DEC announces remediation plan for Pharsalia cleanup site

PHARSALIA – New disposal remedies have been finalized in what for the past 10 years has been known as a “toxic waste dump” near Camp Pharsalia.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in cooperation with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) have recently amended an action plan for a site classified as No. 709013 in the Town of Pharsalia.

The record of decision (ROD) amendment compares the newly selected remedy for the “excavation and off-site disposal” to the original ROD dated March 2003 that chose a “containment – low permeability cover system” as the remedy based on evaluating criteria gathered from the area and presented in a remedial feasibility study.

The elements of the remedial action plan will include excavation and off-site disposal of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and dioxin contaminated soil. The estimated cost for such remedies total $505,000 and the annual operation and maintenance cost totals $7,900.

The site, located within the Camp Pharsalia Incarceration Facility, is owned by the DEC, but operated by the DOH. The inactive hazardous waste is known to occupy approximately 0.25 acres in the southwest portion of the property. The site consists of a one-story, wood-framed former wood treatment building and surrounding grass area. The area is known to be used for agricultural and residential use although the nearest residence is roughly a quarter of a mile northeast of the contaminated site.

From 1960 to 1977, the Camp Pharsalia site was operated as a sawmill and wood treatment operation. The plant was constructed as a “dip tank process,” meaning the wood was hoisted into the treatment building to the east and placed into a dip tank to be treated, which consisted of a one part PCP solution to 11 parts fuel oil.