Thursday, October 1, 2026
The period for public comments on a proposed Valley Stream Long Island Rail Road station site cleanup was extended until April 10, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Residents with questions or comments on the proposed cleanup plan can leave a comment on the proposed cleanup via the DEC’s website or by mailing a written comment to the agency’s headquarters in Albany. Previously, residents needed to have their comments in by the original Feb. 27 deadline.
The project would remove mercury and arsenic from the soil at a power station on the corner of Rockaway Avenue and Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream. The chemicals leeched into the ground from equipment used before 1979, according to the DEC. The equipment was removed and replaced in that year. The DEC is recommending a remediation plan to excavate and replace the affected soil.
Mercury can damage the central nervous system when ingested, and arsenic can cause damage to the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. They were found at the MTA’s power station on the corner of Rockaway Avenue and Sunrise Highway. Mercury levels in certain areas of the site were as high as 26 parts per million, more than four times the recommended limit, while levels outside the plant were as high as 198 parts per million. Arsenic levels were found to be as high as 72 parts per million, also four times higher than the recommended limit.
