State DEC Workers Busy at Contaminated Endicott Site

New York state environmental teams are continuing to monitor and treat contaminated groundwater at an abandoned industrial site near the former IBM manufacturing complex.

Employees of the Department of Environmental Conservation have been working at the old Endicott Forging and Manufacturing Company property in recent days. The site is located at North Street and Hayes Avenue, just east of the Huron Campus.

The century-old business shut down after a raging fire in February 2000. Endicott Forging went bankrupt after the devastating blaze. The fire-wrecked facility was demolished nearly nine years later.

According to DEC, records indicate there were many petroleum spills at the site during the year Endicott Forging operated there. At one point, more than 115,000 gallons of oil was stored on the property.

The state agency began investigating the site in 2003. Petroleum contaminated soil was removed from the property as part of the pollution investigation.

Groundwater monitoring wells were installed in an effort to determine the extent of the contamination. Recovery wells were put in to contain and clean up oil in the groundwater. Those wells and the treatment system remain active.

Two years ago, DEC hired an engineering company to conduct further studies to determine whether more action was needed to deal with the tainted site. That investigation revealed the oil-contaminated soil remains between six and 18 feet below the ground surface.

The studies determined the oil apparently is naturally degrading.

DEC sampling from off-site monitoring wells over the past year indicate the spilled oil is not migrating off the Endicott Forging property.

The environmental agency told WNBF News it is continuing to collect and treat the contaminated groundwater and to monitor for any impact away from the site.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.