Garden City site removed from Superfund list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced it has removed a Garden City site from the Superfund National Priorities List of the most hazardous waste sites after cleanup of contaminated groundwater and soil.

The Pasley Solvents and Chemicals site, at 585 Commercial Ave., was removed from the list because it no longer poses a threat to public health or the environment, officials said. The site was placed on the Superfund list in June 1986.

“Groundwater is a source of drinking water for many Long Island residents, so cleaning up groundwater contamination is a priority for EPA,” Judith A. Enck, the agency’s regional administrator, said in a statement.

The site was a tank farm used to store oil, solvents and chemicals. The EPA began groundwater and soil cleanup work at the site in 1997, removing about 14,000 pounds of toxins by the end of project in 2004. The cleanup was reviewed for a second time in 2009 and the site deemed no longer harmful, officials said.

Commander Oil Corp. owned the site until 2003. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority uses it for a police station, officials said.