Residents Target Junkyard

By Benning W. De La Mater, The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Mass.

Jul. 27–NEW LEBANON, N.Y. — Residents will hear from state officials at an informational meeting tomorrow night concerning the cleanup of contaminated soil at the former Bouchard Junkyard.

Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health will be on hand to discuss plans to remove more than 60,000 tons of contaminated earth from the plot near the intersection of Routes 20 and 22.

Much of the soil is laden with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

According to the DEC, the site was a former automobile junkyard operated from 1959 through February 1969 by Henri Bouchard. Edward Weisberg purchased the property from Bouchard’s wife in 1969 and continued its operation until it was ordered to close in 1971 for operating without a license.

All auto salvage was removed from the site in the late 1970s.

In July 1998, General Electric provided the DEC with information suggesting that drums of oil and PCBs had either been disposed or burned at the site.

Diane Sheldon, 59, a resident who lives near the site, said people in town have been calling for an informational meeting for some time, especially since work began on the cleanup in June.

“This is a concern for many of us,” she said. “We want to know what is being done to ensure our safety. We have a long list of questions.”

Since work began, approximately 7,500 cubic yards (roughly 20 percent) of contaminated soil have been excavated and disposed of offsite. The cleanup effort, which is expected to be completed by November, will replace the contaminated soil and sediment along the eastern edge of the property with clean soil. It will then be seeded.

The PCBs were used as coolants and insulating fluids for electrical transformers. The DEC has said that the community is protected from any contamination and that dust levels are continuously monitored at locations surrounding the site during removal.

After the junkyard was shut down, some of property was used as farmland. Currently, the tenants on the property are an automobile repair shop, an engineering company and The Theater Barn.

After a presentation by state officials at the meeting, the public can voice concerns or ask questions.

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