EPA moves site of Glen Cove public meeting on cleanup

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has changed the location of the EPA’s Monday public meeting on its proposed cleanup plan for contaminated land on the site of the Glen Cove waterfront redevelopment project.

The agency moved the 7 p.m. meeting from Robert Finley Middle School to the auditorium of Glen Cove High School, 150 Dosoris Lane, because of a scheduling conflict at Finley, said EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez.

The EPA on June 1 released its remediation plan for a 26-acre site where metal processing took place for decades. The agency already has removed more than 70,000 cubic yards of soil. But Lorenzo Thantu, a project manager in the EPA Manhattan office, said tests of soil samples showed that isolated spots of contamination beyond permitted levels remained, so an estimated 8,500 additional cubic yards of soil will be taken out.

The land is part of the 56 acres where Uniondale-based RXR Realty plans to build Garvies Point, which would include 1,110 condominiums and apartments, parks, marinas, restaurants, and retail and office space.

Last month, the state Department of Environmental Conservation approved a plan to clean up isolated spots of contamination on 21 additional acres of formerly industrial redevelopment land that had previously been deemed sufficiently remediated.

Opponents of Garvies Point say the discovery of the additional contamination underlines their concern that the land is not safe to build on. More than 100 area residents filed a lawsuit in November seeking to block the project on environmental and other grounds.

DEC and EPA officials said continued testing of the land led to plans for more remediation, and tests will continue after Garvies Point is built.

“There’s no likelihood for any type of human exposure,” to contaminants that could endanger human health, Thantu said.

The EPA is accepting written comments on its remediation plan through July 1. Email comments to Thantu at thantu.lorenzo@epa.gov. Mail comments to Lorenzo Thantu, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.

The plan is online at

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/395891.pdf.