenance of water treatment and indoor air treatment systems at the site, and to monitor groundwater and indoor air contamination there. Genesco will also reimburse EPA for costs incurred in overseeing the work required by the settlement.

The settlement was entered on Tuesday by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in an action brought against Genesco pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund statute. The Superfund law protects human health and the environment while safeguarding taxpayer dollars by holding parties that contributed to contamination responsible for cleaning it up.

The site in includes a 0.8-acre commercial facility, which from approximately 1965 to 1974, contained a fabric-cutting mill that was owned or operated by Genesco. The mill cut and processed knitted fabrics, which were then dry-cleaned with tetrachloroethylene (commonly known as perc), which was disposed of into the environment during the mill’s operations. As a result of these past disposal practices, perc contaminated soil, air and groundwater at the Site. EPA has classified perc as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. Chronic exposure to perc can also cause adverse neurological effects, including impaired cognitive and motor neurobehavioral performance, and may also cause adverse effects in the kidney, liver, immune system, hematologic system, and on development and reproduction.

Groundwater contamination at the site and has impacted two public water supply wells: Garden City Water District wells 13 and 14. Currently, the groundwater entering those wells is treated using an air stripper installed and operated by the Village of Garden City, which forces air through groundwater to remove harmful chemicals, such as perc. The settlement requires, among other things, that Genesco continue the operation and maintenance of the existing treatment systems for the two wells until remedial goals are met. The settlement also requires Genesco to monitor contaminant levels in groundwater at the site and to pay EPA’s costs of evaluating chemical vapors that may enter buildings near the Fulton Property. EPA will oversee Genesco’s work.

“Residents of Long Island rely on groundwater as their source of drinking water, so it is critical that groundwater resources be protected from toxic contamination,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “The EPA will keep working to protect residents of Long Island from the threats of polluted groundwater.”

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