Public Meeting

Who was There

A public meeting on the Clinton West Plaza Environmental Investigation was held on Monday, August 18th 2008.

The Panel:

• Officiated by: Eric Rosario, 2^nd Ward Alderperson, Common Council, City of Ithaca
• Gary Priscott - NYS Dept. of Environemental Conservation
• Susan Shearer - NYS Dept. of Health
• Randy Sheffler - Fagan Project Manager
• Barton Ingersoll - Property Owner
• Neil Gingold - Attorney for Property owner

Contact details for the panel: Contact page

See it on TV

A video of the meeting will be broadcast on Pegasys Public Access. Tune in on channel 13 on basic cable.

Day	Date	Time
Sunday	3/29/09	2:00 pm
Wednesday	4/8/09	5:00 pm
Thursday	4/16/09	5:30 pm

See it on YouTube

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Question for the meeting

Questions from Community on Clinton West Plaza Environmental Investigation

1. Please explain the designation of "Class 2" for this site, how serious is it, and how does it compare with other sites (Class 1, Class 3, etc.)
2. What data triggered this whole thing in the first place? What did you find that made this· investigation necessary?
3. What is the timeframe and methodology for figuring out the extent of contamination in all directions?
4. Besides Clinton Plaza, how many homes in the area were tested, for what, when, what were the results, and how do the results compare with permissible standards?
5. How much and how far has the contamination spread? Is it only in the groundwater or in the soil?
6. Is the contamination in the air - either inside or outside?
7. Why is the contamination still present at the Clinton West Plaza site? Since it is in the groundwater, why hasn't it washed away over time?
8. Are you testing in 6 Mile Creek? Has there been contamination in 6 Mile Creek?
9. If testing is expanded, will you include groundwater and soil vapor?
10. What are the different standards used to tell us if the contamination is present at safe or not safe levels? What do these standards mean? For example, I've heard of permissible and allowable - are these two different standards and what's the difference between the two?
11. Are there different standards for a residential versus a commercial property?
12. How will you ensure that everyone potentially affected is provided with the resources they need to remediate? I'm especially concerned about the houses at the west end of Center Street and also the affordable housing that's going up on the corner of S. Corn and S. Plain Streets.
13. We live just east of Clinton West Plaza, on the 500 block of W. Clinton. How likely is it that our house is affected?
14. Is there any contamination on the 400 block of N. Titus Ave.?
15. How can we protect ourselves, especially our two-year old daughter, from exposure to the contaminants? Should we be concerned with run-off when it rains? For example, our two-year old likes to jump in the rain puddles that have been forming around our house on the 400 block of N. Titus this summer.
16. The DEC was informed that a past resident of 514 N. Titus saw in 2006 a temporary hose extend from the Laundromat to the parking lot storm drain. Has this been investigated?
17. The NYS Dept. of Health Fact Sheet on PERC states that "Exposure can occur when PERC or material containing PERC (for example, soil) gets on the skin." Is this a concern at the Clinton Plaza and surrounding neighborhood?
18. Studies report that residents near dry cleaning shops are exposed to PERC and display reduced scores on tests of visual perception, reaction time and attention. Are people in this area exposed to similar levels?
19. The DEC was informed that a past resident of 514 N. Titus saw in 2006 a temporary hose extend from the Laundromat to the parking lot storm drain. Has this been investigated?
20. Can we test our own home? If I find high results, what recourse do I have to getting this cleaned up?
21. If soil vapor results turn out to be low, how is that reconciled with high levels of contaminants in the ground water?
22. How does the seasonal change in water table level affect the level of soil vapor intrusion? Did, or will, your testing account for this season change in the water table? How does your testing account for other variables?
23. I understand your soil vapor tests were conducted during the heating season this year. Why?
24. When remediation has been necessary for situations like this, how does it happen? What does it mean in physical terms in a site like this? For example, do you tent the buildings, dig or vacuum the contaminated soil out? What do you with the air and groundwater?
25. What are the measures you use that the site is clean? Does andy standard trump the other?
26. How is the data from the property owner's consulatnts validated?
27. How will we best keep abreast of the latest developments with this investigation and clean-up effort?