DEC targets Lackawanna sludge
Forty pockets of contamination on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Lackawanna are being targeted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The acid tar pits and agitator sludge area, near the Lake Erie shore, are part of the 1,100 acres owned by Tecumseh Redevelopment. The redevelopment master plan proposes wind energy projects and recreational uses for the hundreds of acres closest to the lake.
According to the DEC, contaminants were found near the former coke plant and the fuel storage and slag fill areas, where wastes from steelmaking operations were spilled or disposed of for many years by Bethlehem Steel. Contaminated sediment also was found in several waterways, including Smokes Creek—which recently was dredged.
A public meeting on what the DEC and Tecumseh plan to do about them is scheduled for 7 p. m. July 16 in Lackawanna’s Senior Citizens Center, 230 Martin Road.
The goal is to consolidate the solid and hazardous acid tar wastes into a single on-site containment cell to limit movement of surface and subsurface contaminants into adjacent ground water and Smokes Creek. If the plan is approved by the DEC, cleanup would begin this year and be substantially complete in 2010.
At the July 16 meeting, officials also will talk about recent activities on site and plans for developing a comprehensive cleanup program.
DEC officials said Tecumseh has undertaken several interim cleanup actions since 2005 to restrict the migration of contamination.
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