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News Releases

Record of Decision Published for FUSRAP Guterl Site in Lockport

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District
Published Sept. 16, 2024
Updated: Sept. 16, 2024
Red and white U.S. Army Corps of Engineers logo above text reading, US Army Corps of Engineers® Buffalo District

The logo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., Mar. 12, 2024. The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation in order to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war. (U.S. Army illustration by USACE Buffalo District)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District has published the Record of Decision for the Former Guterl Specialty Steel Corporation Site. 

The 70-acre site, located in Lockport, New York, is being addressed under the authority of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. The record of decision marks the completion of the final step in the federal decision-making process for addressing legacy contamination at the site and describes the final selected remedy to address contaminated buildings, soil and groundwater at the Guterl Site.

The selected remedy includes dismantlement and off-site disposal of buildings that were involved in Atomic Energy Commission activities during the 1940s and 1950s; complete soil removal to the soil remediation goal for groundwater protection and off-site disposal; and uranium groundwater plume recovery using extraction wells and an on-site rubblized trench with ex situ treatment (extracting the water out of the ground and running it through a treatment system), with environmental monitoring of groundwater plume reduction. FUSRAP-related material that is removed will be transported off-site for disposal at an appropriately permitted disposal facility. 

Next phases of the project include a contract award targeted for the Summer of 2025 and the start of remediation work in 2026, following completion of required remediation work plans and mobilization of equipment and personnel to the site. The current target date to complete the building and soil remedial work is 2031.

The selected remedy is protective of human health and the environment, complies with federal and state requirements applicable or relevant and appropriate to the remedial action, is cost-effective, and utilizes permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies to the maximum extent practicable.

Supporting documents, including the ROD, that provide details of the selected remedy for remedial action to address the FUSRAP-related constituents of concern (thorium-232 and uranium in soil and buildings, and uranium in groundwater) are available on the 3rd floor of the Lockport Public Library, 23 East Avenue, Lockport, N.Y. 14094, and the updated project website: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Mission/Projects/Article/3612330/guterl-steel-site/.

Throughout the process the USACE is committed to providing updates and information to the public.  

For additional information or to be added to the email distribution list for updates regarding the site please email fusrap@usace.army.mil or call (800) 833-6390 (Option 4). 

Background:  

The Guterl Site, located in Lockport, New York, is being addressed under the authority of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The USACE is the lead federal agency for the program, which is conducted in accordance with the governing federal law – the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). 

The public provided their comments on the proposed plan from July 12, 2021 to September 10, 2021 to provide input on proposed remedial actions that will be used for cleanup efforts at the Guterl Site. The record of decision (ROD) identifies that the Site-Wide Alternative 3, described in the proposed plan, is now the selected remedy to address contaminated buildings, soil, and groundwater at the Guterl Site.

Under FUSRAP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cleaning up sites with contamination resulting from the Nation’s early atomic energy program. FUSRAP was initiated in 1974 to identify, investigate and, if necessary, clean up or control sites throughout the United States contaminated as a result of Manhattan Engineer District or early Atomic Energy Commission activities. Both the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission were predecessors of the U.S. Department of Energy.

More information is available at: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Submit-ArticleCS/Programs/Article/3649839/formerly-utilized-sites-remedial-action-program/


The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation in order to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war.


Contact
Andrew Kornacki
7168794349
7163528669 (cell)
andrew.a.kornacki@usace.army.mil
478 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202

Release no. 24-130

Chick Lock

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