All News Releases By Date

Construction Of Cleanup Measures Completed At Federal Superfund Site in Moreau, Saratoga County, New York

Release Date: 05/06/1997
Contact Information:

(#97076) NEW YORK, N.Y.-- The General Electric Company (GE) has completed the construction of the cleanup measures for the G.E./Moreau Federal Superfund site in the Town of Moreau, Saratoga County, New York, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These long-term remedies are required to protect the public and the environment from chemically contaminated soil and groundwater emanating from the site. GE initiated cleanup work aimed at controlling the source of contamination at the site in 1984 under an agreement with State of New York. Then, the company carried out further cleanup measures under the terms of a series of EPA Superfund consent orders, and completed the last of these actions in 1996.

The source of the contamination is a pit where, from 1958 to 1968, GE disposed of approximately 452 tons of its industrial waste that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethylene (TCE), spent solvents, oils, sludge, and other miscellaneous waste.

On-going activities at the site consist of long-term operation and maintenance of an air stripper treating contaminated groundwater where it exits at Reardon Brook, maintainance of a containment system for the industrial waste, and monitoring of the ground water contaminant plume.

This is an important milestone in the Superfund process, EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox stated, We have documented that the remedy has been fully implemented at the site and is operating and functioning successfully.

Under a 1980 agreement with New York State, GE constructed a soil-bentonite cutoff wall and cap to contain the PCBs and TCE in the former disposal area in 1984 to 1985. Also in 1985, under an EPA Administrative Order, GE placed 8,600 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soils from the site within the containment system. From 1989 to 1990, GE extended the Village of South Glens Falls public water supply system to provide a safe drinking water supply to approximately 100 homes. EPA had determined the private wells of these residences were affected or could be affected by TCE and other volatile organic compounds in a groundwater plume emanating from the former disposal area. Finally, at EPAs direction, from 1994 to 1996 GE pumped and treated more than 4.3 million gallons of contaminated water to improve the containment system by lowering the water level inside it below the water level of the surrounding aquifer, thereby creating an inward hydraulic gradient.
The completion of construction activities at the site is documented in EPAs March 31, 1997 Preliminary Close-Out Report. The report, which concludes that the work was conducted in accordance with EPA approved designs and specifications, is available for public review at information repositories established for the site at: the Crandall Library, Glen Street, Glens Falls; the Fort Edward Free Library, 23 East Street, Fort Edward; and the Moreau Town Hall, 51 Hudson Street, South Glens Falls.