Posted on September 20, 2023
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District has awarded a $17.6 million contract to Mark Cerrone, Inc. to install approximately 23-acres of engineered non-permeable caps at the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Seaway Site, Tonawanda, N.Y.
Construction of the engineered cap, designed to limit exposure at the site, will occur within areas A, B, and C, and is scheduled to begin no later than spring 2024.
The process will not require the removal of contaminated materials, but does include grading of the access roads, conducting surface water calculations and stormwater management, gas monitoring (including radon and decomposition gases), erosion resistance model and erosion control materials specifications, slope stability analysis, venting system design, planting of vegetative soils to limit erosion, and installation of composite engineered cap materials.
Protecting human health and the environment remains the Corps of Engineers’ highest priority. Throughout the process updates and timelines will be communicated frequently to ensure the public remains informed.
Additional information regarding the Seaway Site can be found on the project website at https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Seaway-Site/.
Seaway site background:
The Seaway Site is within the 100-acre Seaway Industrial Park located along River Road in the Town of Tonawanda, Erie County, New York, north of Buffalo and just south of the Niagara River. The site was operated as a landfill by Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) through 1993. After ceasing operations, most of the landfill was capped by BFI in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
The Seaway Site was created when materials containing low levels of residual radioactivity were disposed of on the adjacent federal government leased Ashland 1 property. These radioactive residues were the result of activities conducted at the former Linde Site to support the nation’s nuclear weapons program. This material was later relocated by Ashland Oil to the Seaway Site Areas A, B, C, and the Ashland 2 Site.
FUSRAP Background:
Under FUSRAP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is cleaning up sites with contamination resulting from the Nation’s early atomic energy program. FUSRAP was initiated in 1974 to identify, investigate and, if necessary, clean up or control sites throughout the United States contaminated as a result of Manhattan Engineer District (MED) or early Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) activities. Both the MED and the AEC were predecessors of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
For Additional Information:
Please email fusrap@usace.army.mil or call 800-833-6390 (Option 4) for additional information. The Administrative Record for the Seaway Site contains documents that support the CERCLA process for the site. It is available for review electronically on the project website https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Seaway-Site/.
The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation in order to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war.
