SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (5201 G) July 2000 Superfund Redevelopment Dl/nfc Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. f 11\JLO Saratoga Springs, NY EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) is a nationally coordinated effort to facilitate the return of Superfund sites to productive use by selecting response actions consistent with anticipated use. The SRI Pilots are intended to help local governments enhance their involvement in the Superfund decision-making process by assisting EPA in predicting future land uses for Superfund sites. Under the Pilot Program, EPA will provide up to $100,000 in financial assistance and/or services to local governments for specified activities. Applicants are offered several types of program assistance, including funding through a cooperative agreement, access to facilitation services, and/or the availability of personnel under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). BACKGROUND EPA selected the City of Saratoga Springs, New York, for a Superfund Redevelopment Pilot. Saratoga Springs is home to the seven-acre Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (NMPC) Superfund site. The property was used for coal gas manufacturing by the Saratoga Gas Light Company and then by various other companies from 1853 until the late 1940s. By-products containing hazardous substances were disposed of at various locations on the site, and the site's subsurface contains many coal tar waste deposits. Portions of the nearby Spring Run stream and a neighboring city-owned skating rink were contaminated as a result of these activities. Since 1950, NMPC has used the property as a multipurpose service center with an electric substation, natural gas facilities, vehicle and equipment repair, storage facilities, and offices. In February 1990, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. OBJECTIVES For two years, the City of Saratoga Springs has worked with NMPC and non-profit organizations to maximize the benefits resulting from the site's cleanup and reuse. Their goals are to preserve a historic structure on the site and to integrate the company's cleanup in Spring Run Valley with the potential development of a multi- use rails-to-trails path. The city is not requesting Pilot funds, because NMPC has offered to assist the city in developing the Spring Run Trail and has committed to preserve the historic structure as part of its cleanup. NMPC and the city will also evaluate future uses for the skating rink property, and they will prepare a plan that will integrate the reuse with the cleanup of the site. In addition, the city will assist in EPA's public outreach efforts. PILOT SNAPSHOT Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. Albany I Applicant Name: Saratoga Springs, NY Site Name: Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. Date of Selection: July 2000 Anticipated Award: Not Applicable Profile: The city will create a reuse plan to build a rails-to-trails path and to preserve a historic structure on the site. Contacts: Dan Forger U.S. EPA Region 2 (212) 637-4402 Superfund Hotline: (800) 424-9346 or (703) 412-9810 (DC Metro area) forger.dan@epa.gov reuse.info@epa.gov Visit the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Web site http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pilot.htm ------- |