Overview
LiRo provided comprehensive environmental engineering and landscape architecture design services for the redevelopment of this 17.5-acre brownfield. The former Liberty Industrial Finishing Site is on the National Priorities List (NPL) and has undergone remediation by the Responsible Party (RP) under United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) supervision. The Town of Oyster Bay purchased the impaired property to re-develop for recreational use. The remediation program included the removal of more than 100,000-tons of chromium and cadmium-contaminated soils; the installation of a contaminated groundwater capture, treatment and recharge system; and the demolition and rebuilding of more than 10 industrial buildings and foundations that contained lead and asbestos. LiRo oversaw the excavation and removal of contaminated soils; refilling of the excavated areas; the design of a building demolition plan; the design and oversight of the asbestos and lead-abatement program; and the implementation of an air quality monitoring program.
About the Project
Recognizing the limitations of the RP site characterization/ remediation and the potential to uncover additional contaminated soil during the building slab and foundation removal, LiRo’s environmental team developed and implemented a subslab investigation program that served the dual purpose of defining the scope of the slab demolition work and providing sub-slab soil data that was lacking from previous site investigation work. The sampling program revealed numerous areas of residual contamination that the RP was responsible for removing to comply with their Record of Decision with USEPA. LiRo also identified numerous portions of the site that had been cleaned to USEPA standards, but fell short of the NYSDEC Part 375 recreational use standards that the TOB wished to achieve to ensure the protection of residents using the future site Park. Excavation and disposal plans, and health and safety plans were developed, and a Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) for the remedial work was implemented. LiRo provided construction oversight, directed excavation endpoint sampling to confirm compliance with NYSDEC standards, conducted dust monitoring in compliance with CAMP, and prepared remedial excavation construction completion reports to document the removal of contaminated soil.
Project Challenges & Solutions
Design challenges included the need to incorporate community needs with the restrictions of building on remediated land containing required monitoring stations.
Outcome
As a subsequent phase to the project, LiRo provided landscape design services to expand the adjacent Ellsworth W. Allen Park into the reclaimed site. The new park area includes both active and passive park uses, including nature areas and walks, tennis courts, a community center with a pool, athletic fields, a lawn and amphitheater area, a roller hockey rink, drainage facilities and internal roadways and parking. In addition, a Site Management Plan was created to ensure that future Park construction and maintenance work is conducted in a manner that is protective of workers, the environment and the surrounding community.
