NORWICH – A public meeting is being held to discuss the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (NYSDEC) upcoming cleanup project targeting off-site locations near a former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site located at 24 Birdsall St. in Norwich.

The public is invited to attend the meeting on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at 7 p.m. in the Norwich Fire Department 2nd floor conference room. The public is encouraged to provide comments during the meeting, and during the 30-day comment period extending from Feb. 23 through March 25 of 2015.

The former MGP site at 24 Birdsall St. is approximately one acre in size and has a working NYSEG substation is located on the eastern part of the lot. A large part of the lot – approximately 70 percent – is covered in lawn and gravel. Tops plaza is at the north end of the site. The Lackawanna railroad tracks lie directly west of the site.

According to a fact sheet distributed by the NYSDEC, the history of the site is as follows, “Plant operations started in 1863 until gas production ended in 1953. By 1887, the Norwich MGP was supplying gas to the City of Norwich under the name 'Norwich Light Company.' In the years following cessation of gas production in 1953, the site was used as the Aero Products facility. NYSEG purchased the Aero Products facility in 1995 and subsequently used it for storage until the buildings were demolished in the summer of 2006.”

An investigation conducted by the NYSDEC indicate subsurface soil contamination, and groundwater contamination that extends southwest of the MGP site. The contamination is associated with the MGP operation on the site. The primary contaminants of concern are volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, and coal tars. The impacted areas on-site, and the areas off-site north of Front street have been successfully remediated, while the off-site areas south of Front street have not yet been addressed. The areas south of Front street are the focus of the cleanup efforts.