BUFFALO, NY–The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, completed the Proposed Plan for the Former Guterl Specialty Steel Corporation Site and the Feasibility Study Report, Former Guterl Specialty Steel Corporation.
These documents and a fact sheet are available at: https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Guterl-Steel-Site/ in the Administrative Record File section [Section 04, Feasibility Study, Subsections 04.09 (Feasibility Study) and 04.10 (Proposed Plan)] and the Fact Sheet section respectively.
The Guterl Site, located in Lockport, New York, is being addressed under the authority of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Corps of Engineers 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 is encouraged to provide their comments on the proposed plan, which is available for public review and comment from July 12, 2021, to September 10, 2021. The proposed plan identifies the Corps of Engineers’ preferred alternative to address contaminated buildings, soil, and groundwater at the Guterl Site: Site-Wide Alternative 3. The alternative 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 preliminary remediation goal for groundwater protection and off-site disposal; and uranium groundwater plume recovery using extraction wells and an in situ rubblized trench with ex situ treatment, and environmental monitoring of groundwater plume attenuation (enhanced and natural). Site-Wide Alternative 3 complies with the identified regulations and provides the best balance among the five NCP balancing criteria (i.e., long-term effectiveness and permanence; reduction of toxicity, mobility, and volume through treatment; short-term effectiveness; implementability; and cost).
The feasibility study is a supporting document to the proposed plan. The report identifies, develops and evaluates remedial alternatives to address FUSRAP-related constituents of concern (thorium-232 and uranium in soil and buildings, and uranium in groundwater) at the site.
Due to restrictions that are in place in regard to public gatherings, a virtual public meeting will be conducted on Thursday, July 29, 2021, at 7 p.m. Space is limited, so please email fusrap@usace.army.mil by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, to register for the meeting, and to let us know if you will be providing comments. The public meeting presentation is available on the website in the Public Presentations section. The virtual public meeting will be recorded so that oral comments received can be captured.
The public is encouraged to email comments to fusrap@usace.army.mil before close of business September 10, 2021. Written comments may be mailed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, Attention: Environmental Project Management Section, 1776 Niagara Street, Buffalo, New York 14207, by the close of the comment period. Receipt of mailed comments could be delayed due to COVID-19 practices that are in place.
The preferred alternative may be modified based on any new information acquired during the designated public comment period. Responses to comments received will be provided in the record of decision, which will identify the selected remedy to be implemented.
The administrative record file for the Guterl Site, which contains the documents supporting the proposed plan, is available on the project website. For further information on the site, please visit the project website, send an email to fusrap@usace.army.mil, or call (800) 833-6390 (Option 4).