Company removes 300 tons of soil

Company removes 300 tons of soil

WATKINS GLEN—Groundwater Environmental Services cleaned up some 300 tons of underground contamination at the former Clifford Motors car lot on Franklin Street in Watkins Glen last month.
Linda Vera, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation citizen participating specialist, explained contamination was discovered at the former Clifford car lot from an old gas station, while a soil gas survey was being done for another spill in the immediate vicinity. A review of records tied ExxonMobil to the site through a former gasoline station operated before Clifford bought the property.
Vera said ExxonMobil accepted responsibility for the contamination and contracted with Groundwater Environmental Services to clean up the site. According to GES, the company provides environmental consulting, engineering, and technical field services related to assessment, remediation, and compliance.
Vera added GES began with treatment on location, but was unable to achieve cleanup goals so they decided to excavate the remaining impacted soil. As of last Thursday, she added, work is currently underway and nearly complete. Vera explained close to 300 tons of soil will be removed and disposed of off-site and a couple of monitoring wells will soon be installed for additional groundwater sampling.