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How DEC's Shockingly Inadequate 12/22 Interim Remedial Action Proposal for 514 Union Street Was Rejected in Order to Require a Comprehensive Toxic Site Cleanup to Halt a "Significant Threat to Public Health or the Environment." (5/30/24)
After more than a year of local, state, national and world-wide media coverage of the toxic Soil Vapor Intrusion hazards posed by this site, a favorable reply was finally received on May 30, 2024 when DEC declared that 514 Union Street "poses a significant threat to public health or the environment." In a Landmark Decision, a "completed cleanup" of "contamination" is required to "make the site fully protective of public health and the environment."
This landmark decision could improve implementation of New York's Brownfields Cleanup Law by rejecting Interim Remedial Measures in favor of strict enforcement of the State mandate to require toxic sites to be restored to "pre-disposal conditions, to the extent feasible." This legal mandate has almost never been enforced at thousands of Brownfields all over New York City and the State as a whole since the law was enacted more than 20 years ago.
See how DEC's decision-making on 514 Union changed over time:
May 2024 Brownfield Cleanup Program C224318 Fact Sheet - 514 Union St, Brooklyn
