By Angela Marshall
Contaminated soil was found around gasoline tanks being removed from the Maple Service Center, 23-39 Maple Ave. in 1998, said Mark Lowery, Long Island representative for the DEC. Approximately 200 cubic yards of soil was excavated and piled at the site but testing and remediation was never completed, Lowery continued.
Members of the Maple Avenue Task Force have complained to the village about the pile and possible health risks for years but have seen little action.
The DEC sent four letters to Harry Weinstein, one of the service center's owners, between January 1999 and January 2000. When they received no response, the DEC hired an environmental clean-up firm, EnviroTrac, in June to begin sampling the soil and ground for gasoline.
That's still on going, Lowery said. He said they didn't take action sooner because of regulations that require the DEC to give the responsible party the opportunity to perform the clean up themselves.
Weinstein's partner in the 23 Maple Avenue Reality Corp., Lawrence Testori, died but his estate is still considered responsible for part of the cleanup.
Lowery said they had not addressed the soil pile yet but that they have recently told EnviroTrac to stabilize it as necessary.
That does not mean the pile will be removed right away. It all depends on the test results. If the contamination remains high, the DEC may opt to perform remediation at the site. If the soil shows little contamination, they may opt to remove it.
It is also possible, Lowery said, that the gasoline may have vaporized by now, removing the necessity to perform remediation.
The DEC can fine the property owners up to three times the cost of clean up.
The owners of the gas station did not return calls. While the business no longer sells gasoline, it is open as a service station for vehicle repairs.
We are extremely happy that the DEC is taking steps, said Liz Boylan, a member of the Maple Avenue Task Force.
Boylan said clean up of the service station is a high priority for the task force. We welcome anyone that can get this cleaned up.
The task force would like to see the service station torn down and a parking lot built on the property.
There has been talk by some members of the village board of purchasing the property but village Trustee Jack Matthews said that even if they are considering the parking lot, they can't do anything until the dirt pile is removed and the land cleaned.
