The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will complete the cleanup of properties in neighborhoods adjacent to the former Geneva Foundry Site, located at 23 Jackson Street in Geneva, in 2024.
As specified in the January 2017 Record of Decision (ROD), the cleanup includes the removal of soil contaminated with arsenic and lead from properties located near the former foundry. This will be the seventh year of a multi-year cleanup effort.
Beginning in March, soil removal and property restoration activities will resume in the project area. This is anticipated to be the final year of remedial construction activities, which are expected to be completed by July.
Throughout the upcoming construction period, DEC’s representatives will individually meet with property owners identified for remediation to review and discuss their soil data, confirm their consent for property access to allow remediation to take place, and coordinate remedial and restoration activities.
Highlights of activities planned for 2024 include:
- Remedial activities were previously completed at 212 property parcels and 23 other properties were determined to not require cleanup. In 2024, a total of five additional properties will be addressed: two that began in 2023 requiring only limited additional cleanup and three where activities have not begun. The locations of these properties are throughout the project area and include the primary project office and equipment staging area on State Street
- Landscaping will be completed at properties where remediation was completed during 2023, but where final restoration could not be completed before winter.
- Restoration of properties to be cleaned up in 2024, as well as completion of project documentation, are anticipated to be completed by year-end.
- Upon completion of property cleanup activities, the project equipment and materials staging areas on State, Jackson, Geneva, and Lehigh streets will be restored in consultation with the City of Geneva.
- Areas that are disturbed during the cleanup will be restored to pre-existing conditions in consultation with each property owner. Prior to being brought to the site, all backfill materials will be tested to demonstrate that it meets DEC requirements that are protective of public health and the environment.
The Geneva Foundry was operational from the late 19th century until 1988 and manufactured a variety of metal products. Air emissions (fly ash) from the former foundry’s furnace contained lead and arsenic, which were deposited onto the soil in the surrounding area. DEC is designing and implementing site-specific cleanup plans of mostly residential properties to remove the contaminants from impacted properties
