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DEC BROWNFIELD SITE AT HPN AIRPORT

Fri, Nov 4, 2022 • Westchester Airport

PEPA COMMENT LETTER REGARDING DEC BROWNFIELD SITE AT HPN AIRPORT

Westchester County Airport Site (the “Airport Site”)
240 Airport Road, West Harrison, Westchester County

Remedial Investigation Work Plan

November 4, 2022

Anne Gold, Executive Director

PEPA

3003 Purchase Street – Box 21

Purchase, NY 10577

FIRST-CLASS MAIL AND
E-MAIL (matthew.hubicki@dec.ny.gov)

Mr. Matthew Hubicki

NYSDEC DER Bureau C

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233

RE:

Westchester County Airport Site (the “Airport Site”)
240 Airport Road, West Harrison, Westchester County

Remedial Investigation Work Plan

Dear Mr. Hubicki:

I am the Executive Director of Purchase Environmental Protective Association (PEPA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the environment of the Town of Purchase and the surrounding area. Last month PEPA received a notice titled the “October 2022 NYSDEC REGION 3 Draft [Remedial] Investigation Work Plan [(RIWP)] for Brownfield Site Available for Public Comment.” Please accept this letter as PEPA’s comment on the draft RIWP being reviewed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to investigate the Westchester County Airport site (“site”) located at 240 Airport Road, West Harrison, Westchester County.

By way of background, PEPA has been reviewing and analyzing a project proposed by an entity known as Westchester Joint Water Works (WJWW) seeking to allow WJWW to construct a water filtration plant (Plant) on a 13.4-acre property at the Westchester County Airport with frontage on Purchase Street which property is currently owned by the County of Westchester (County). PEPA is writing to provide comments with respect to the RIWP being prepared by the County with oversight by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), which RIWP will be reviewed by the NYSDEC under New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), as it may address certain concerns relating to the site of the proposed Plant..

As part of WJWW’s environmental analysis as Lead Agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act with respect to the proposed construction of the Plant, WJWW must consider the potential risks and impacts associated with integrating the Plant with the Airport’s operations and how construction of the Plant may disturb existing hazardous substance located on or adjacent to the property where the Plant is to be constructed. According to a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared by WJWW in 2008 with respect to the construction of the Plant on another property, the Airport Site has a history of pollution incidents.[1] Several spills were identified on the property near or adjacent to the property where the Plant is to be constructed, five (5) NYSDEC Spills regarding jet fuel and waste oil spills along Tower Road, the Pacific Airmotive at Hangar E site, Hangar D, Bay 1 site, New York Air National Guard Septic Field at Airport Road, and two (2) spills at Hangar E in 1991. Additionally, at least six (6) additional spills have been listed with the NYSDEC since the 2008 DEIS was prepared, all along Tower Road which include a spill of jet fuel on July 14, 2021, closed out on July 15, 2021; a spill of jet fuel on August 5, 2021; a spill of jet fuel on October 21, 2021; a spill of jet fuel on December 8, 2021, a spill of jet fuel on February 16, 2022 and a jet fuel spill on February 17, 2022 which affected the soil.

As stated above, PEPA has now received notice that the NYSDEC is reviewing a RIWP to investigate potential hazardous waste at the Airport Site. PEPA is requesting that as part of the RIWP, that the County, the NYSDOH and the NYSDEC consider WJWW’s proposed construction of the Plant and how that construction may disturb any hazardous contamination at the Airport Site. PEPA and property owners near the Airport Site, including the Quaker Friends who own property directly adjacent to the Airport Site, believe that construction of the Plant could have disastrous results given the significant potential contamination on the Airport Site. Therefore, including an analysis of the property on the Airport Site where the Plant is to be constructed should be undertaken as part of the RIWP and any investigation and potential clean-up of the Airport Site.

Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any question.

Sincerely,

Anne Gold
Executive Director
Purchase Environmental Protective Association

Cc: George Latimer, County Executive (ce@westchestergov.com)

Ken Jenkins, Deputy County Executive (kjenkins@westchestergov.com)
Nancy Barr, Westchester County Legislator (neb7@westchestergov.com)
Debbie Friedman Legislative Aide to Nancy Barr (dnfa@westchestergov.com)
Catherine Parker, Westchester County Legislator (johnf@westchesterlegislators.com)
Margaret Cunzio, County Legislator (Cunzio@westchesterlegislators.com)
Benjamin Boykin, County Legislator (Boykin@westchesterlegislators.com)
Larry Soule, Budget Director, Westchester County (lcs5@westchestergov.com‎)
Joan McDonald, Director of Operations (JMcDonald@westchestergov.com)
Nicholas Hartman, Chairman Airport Advisory Board (n.t.hartman@gmail.com)
Commissioner Hugh J. Greechan, Jr., P.E. (hjg7@westchestergov.com)

George Klein (gklein@coalition-to-prevent-westchester-airport-expansion.org)

Peter Close, Purchase Quakers (woolmanj@aol.com)

[1] WJWW has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with respect to the proposed construction of the Plant finding that there will not be any adverse environmental impacts from the construction of the Plant at the Airport Site. The WJWW’s FEIS can be reviewed at:

https://www.wjww.com/home/news/public-notice-westchester-joint-water-works-deems-final-environmental-impact-statement-rye

DEC BROWNFIELD SITE AT HPN AIRPORT

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