State to Investigate Contaminated Hicksville Location

A detailed environmental investigation is set to begin at a state Superfund site in Hicksville, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Thursday.

The Metco site, located at 325 Duffy Ave., is about 6.8 acres and bounded by Henrietta Street to the west. The site is considered a Class 2 site in the list of state Superfund sites, which means the land significantly threatens public health or the environment, requiring government action.

The site is considered commercial for storage, warehouse and distribution and has been used for light manufacturing and metalworking, machining, metal finishing and metal spraying. The DEC says these uses led to the site’s contamination. Previous sampling of the stormwater discharge were previously reported by the Nassau County Department of Health to have solvent-related contaminants.

The site includes one large building surrounded by parking lots and roadways. The nearest residential property is about 140 feet east of the site. A stormwater recharge basin is located in the southeastern corner of the site.

The investigation will assess conditions on-site and possibly off-site to figure out the nature and extent of contamination in soil, surface water, groundwater, soil vapor and other parts of the environment that may be affected.

There will be truck mounted drilling equipment on site to collect samples during the investigation. The information collected will allow the DEC to decide if site-contamination should be addressed and if so, which way is best way to clean up contamination at the site.

Following this “Feasibility Study,” the DEC will draft a plan called a “Proposed Remedial Action Plan” that will discuss each alternative and the reasons for choosing or rejecting it, with the main goal in mind of protecting the public health and the environment.

The DEC says it will announce the draft cleanup plan and present it to the public for review and comment during a 30-day comment period at a public meeting.

Image via NYSDEC