DEC: Oceanside site meets cleanup standards

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has found that the Oceanside Plaza site has met cleanup requirements under the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program to remove contaminated ground water and soil.

The brownfield site, on 3131-3221 Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside, has been occupied by a dry cleaner within the 7.45-acre strip mall since 1977. The operation of the dry cleaner is the source of Tetrachloroethylene, a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, that has been detected in the site's soil and groundwater, according to the DEC’s report released Tuesday.

The remediation at the site, including soil excavation and soil vapor extraction, was performed by Oceanside Plaza LLC, with oversight provided by the DEC. In October 2005, the property owner excavated five tons of PCE contaminated soil from within the dry cleaners. In 2009, a soil vapor extraction system was constructed and an additional 18.4 tons of contaminated soil was excavated and disposed of off-site.

The DEC has approved a final engineering report and has issued a certificate of completion, which allows the applicant to redevelop the site. Under the voluntary cleanup program, the applicant would be eligible for tax credits to offset the costs of performing cleanup activities and for redevelopment of the site.

Project documents are available to the public at the Oceanside Public Library and at the DEC's regional office in Stony Brook.

For project related questions, call the DEC’s Jamie Ascher at 631-444-0246 or email jxascher@gw.dec.state.ny.us. For site-related health questions, call the state Department of Health’s Steve Karpinski at 518-402-7880 or email BEEI@health.state.ny.us.