DEC Looking Into Contamination At Old Kings Park Steck & Philbin Site

KINGS PARK, NY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is asking for the public's input about its investigation into possible contamination at the Former Steck and Philbin Site on Old Northport Road in Kings Park.

The NYSDEC is drafting a work plan within the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program and is asking for public comments. Residents can offer feedback through June 10 to the NYSDEC project manager listed under project-related questions in the "Whom to Contact" area at the left.

The investigation will be done by Cox Bros with oversight by the NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

The Steck and Philbin site is a 25.43-acre site in a suburban area. The site is along the northeast side of Old Northport Road, approximately one-third of a mile east of Old Commack Road. The site is currently vacant and has vegetation throughout.

It is currently inactive and is zoned for industrial use.

The site, in the 1980s, was used as a sand mine, a transfer station, and a construction and demolition processing/disposal facility. Poor disposal methods led to solid waste investigations and violations.

The investigation is meant to define the nature and extent of contamination in soil vapor and groundwater and any other parts of the environment that may be affected, according to the state DEC.

Prior investigations have detected semi-volatile organic compounds, volatile organic compounds, metals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances compounds in groundwater and on-site
soils.

Key components of the investigation work include:

• Installation of an additional monitoring well and sampling of all onsite wells to find on-site sources of contamination.
• Installing and sampling soil vapor points.

NYSDEC will consider public comments, revise the plan as necessary, and approve the work
plan, which NYSDOH must agree with. After the work plan is approved, the activities detailed in the work plan will be implemented. When the investigation is done, a report will be prepared
and submitted to NYSDEC for a summary of the work.NYSDEC will review the report, make any necessary revisions and, if appropriate, approve the report.

Then, a proposed cleanup plan will be developed, according to NYSDEC. The cleanup plan will include an evaluation of the proposed site remedy or recommend a no action or no further action alternative.

The goal of the cleanup plan is to ensure the protection of public health and the environment, the state DEC wrote. NYSDEC will present the proposed cleanup plan to the public for its review and
comment during a 45-day comment period. NYSDEC said it will keep people informed during
the investigation and site cleanup.