With the Town of Oyster Bay's recent measure to acquire an approximate 15 acres of the Liberty Superfund Site in Farmingdale, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced earlier this week that they will be implementing a full cleanup of the property, which includes the removal of all contaminated soils, so the site could be used for recreational purposes.

Town Supervisor John Venditto announced last month that the town was looking to condemn an approximate 15 acres of the site, which includes the most contaminated areas of the property, in hopes that this will warrant the site's full cleanup. Before the town took this measure, the EPA was looking to implement their preferred cleanup plan, known as SL-2, where only portions of the site would be fully excavated and other areas would be capped. Now, since the property is to be used for recreational purposes (the expansion of Allen Park, a town park adjacent to the property), the EPA will implement the residents' preferred cleanup, known as SL-3, which includes the removal of all contaminated soils, making capping unnecessary. Since the property will now be used for parkland, the EPA said that only the SL-3 would be compatible with the town's current plan for developing the western portion of the property.

According to the EPA, this new comprehensive plan is the final step in the agency's overall strategy of phased cleanups to manage the complex contamination problems posed by the Liberty site. Earlier EPA decisions and cleanup work focused on the most significant threats present at the site and this final plan covers future actions for site soils, on and off site ground water problems and contamination of the Massapequa Preserve.

"Our thanks go to the Farmingdale residents for their active involvement in the Superfund process at this site, and to local elected officials for their role in helping to create a cleanup plan that will turn a neighborhood liability into the kind of community asset the public really wants," said EPA Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny. "We will call upon a cooperative group of private responsible parties who have already cleanup up portions of the site under EPA's direction, to conduct the upcoming cleanups with our oversight."

According to the EPA, under the final plan, more than 73,000 cubic yards of soil will be removed to levels that protect the underlying ground water and are below state and federal goals for recreational use, followed by backfilling excavated areas with clean soil. The soil will be shipped to an approved disposal facility and restoration work will be done at the site. All liquid and solid hazardous waste material from underground storage tanks and subsurface structures will also be removed and disposed of off-site.

This remedy also includes converting the existing groundwater treatment system at the site to an extraction (pump) and treatment (treat) system that will address the contaminated groundwater under the property. Off-site groundwater contamination and on-site groundwater contamination from a source that is not part of the Superfund site will also be addressed by extraction and treatment. The plan also requires that a long-term groundwater monitoring system be established to gauge the effectiveness of the various cleanup systems.

At the Massapequa Preserve, the EPA's cleanup plan requires that an estimated 2,600 cubic yards of contaminated sediments be removed at Pond A of the nearby Massapequa Creek and Preserve and shipped off-site for appropriate disposal. A long-term monitoring system will be established in the preserve to measure the improvements in water quality in Pond A and the other ponds as a result of the cleanup.

The selected remedy for on-site soil and subsurface structure contamination will require deed restrictions to limit the use of the property on the western side of the site. In addition, the groundwater remedy requires deed restrictions to prevent the use of groundwater under the site for drinking water purposes.

The town board held a public hearing this past Tuesday to discuss their intentions with local residents and elected officials.

"I am gratified that the EPA has committed to an SL-3 cleanup and proud the town played such an important role in finally bringing this situation to a resolution that has been elusive for so many years," Venditto said. "I thank all the local and federal officials who worked with me to persuade the EPA to select the more intensive cleanup, especially Congressman Peter King, who graciously convened a meeting with EPA officials so I could tell them, first hand, the importance of the SL-3 cleanup to the Farmingdale community and the Town of Oyster Bay. I also thank the Farmingdale residents who have been involved in this issue from the beginning for never wavering."

At the hearing, Dolores Fredrich, outside counsel for the town, explained to the town board and local residents the specifics of the procedures that need to be taken. She noted that the EPA issued a decision earlier this week stating that they will implement the higher cleanup, but this decision is contingent upon the town's implementation of their intentions. She added that the town will either acquire 14 or 16 acres of the site, depending on whether or not the EPA allows them to go over the tax lot line which divides the site almost directly in half. Fredrich also noted that the town is willing to pay the landowner fair market value for the property as it would be if the site were in pristine condition.

Residents and local elected officials, including County Legislator Salvatore Pontillo and Assemblyman Steve Labriola, all expressed their satisfaction at the meeting that the "beginning of the end" has finally arrived. Many residents admitted that when they heard the EPA was to implement the full cleanup, they were in shock, disbelief and checked their faxes and answering machines to make sure the news wasn't an April Fool's joke.

"This is a dream come true," many residents said, adding that they didn't think the SL-3 cleanup was a possibility, let alone the expansion of Allen Park.

"This is going to happen," Venditto assured. "Regardless of [where the money comes from], the Town of Oyster Bay will make this happen. I hope things will proceed quickly from here and we will soon see major improvements on the property," Venditto said.

"We cannot accept anything less than [the SL-3 cleanup] in this community," he added. "We deserve the best [and] we're going to see this through."