cleanup · Erie County
5565 River Road
Tonawanda
Active Class 2 State Superfund property within Tonawanda's River Road industrial corridor. DEC's sediment inventory identifies PCB-affected sediment associated with the site, requiring the upland property and Niagara River edge to be understood together without assuming one corridor-wide plume.
The documented story
What happened here?
The 5565 River Road property lies within Tonawanda's heavily industrialized Niagara River corridor. Historic aerial photographs show largely undeveloped land in 1927, followed by nearby petroleum-storage and truck-terminal activity and increasing deposits of industrial fill after World War II.
By the late 1970s, fill covered much of the property and obscured portions of Rattlesnake Creek and a smaller southern drainage. A 2009 environmental assessment documented large fill mounds and surface drums, leading to state investigation and classification as a site requiring remedial action.
Industrial fill altered land, drainage, and the river edge
5565 River Road connects buried creeks to PCB-affected Niagara River sediment
1927aerial baseline before widespread industrial filling
1927-1970s
A low riverfront landscape became made industrial ground
Petroleum storage, truck-terminal activity, and deposits of industrial fill expanded after World War II. The filling changed surface grade and locally buried or displaced Rattlesnake Creek and another southern drainage.
2009-2012
Surface drums and fill led to a Class 2 designation
A 2009 assessment documented large fill mounds and discarded drums. DEC characterization followed and the property was classified as an inactive hazardous-waste site requiring remedial action.
Present
The upland and submerged records must be read together
DEC maps PCB-affected sediment along the Niagara River edge while the upland investigation addresses fill, soil, groundwater, and altered drainage. The two features are related parts of one site record, not one uniform contamination zone.
News record
Major news events
Coverage selected here marks a turning point in public awareness, policy, enforcement, employment, or cleanup. Links open at the original publisher or archive; WNYAtlas does not reproduce restricted articles or images.
Investigation begins at a River Road property linked to PCB-affected shoreline sediment
The state investigation connected the upland industrial property to a defined Niagara River sediment concern while preserving the distinction between this site and the many other River Road sources.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗A small industrial parcel becomes part of the larger public riverfront question
Residents evaluating River Road reuse need both upland and shoreline records; the marker does not represent the former Tonawanda Coke property or a corridor-wide plume.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- 1927
Aerial photography showed the property as largely undeveloped.
- 1950s–1970s
Industrial development expanded nearby, while fill accumulated across the property and altered local drainage.
- 2009
A Phase I assessment documented extensive industrial fill and discarded drums at the surface.
- 2011–2012
DEC completed site characterization and classified the property as a Class 2 inactive hazardous-waste site.
- Present
The upland property and documented PCB-affected shoreline sediment remain part of an active remedial record.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Industrial fill of uncertain origin covers much of the property and locally buried or displaced former drainage channels.
- Discarded drums and other debris were reported, although drums described in older accounts as containing black tar-like material were not located during DEC's preliminary assessment.
- DEC's sediment inventory identifies PCB-affected sediment associated with the site along the Niagara River edge.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- State investigation has used soil, groundwater, surface-water, and sediment information to distinguish the upland fill from shoreline impacts.
- Class 2 status means the defined site requires remedial action; it should not be presented as a completed cleanup.
- Future work must account for buried fill, altered drainage, and the relationship between upland sources and river sediment.
Then and now
The site today
The property remains an active state cleanup site within an operating industrial corridor. The atlas treats its documented boundary separately from neighboring terminals, tank farms, and cleanup sites and does not infer one continuous corridor-wide plume.
Atlas connections
Connected places
These collections explain documented material, facility, waterway, ownership, or cleanup relationships. Inclusion does not imply that every place shares one contaminant source or plume.
River Road industrial and disposal corridor
Coke, plastics, steel, landfills, and material-transfer histories overlap along River Road. These records are geographically related but retain separate cleanup boundaries and responsible-party histories.
The former coke plant anchors the corridor's heavy-industrial and air-emissions history.
Plastics propertyTonawanda PlasticsThe plastics site is a separately regulated industrial property within the same River Road landscape.
Steel propertyRoblin Steel — TonawandaThis Tonawanda steel site is distinct from the former Roblin Steel cleanup in Dunkirk.
Chemical tank-truck terminalChemical Leaman Tank LinesChemical Leaman adds chemical transport, tank cleaning, and a managed environmental easement to the corridor.
Upland and sediment cleanup5565 River RoadThe 5565 River Road record connects a Class 2 upland site with separately mapped PCB-affected sediment.
Industrial landfillNiagara Mohawk–Cherry FarmCherry Farm connects the corridor's manufacturing history to documented disposal and long-term containment.
Mixed landfill and FUSRAP siteSeaway FUSRAP Site / Tonawanda North Unit 3Seaway adds municipal, industrial, and radiological material histories to the corridor.
Western New York sediment controls
These sites contain documented sediment remedies or affected sediment areas. They are a comparative research collection, not evidence of a shared source or connected plume.
A geotextile and stone cover isolates PAHs, PCBs, and metals in part of the former industrial canal.
Chlorinated-solvent sediment coverWeber-Knapp CompanyDEC records a clean-stone cover at this Jamestown manufacturing cleanup.
PCB-affected sediment areaTennessee Gas Pipeline Station 229The Eden compressor-station record extends sediment concerns into a rural drainage setting.
PCB-affected shoreline sediment5565 River RoadThe River Road entry connects an upland Class 2 site with Niagara River-edge sediment.
PCB-affected shoreline sediment1660 Niagara Street ShorelineThe Niagara Street marker represents a bounded sediment record rather than the entire river shoreline.
Dioxin- and furan-affected sedimentDurez / Occidental ChemicalThe Durez record adds a distinct chemical-manufacturing and sediment-contaminant history.
Riprap and habitat coverGratwick Riverside ParkGratwick combines landfill containment, shoreline protection, and present-day park use.