NORWICH – A young, not-for-profit theater company in the Village of Greene has garnered assistance from the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency in order to shoulder possible environmental-related liability costs.
The IDA agreed last week to serve as a conduit for and co-applicant with The Chenango River Theater in the event that state Environmental Restoration Program funds are needed. ERP funds are available to public agencies for hazardous waste remediation, and would be applied to afford any state mandated clean-up.
The theater company is currently leasing a 19,000 square-foot building that it renovated two years ago under a right-to-purchase agreement. The building, and adjacent 11 acres, is owned by the Page Seed Company. However, due to a chemical spill there 19 years ago, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation flagged the pending change of ownership application in order to investigate for possible trichloroethene (TCE) contamination.
Before leasing it, the Chenango River Theater contracted for environmental testing on the interior of the building and the surrounding land. No contamination was found. The actual spill site was previously remediated according to state standards.
Theater representative Bill Lelbach told members of the IDA that ongoing TCE investigations and lawsuits in nearby Broome County also prompted the new investigation. Attorneys representing a group of 90 plaintiffs recently filed a law suit against IBM Corp. in state Supreme Court seeking damages related to TCE pollution at the company’s former micro-electronics plant in Endicott.
“They are reinvestigating all spill sites,” Lelbach said.
Page Seed has agreed to pick up any hazardous waste investigation costs.
“We need access to ERP funds and have to partner with a public agency. We are requesting that if we buy the site, you will enjoin with us,” Chenango River Theater Board of Directors Chairman Jeffrey S. Brookes said. “As soon as we say we will purchase, Page Seed will do and perform the tests.”
