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EPA Places the Peter Cooper Corporation Site in Cattaraugus County on the Superfund National Priorities List

Release Date: 02/03/2000
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(#00023) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially added the former Peter Cooper Corporations (PCC) hazardous waste site in Dayton, New York to the final Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), making it eligible for a long-term cleanup financed by the Superfund Trust Fund. The NPL is the federal list of the nation's priority hazardous waste sites. EPA proposed the site for the NPL last April. PCC used the site from 1955 until 1972 for disposal of animal glue production waste generated at the company's Gowanda facility, which EPA also placed on the Superfund NPL in 1998. The 106-acre Dayton site consists of an inactive disposal area and several areas of contaminated soil. Soil testing conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and EPA found elevated levels of chromium, arsenic, zinc and volatile organic compounds at the site. The same contaminants have been found in a wetlands area on the site that is frequented by hunters of migratory waterfowl. "This final listing is an essential step in the Superfund process." said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Regional Administrator. "It will lead to a long-term cleanup to remove any potential threats the contamination at the Peter Cooper site may pose to the local community and environment. It means that after we identify the best solution to address the contamination, EPA can use the Superfund Trust Fund to finance the cleanup work if those deemed responsible for the contamination will not or cannot do it." The NPL rule listing the site is being published on Friday, February 4, 2000 in the Federal Register. Members of the public interested in obtaining copies of an updated NPL list or site description, should contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810. Further information about the site and the Superfund program can also be obtained from EPA's homepage: http://www.epa.gov.superfund.