By Scott Brinton
Joseph Haas II, an engineering geologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, announced the finding during an Old Lindenmere Civic Association meeting last Thursday.
The good news, said Haas, is that the gas plume sits in ground water beneath a layer of "clean" water. That means gasoline vapors from the plume cannot seep into the school. Neither the school nor surrounding homes depend on local ground water for drinking, but receive their supply from deep, public wells.
Nicole Hart, also a DEC engineering geologist, said, "There really is no soil-vapor problem," so there is no need to install indoor-air monitors at the Lakeside-Levy school.
If not cleaned up, however, the plume will eventually flow into nearby Cammans Pond, causing environmental damage, Haas said. That is why the DEC is moving quickly to put the cleanup project out for public bid.
Right now, the plume has flowed past the Lakeside-Levy school to within 100 feet of Cammans Pond, said Bill Fonda, DEC spokesperson, during a telephone interview.
The DEC has installed wells to track the spill's flow, and the agency is continuing its investigation at the Sunoco station. Hart said the plume likely resulted from overfilling of gasoline holding tanks at the Sunoco station. The DEC has checked the tanks and hoses there and found no leaks, she said.
The plume is relatively thin, said Haas, and likely will not spread outward, but rather will continue moving at a steady pace with the area's southerly downward gradient, until it reaches Cammans Pond.
He noted, though, "Our plan is to clean it up before it moves much further." Within six months, he said, the DEC should be ready to "start sucking the gas out."
Fonda said the DEC's objective is to develop a cleanup plan within three months. Most likely, wells to remove the gasoline from the ground will be installed at Lakeside-Levy's north parking lot.
The DEC will initially pay for the cleanup project, and then whomever is responsible for the spill will reimburse the DEC.
On Friday, Jan. 18, the DEC found evidence of additional fuel-oil contamination at Lakeside-Levy, only this time it likely originated on school grounds. The school's oil burner or storage tank might have leaked, or there might have been a spill. As of last Thursday, DEC officials were investigating to determine the origin and extent of the contamination.
A Merrick School District representative could not be reached for comment, as the superintendent of schools was on jury duty.
