Sauquoit Creek cleanup looms

By ELIZABETH COOPER

Observer-Dispatch

Posted Feb 06, 2010 @ 03:23 PM

Last update Feb 06, 2010 @ 03:25 PM

CHADWICKS —

Ask longtime fisherman and fishing rod maker Steve Payne of Cassville about PCB contamination in Sauquoit Creek, and he’ll make a few jokes about glow-in-the-dark fish.

Tell him the state is poised to begin what could become a $4.6 million cleanup, however, and he’ll express his excitement at the potential resolution of one of the region’s worst environmental problems.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” he said. “There’s other streams around that need attention, but none as bad as the Sauquoit Creek.”

For almost a decade, state officials have known for certain that hazardous waste at a site at 3456 Oneida St. was the reason trout in Sauquoit Creek were contaminated with a dangerous toxin, making them unfit for consumption.

Now, the state Department of Environmental Conservation is about to start the final phase of its cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs.

“For the public’s sake, this site needs to be cleaned up,” DEC spokesman Steve Litwhiler said. “We strive for people to be able to eat the brown trout from the creek and for this property to be put back to a productive use.”

Once the cleanup is complete, a new generation of fish will grow up healthy in the creek, and local fishermen will again be able to eat what they catch there, he said.

A range of seven options exists, including doing nothing and spending as much as $8.7 million.

The state right now is focusing on a cleanup option totaling $4.6 million.

Who pays?

According to the state, among those potentially liable is the owner of Madden Concrete and Masonry Supply, Thomas Madden Jr., who said this week that village of New Hartford business is closing.

The state said it would pursue the persons considered responsible for the Sauquoit Creek contamination in an effort to make them pay. If that’s not successful, then the taxpayer-supported state Superfund program would cover the costs.

30-year-old problem

From 1880 to 1952, the 3456 Oneida St. site was part of the old Willowvale Bleachery property. But it’s not the bleachery that’s responsible for the contamination.

It wasn’t until the parcel was sold to Thomas Madden Sr. and Rita Madden, who operated Central Steel Erecting Company there 30 years ago, that the PCB contamination began, the report states.

In 1980, the Chadwicks site was used for cleaning of industrial machines containing PCB oils. In addition, there are unconfirmed reports of the discharge and dumping of fluids containing PCBs, the state says.

Sometime after 1994, the property was transferred to Thomas Madden Jr., their son. He sold the property to Valley Used Steel in 2004, the report states.

For years, however, state officials did not know the source of the creek’s PCB contamination. In the end, it was the creek’s fish that led the DEC to 3456 Oneida St., Litwhiler said.

If you took a teaspoon of water from the creek, there might not be detectable levels of PCBs in it, but the fish that live in the creek absorb and build up the toxins over time, he said.

That’s why brown trout from Sauquoit Creek should not be eaten, a ban that’s been in effect for 12 years now.

Brown trout eat other fish and live longer, so there’s more chance that PCBs will be concentrated in their bodies.

“It was, ‘There’s PCBs in the fish, let’s track down where it came from,’” Litwiler said.

In 2001, the agency confirmed that there was a high concentration of PCBs at the 3456 Oneida St. site.

A state Superfund list of inactive hazardous waste sites places the property in Class 2, indicating that it ‘represents a significant threat to public health or the environment” and “action is required.”

It wasn’t until 2007, however, that the first cleanup efforts were conducted.

Residents react

Chadwicks residents have lived with the problem for so long that many have become cynical about it.

But amid quips about fish with three eyes and people with hands growing out of their heads, they said they are glad the cleanup is set to begin in earnest.

“Nobody wants PCBs in the creek,” said Keith Cronin, owner of Jan’s Diner in Chadwicks. “Everyone should be happy about the fact they are going to clean it up.”

Ken Yager, who was unloading a table from a truck with a friend outside a home at Brookside Mobile Manor, said the creek had been polluted in one way or another ever since he could remember.

“If it’s got to be done, obviously you can’t leave it,” he said.

Who’s responsible?

The DEC report lists several parties that may be legally liable for the contamination.

They are Thomas Madden Jr., Rita Madden, Valley Used Steel and Central Steel Erecting Company.

Thomas Madden Jr. said he does not believe he should be responsible for the mess, however.

“The DEC investigated and concluded that my activity was so limited and for such a short period of time it couldn’t have happened under me,” he said.

He also said he had voluntarily done between $150,000 and $200,000 worth of cleanup at the site about 10 years ago.

“I’m surprised to hear my name mentioned at all,” he said. “I’ve had no communication with DEC with regard to that property in seven to 10 years.”

Litwhiler, however, said Madden had written a letter to the DEC stating that he was withdrawing from the voluntary cleanup program in 2004, before the tasks he had been assigned were complete.

A call to a Rita Madden listed in the Oneida County phone book was not returned. It was not clear if this was the same Rita Madden who had owned the property. Thomas Madden Jr. said he was not in communication with his mother.

No contact information could be found for Valley Used Steel.

Thomas Madden Jr. also said he was not linked to Valley Used Steel and could not recall the name of the individual he dealt with when selling the property.

Brighter future for fish

It’s not clear when the cleanup will begin, but once it’s under way, it should take less than a year, the report said.

When the cleanup is complete, the site will be usable for either residential or commercial use, Litwhiler said.

There will be a public meeting Feb. 25 so residents can ask questions and give their views about the plan.

Even when the cleanup is complete, fish that have lived in the creek for years will still be affected, but young fish that grow up in the cleaner creek will be OK, he said.

The state Department of Health sometimes issues “eat none” orders for fish over a certain size to account for such improvements, he said. The size limit would screen out the older, contaminated fish.

Bill Wheatley Jr., president of the Sauquoit Creek Fish and Game Club, said some of his members had been helping the state monitor the fish in the creek.

He said the creek is far cleaner today than when his parents’ generation was growing up. Back then, it flowed in a rainbow of colors because of dyes from local mills.

“It’s come around quite a bit,” Wheatley said. “It’s a nice little stream.”

What? Public hearing on PCB remediation project at 3456 Oneida Street

When? 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.

Where? American Legion Post 1000, 3454 Oneida Street, Chadwicks.

How? If you want to express your views in writing, send comments to:
William Bennett
NYSDEC
Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7014
Or visit:
wbbennet.gw.dec.state.ny.us