DEC Seeks Ossining's Input On Contaminated Nursery Gas Station Site

OSSINING, NY — New York State environmental officials are seeking comment from the public on a plan to investigate contamination at the Sun Valley Nursery Filling Station site on Croton Avenue.

The plan is to redevelop the site with a mix of retail space and apartments, DEC officials said. The owner is 136-140 Croton Avenue LLC, and the site is a project of Pelham-based MacQuesten Development.

The site is 0.8 acres between Prospect and Watson avenues. It is bordered to the south by a residential neighborhood of single-family homes.

A garden center was the last occupant. Sun Nursery was there for 20 years, between 1997 and December 2017. Before that, it had been used as a gas station, taxi service, and auto repair facility since the 1940s. All structures were demolished by February 2020.

The investigation would be done because previous investigations have detected volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds and metals in soil and groundwater there.

It would entail taking soil borings and installing groundwater wells to examine the nature and extent of contamination in soil, soil vapor, surface water, groundwater and any other parts of the environment that may be affected.

The plan would have to be approved by both the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health.

After the investigation, a proposed cleanup plan will be developed. That plan could include an evaluation of the proposed site remedy, or recommend a 'no action' or 'no further action' alternative, officials said. NYSDEC will present that cleanup plan to the public for its review and comment.

The DEC is accepting written comments about the draft investigation plan for 30 days, from June 22 through July 21.

How to comment: Write to the NYSDEC project manager, Michael Squire, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233 or email him at michael.squire@dec.ny.gov.

The documents are also at the Ossining Public Library and the Village of Ossining Planning

Department and can be seen online through the DECinfo Locator.

The project is under New York's Brownfield Cleanup Program, which encourages the voluntary cleanup of contaminated properties known as "brownfields" so that they can be reused and redeveloped. A brownfield site is any real property where a contaminant is present at levels exceeding 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.

For more information about the BCP, visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemica...