cleanup · Erie County
Niagara Mohawk–Cherry Farm
Town of Tonawanda
Former Niagara River landfill containing foundry sand, slag, cinders, and other fill, later remediated with habitat-oriented cover and plantings.
The documented story
What happened here?
Cherry Farm is an inactive Niagara River landfill in the Town of Tonawanda. Steel-manufacturing wastes and later industrial fill created an elevated landform of foundry sand, slag, cinders, fly ash, sludge, cutting oils, boiler-cleaning waste, concrete rubble, and related material.
The approximately 56-acre property is hydrologically connected to drainage ditches, wetlands, and the Niagara River. New York addressed Cherry Farm together with the adjoining River Road site through investigation, capping, water controls, and habitat-oriented restoration.
A landfill raised the river shore, then became managed habitat
Cherry Farm rebuilt fifty-six acres of Niagara River edge twice
56 acresapproximately, within the former landfill property
1908-1963
Steelmaking wastes began converting wet ground to industrial land
The disposal history includes foundry sand, slag, cinders, fly ash, sludge, boiler-cleaning waste, and rubble. Filling altered a low Niagara River landscape and eventually covered about 80 percent of the property.
1963-1970
The waste stream widened beyond steel production
Later disposal included broader industrial wastes. By the end of filling, deposits were commonly 10 to 20 feet above original grade and drainage from the property still connected toward the Niagara River.
Remedy and reuse
Containment was designed to support habitat and public landscape
The revised remedy allowed park development and shoreline wetland embayments while preserving the landfill cover. Remediation was completed around 2000, followed by cap care, leachate collection and treatment, inspection, and ecological maintenance.
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
- 1908–1970
Steel-manufacturing and other industrial wastes were disposed across the Cherry Farm and neighboring River Road properties.
- 1980s
State investigations documented widespread groundwater and surface-water standard exceedances and evaluated migration toward the Niagara River.
- 1990s–2000
Remedial construction capped the disposal areas, managed water pathways, and incorporated wetland and wildlife-habitat features.
- Present
The completed remedy remains in operation, maintenance, and monitoring status.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Fill included foundry sand, slag, cinders, fly ash, industrial sludge, oils, and other manufacturing wastes.
- Agency records identified PCBs, PAHs, metals, and other contaminants in the combined Cherry Farm and River Road investigation.
- Groundwater, surface water, drainage ditches, and adjacent wetlands created potential pathways to the Niagara River.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The remedy consolidated and capped contaminated fill to reduce direct contact and rainwater infiltration.
- Drainage and water-management components limit contaminant migration, while long-term monitoring evaluates remedy performance.
- Habitat plantings and wetland features were incorporated into the cover design but do not replace the underlying containment controls.
Then and now
The site today
Remedial construction is complete, and the site is in long-term operation and maintenance. Its vegetated appearance reflects an engineered containment and habitat remedy, not removal of all buried industrial material.
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.
Tonawanda FUSRAP material network
Uranium-processing residues and related material moved among industrial properties, storage areas, landfills, and vicinity properties in the Town of Tonawanda.
Linde processed uranium ores for the Manhattan Engineer District, creating residues later addressed at multiple Tonawanda properties.
Interim storage propertyAshland 1 / Former Ashland Oil RefineryThe former refinery property received Linde-related residues before portions of the material were moved again.
Related cleanup propertyAshland 2 FUSRAP SiteAshland 2 forms part of the federal Tonawanda FUSRAP cleanup record and its connected material history.
Landfill containment siteSeaway FUSRAP Site / Tonawanda North Unit 3Material moved from Ashland 1 in 1974 became part of the radiological remedy at the Seaway landfill.
Vicinity propertyTonawanda Landfill FUSRAP Vicinity PropertyThe landfill vicinity record tracks qualifying material outside the principal federal cleanup boundaries.
Related disposal propertyNiagara Mohawk–Cherry FarmCherry Farm belongs to the broader Tonawanda record of industrial disposal and radiological investigation.
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.