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Governor's office says state can not declare "superfund" site at radioactive hotspots in Niagara County because law does not consider radionuclides hazardous waste.
By Nate Benson
WGRZ
Governor's office says state can not declare "superfund" site at radioactive hotspots in Niagara County because law does not consider radionuclides hazardous waste.
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — During a community-organized meeting Monday night, residents that are impacted by newly discovered radioactive hotspots in Niagara County called on Governor Hochul to declare several streets in the Town of Niagara as a class 1 "superfund" site.
State law, however, doesn't give Governor Hochul the power to make that declaration, at least right now. A spokesperson for Governor Hochul said that "the New York State Superfund Program cannot be used to address sites contaminated solely with radioactive material because the Environmental Conservation Law does not list radionuclides as hazardous waste. EPA through the Superfund Program has the authority for testing and any needed remediation. That is why the state and EPA have teamed up and are committed to moving forward under the federal Superfund program."
According to the NYSDEC, there are 5 classification levels for state superfund sites.
- Class 1 Site: Causing, or presenting an imminent danger of causing, irreversible or irreparable damage to the public health or the environment - immediate action is required.
- Class 2 Site: Significant threat to the public health or environment - action required.
- Class 3 Site: Does not present a significant threat to the environment or public health - action may be deferred.
- Class 4 Site: Site properly closed - requires continued management.
- Class 5 Site: Site properly closed - does not require continued management.
New York's superfund site law, which technically refers to these as 'inactive hazardous waste disposal sites,' was written to cover chemical contamination, not radioactive material:
"Hazardous waste" means a waste which appears on the list or
satisfies the characteristics promulgated by the commissioner pursuant
to section 27-0903 of this article and any substance which appears on
the list promulgated pursuant to section 37-0103 of this chapter;
provided, however, that the term "hazardous waste" does not include:
- c. Source, byproduct, or special nuclear material from a nuclear
incident, as those terms are defined in the atomic energy act of 1954,
if such release is subject to requirements with respect to financial
protection established under section 170 of such act (42 U.S.C. 2210)
or, for the purpose of section 104 of the comprehensive environmental
response, compensation and liability act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604), or
any other response action, any source, byproduct, or special nuclear
material from any processing site designated under section 102(a)(1) or
302(a) of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42
U.S.C. 7912(a)(1) or 7942(a))"
The fact that radionuclides, like the ones being discovered in the Town of Niagara, were not included was a surprise to New York State Senator Rob Ortt.
"That is certainly something that I would look to address because I know in conversations I have had with the residents that has been one of their their requests," Senator Ortt said. "Which carries with it then not only funding, but there's cleanup."
Ortt says his office has been in constant contact with state and federal agencies since the news broke about new radioactive hotspots, and warns that this issue will take time for agencies to wade through.
"This is not something that's going to be done in a week," Ortt said. "This is going to be ongoing probably for several months, maybe more, and our office is going to be here, and and will remain heavily involved."
Congressman Tim Kennedy also addressed the news of the hotspots during a separate event in Buffalo Tuesday afternoon.
"It's imperative that the DEC and the EPA work with these families in an expedited fashion, in every way possible, to make sure that these families have confidence that their home is not contaminated, that their soil, that their water is not contaminated," Kennedy said.
Congressman Kennedy did not specifically address a superfund declaration at a federal level, but said the EPA needs to immediately turn this situation around.
"Everyone needs to look at this as a top priority at every level of government, and we are pushing them to make sure that they do," Kennedy said.
