By Carol P. Bartold     

Jul. 27, 2016: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reached a decision relative to remedial cleanup of the former marble quarry landfill site on Marbledale Road in Tuckahoe.

Plans for the development of a Marriott SpringHill Suites Hotel and restaurant have been before the Tuckahoe Planning Board for several months. While the site plan still needs final approval, the board has issued a conditional negative declaration relative to the project.

The site, formerly a marble quarry, has been used for commercial and industrial operations, has served as a landfill, and has been a location for auto repair and auto parking. Among the contaminants of concern, found in concentrations sufficient enough to warrant evaluation for remedial action, are barium, copper, arsenic, benzene, lead, and two types of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The DEC will seek to identify parties responsible for contamination at, or spreading from, the Marbledale Road site and bring an enforcement action against them. Should that prove impossible, or should that action not result in a remedial cleanup plan by the responsible parties, the DEC will assess possibilities for remediation under the state Superfund.

The DEC decision document, signed on July 18, calls for a remedial design program whose goal is to restore the site to its pre-disposal condition, as much as possible. Elements of the remedial plan include using green principles and techniques to the extent feasible in formulating a cleanup strategy; excavation of contaminated material and disposal of such material off-site; a site cap, which could consist of buildings on the site, to minimize precipitation infiltration into the landfill; soil vapor extraction to remove volatile organic compounds from the soil; soil vapor mitigation to reduce intrusion of vapors into the building from contaminated soil or groundwater; construction groundwater monitoring to determine if contaminated groundwater is moving off the site; and a site management plan.

In response to concerns expressed by Bronxville residents about the impact of groundwater contamination from the Marbledale site on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Midland Valley Drainage Project under construction in the village, the DEC has concluded that, based on the 1.25-mile distance groundwater must travel to reach the project, the additional groundwater normally flowing to the area, and low concentrations of dissolved contaminants in the project area, the groundwater at the project site will not be affected.

Regional groundwater flow from the Marbledale Road site is to the south-southwest toward the Bronx River. The DEC has not yet investigated groundwater beyond the cleanup site but will do so if surrounding areas are deemed potentially contaminated. Three acres not included in the remedial plan have been identified as disposal sites for potential hazardous waste. 

Pictured here:  The vacant lot on Marbledale Avenue that was once a quarry.

Photo by A. Warner