Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
1/9/2015
New York Senator Charles Schumer (D) this week called on the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) to release the remediation plan for the Tonawanda Landfill while promising to push for more federal funding for the cleanup program. The Corps has said it would develop a feasibility study for remediation at the site by the end of 2014, but no study or plan has emerged yet. “The radioactive waste sitting underneath the Tonawanda Landfill is a hotbed for potential danger, and it is time to get a plan in place to mitigate the risk.” Schumer said in a statement. “Tonawanda residents deserve a plan ASAP that will once and for all get remnants of the first atomic bomb out of their backyards. The Army Corps has done an excellent job monitoring the risk at the site, but their most recent assessment made it clear that the Landfill needs to be cleaned up soon or else it could pose a serious risk to people’s health.”
The Tonawanda Landfill represents one of five FUSRAP sites in western New York state, a cluster that did not escape Schumer’s attention. Schumer promised to fight for additional funding for the program during the new Congress to alleviate New York state of the potential dangers from radioactive waste. “We have five radioactive sites in Western New York – all of which could eventually pose a threat to nearby residents – and in order to clean them all up before they become a serious problem, we must secure more funding for the FUSRAP program,” Schumer said. “In this next Congress, I will make it clear to my colleagues how important this is for Western New York and will fight tooth and nail to ensure that increasing FUSRAP funding is a priority.”
Feasibility Study Due in Late Spring, Corps Says
Radioactive waste at the Tonawanda Landfill resulted from dumped contaminated soil in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, according to a report conducted by New York state. Millions of gallons of radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project were pumped into underground wells under the nearby Linde Ceramics Plant uranium refinery, but those wells began to overflow. Workers then dumped the waste into a ditch that ran to Two Mile Creek, where it was later dug up and moved to Tonawanda Landfill. The waste sat there until a Department of Energy radiological survey re-discovered the material in the 1990s, where it was then transferred to FUSRAP.
The Corps this week reaffirmed its commitment to cleanup at the Tonawanda site, but indicated that rigorous studies are still needed before the plan can be released. “The Corps of Engineers appreciates Sen. Schumer’s interest and focus on the Tonawanda Landfill,” USACE Buffalo District spokesman Bruce Sanders said in an email. “We are committed, within the limits of our authority and funding, to work towards a solution that is protective of human health and the environment, technically sound, environmentally sustainable and economically justified.”
Part of the delay, Sanders said, comes from the thorough internal review process the Corps must complete under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process. CERCLA requires detailed evaluation of potential remedies in the feasibility study and multiple internal reviews to ensure accuracy and compliance, Sanders said. “The draft feasibility study and proposed plan are undergoing a thorough internal review process, which includes reviews by the Corps of Engineers Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, and headquarters,” Sanders said. “Once the reviews are complete and the documents are finalized, they will be released to the public for review, and public comment on the proposed plan will be encouraged. The current schedule is to complete the feasibility study and proposed plan in late spring of 2015.”
