Greece, N.Y. (WHAM) — Brendan Bulson and his wife, Casey, said the property by their home near Island Cottage Road in Greece was a shipyard during World War II, and later used by the Air Force for plane parts, and was then a chrome plating business in the 1970s.
“A lot of those businesses dumped chemicals directly into the ground and into the waterways,” said Brendan.
Casey said that contamination in the decades since has expanded. This, “as a result of injecting oxidizers to neutralize the contaminants- a potential undesirable result of which would be simply pushing the contaminants out of the treatment area,” said Casey adding, “Basically that it was the action of pumping fluid in there that pushed it around, not that it was hydrogen peroxide (and sodium permanganate).”
When hiking in the woods she said, “there were always oily films on puddles, on the swamp.” She claims those films could be trichloroethylene, a known carcinogen.
With the Island Cottage Road project pending, the Bulsons are asking the town to work deeper with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
BACKGROUND: Major senior living project a go in Greece; residents vow to fight on | Island Cottage complex proposal in Greece continuing to get pushback | Greece neighbors push back on possible wetland development
“I want them to expand the boundaries of their remediation study, to go farther out and actually encompass all of the contamination that has spread,” said Casey.
“We assume it is pretty horrific,” said Brendan.
The Bulsons’ attorney, Henry S. Stewart, is asking the town’s planning board to take action (lawsuit is included below).
“Our end goal is to have the town planning board either reverse its decision that there are no environmental adverse effects, or in the alternative, that they do testing contemporaneous and transparent to determine what contaminants are there in the soil,” said Stewart.
“The first circumstance was that the town planning board voted to be the lead agency with respect to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, and they voted a resolution saying that there were no negative adverse effects to the environment, and that there was no further need for environmental review,” said Stewart. “We assert in the article 78 proceeding that it’s incorrect, ill-advised and not based on law, and we seek to have that either reversed or for there to be strong environmental testing before this project goes further.”
Stewart added there is an article 78 proceeding in the state’s Supreme Court scheduled to be heard in late May.
Brendan said whatever is in the ground here needs greater scrutiny.
“This should have been known,” he said. “It should have been known at the highest levels.”
Greece Town Councilman David DiPonzio, who represents the 1st ward, has met with the Bulsons and is also raising warning flags.
I’m concerned about the environmental questions being raised around the proposed development off Island Cottage Road, especially considering its proximity to the former Odenbach site. Residents have every right to ask questions and expect clear answers about the safety of this land. It’s my understanding that if any contamination is found, the developers would be required to remediate the Island Cottage site before construction can begin. That said, I believe it would be responsible for the DEC to conduct additional testing — specifically further southwest of the Odenbach site—to ensure nothing has migrated toward the proposed development area. I’m listening to the concerns of the community, and I think everyone deserves a full and honest picture of the situation.
The Town of Greece did respond to 13WHAM and said they have no comment at this time on these latest concerns.
The town board is expected to meet Thursday evening to discuss the Island Cottage Road development.
_____