The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. to present its proposal for the cleanup of environmental contamination at the Alsy Manufacturing, Inc., Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site. At the meeting, which will be held at Hicksville Middle School, DEC and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH )staff will review the history of the site, describe the results of investigations completed to date, and the rationale behind the Proposed Remedial Action Plan (PRAP).

The four-acre Alsy Manufacturing site is located at 270 and 280 Duffy Avenue. The site is bounded on the north by the Long Island Rail Road and a construction and demolition debris reclaimer; on the south by Duffy Avenue and a residential neighborhood; and on the east and west by active and vacant industrial or commercial operations. The site contains two buildings with adjacent paved parking areas. The buildings are occupied commercial operations. The nearest public well field is located more than one-mile downgradient of the site.

From 1975 through 1991, Alsy Manufacturing, Inc. (Alsy) occupied the site. During this time, manufacturing processes included metal plating. Prior to 1975, the site was occupied by Metalab, a laboratory furniture manufacturer.

In 1990, NYSDEC classified the site as a Class "2" on the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites. A Class "2" site is a site where hazardous waste presents a significant threat to the public health or the environment and action is required. Subsequent to the listing, Surrey Company and the Surrey Corporation (Surrey) entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with DEC to conduct a Remedial Investigation (RI) and a Feasibility Study (FS) for the site.

Remedial Investigation (RI) activities were conducted at the site from 1996 through 2003. During these activities, soil, soil gas and groundwater samples were collected from potential areas of concern at the site, and groundwater samples were collected from onsite and offsite groundwater monitoring wells.

Metals were determined to be the primary contaminants of concern in soil and groundwater. Nickel was found to be the only site-related dissolved metal in the groundwater monitoring wells at concentrations in excess of the New York State groundwater quality standards. The source of the dissolved nickel was determined to be contaminated soils in former disposal areas on the north side of the 270 Duffy Avenue building. The highest concentrations of nickel were found in former leaching pools and dry wells.

The Feasibility Study screened a number of technologies that could potentially be used to clean up the soil and groundwater. Appropriate technologies were assembled into four alternative remedies for the site. These alternatives were compared against all the required remedy selection criteria and against each other. A remedy was then selected by the DEC and the NYSDOH as the preferred remedy and is described in the PRAP.

The major elements of the PRAP include:

• A remedial design program to provide the details necessary for the construction of the remedy, including a limited pre-design investigation to provide data to support the design of the remedy;

• Excavation of contaminated soil from several dry wells. Reconfiguration of storm water infrastructure to reroute storm water;

• Capping of remaining contaminated soils with asphalt to prevent exposure and infiltration of precipitation;

• Development of a site management plan to manage future soil excavation at the site, evaluate the potential for vapor intrusion for future development, and provide for the maintenance of the remedy;

• Long term monitoring, including periodic sampling and analysis of on and off-site groundwater to evaluate the effectiveness of the contaminated soil removal and storm water management; and

• Imposition of an environmental easement that would (a) require compliance with the approved site management plan; (b) limit the use and development of the property to commercial or industrial uses only; (c) restrict the use of groundwater; and (d) require annual certification that the institutional controls and engineering controls (IC/ECs) are still in place and that nothing has occurred that would impair the ability of the IC/ECs to protect public health or the environment.

Meeting participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments on the proposed cleanup plan. Written comments also may be submitted by March 8 to: Kevin Carpenter, P.E., Project Manager, NYSDEC, Division of Environmental Remediation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7015. Once the public comment period closes, DEC will document and respond to comments and outline the chosen remedy in a Record of Decision (ROD). Copies of investigation reports and other site documents are available at the Hicksville Public Library and at DEC's regional office in Stony Brook. Information is also available by calling Bill Fonda at (631) 444-0350.