EPA Agrees to Conduct Additional Testing at Lehigh Valley Site After Urging from Hochul and Schumer

Press Release

Congresswoman Kathy Hochul (NY-26) and U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct further testing to confirm that the eastern boundary of an underground TCE contaminated plume, caused by a LeHigh Valley Train derailment in 1970, does not extend beyond Spring Creek near Caledonia-Mumford Central School, located only a quarter of a mile east of Spring Creek on North Street.

"For over 40 years, the residents of Livingston, Monroe, and Genesee Counties have worried about the effects of the train derailment at the LeHigh Valley site," said Congresswoman Hochul. "Senator Schumer and I hope that today's announcement by the EPA to continue testing will bring reassurance to these communities that everything is being done on the federal level to ensure that the health and safety of Western New Yorkers is our top priority. And the release of the December 2011 report today will hopefully provide residents with the answers they need to know that this area is a safe place to live, work, and raise a family."

"This testing should bring relief to Western New York homeowners who worried for decades about what this derailment might mean for the health and safety of their families," said Senator Schumer. "We're pleased that the EPA is stepping up to the plate to get some answers once and for all, and will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the areas impacted by the Lehigh Valley spill are safe and secure."

After hearing from local officials in the Town of Caledonia in Livingston County, Hochul and Schumer urged the EPA to conduct additional soil gas sampling in Caledonia, east of Spring Creek. The sampling will help the EPA determine if the plume is spreading eastward beyond Spring Creek toward the Caledonia-Mumford Central School by assessing whether there is evidence of TCE vapors in the subsurface area over the underground water table. If TCE vapor is detected, the sampling results will then help the EPA determine where to place permanent underground monitoring wells. The EPA expects to begin the soil gas sampling within the next few months, and may begin as soon as May.

The EPA also announced today that in response to a letter from Congresswoman Hochul, Senator Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand earlier this year, they will publicly release the results of ground water sampling taken last December at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund site in LeRoy, New York. A copy of the letter can be found here.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment federal superfund site is the location of a train derailment in 1970 that spilled one ton of cyanide crystals and approximately 30,000 gallons of TCE along portions of Gulf Road, the former railroad bed, and the properties next to the railroad crossing in the Town of LeRoy. The TCE leached into the underground water table, creating an underground TCE contaminated plume that covers approximately 4.5 square miles. EPA ground water testing reveals the underground TCE plume extends approximately four miles to the east, toward the Town of Caledonia. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1999.

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