The state Department of Environmental Conservation is now accepting public comments on additional cleanup plans proposed for the Miller Hill Yard in the town of Fremont.
The 8.8-acre property at 7578 state Route 21 was previously declared a brownfield. TCE was detected in a water sample from one of the City of Hornell Water Supply Wells in 2007, spurring investigations of the site. A Remedial Investigation was completed between 2018 and 2021.
According to the DEC, the site was historically used by the US Army Corp of Engineers as a source of fill material for the construction of the Arkport dam. When mining ceased in 1960, NYSDOT reportedly obtained the Miller Hill site from the Army Corp of Engineers.
There is anecdotal evidence the site was used at times as a “dumping ground” by the local community, according to the DEC, with additional anecdotal evidence that 55-gallon drums of used highway lane marking paint were buried on the site in the 1970s. A fence around much of the site was installed in approximately 1994.
In consultation with the Department of Health, the DEC has determined that the site does not pose a significant threat to public health or the environment.
The decision was “based on the concentrations of the existing contaminants identified at the site, the potential for off site migration of contaminants in the groundwater, the previously completed Interim Remedial Measures and the potential for human exposure to site-related contaminants via soil vapors.”
What cleanup work has already been done at Fremont site
Three Interim Remedial Measures were previously completed at the site:
Additional cleanup proposed for Miller Hill Yard
The proposed cleanup plan developed by DOT consists of:
How to comment on Fremont brownfield cleanup plan
DEC is accepting written comments about the proposed plan for 45 days through Aug. 11, 2026.
Access the Remedial Investigation Report and other project documents online at extapps.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/C851045
Submit comments to the DEC project manager listed under Project-Related Questions in the “Contact Information” area.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Public comments open on cleanup plan for Miller Hill Yard in Fremont
Reporting by Chris Potter, Hornell Evening Tribune / The Evening Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris Potter, Hornell Evening Tribune | USA TODAY Network
